Perceptions of Communication

As a part of my job I am required to hold group meetings for the Parent as Teachers requirements. I have to be able to communicate with he parents and their children in a very effective manner while addressing important teaching information that can be used by the parents. During these communication efforts that I engage in I assumed that I was always respectful to others and their opinions and that I would have a score that reflected such communication on the verbal assertiveness scale. My score was moderate which means that I maintain a good balance with respect and consideration of others' viewpoint, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than attacking the person that is holding the position. That surprised me because I thought that I would be low which would mean that I am respectful to the intelligence and viewpoints of others, and that I attempt to change their minds with gentle, and inoffensive suggestions that do not attack their self-concept. 

I learned that through the evaluation done by my husband and friend that they hold me in high regards as being an effective communicator.

I also learned that I am on the significant level sometimes when it comes to dealing with my oldest son. He is at the age where he thinks he knows more than I do and sometimes my verbal aggression level rises with him.

I have resolved that I will strive to bring my verbal aggression level with my son to a low point on the scale.

                                                                           





"DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH"?

The tittle of my blog comes from the motion picture Rush Hour. There are times when I am speaking to different groups of people that I have to change the way I speak. Sometimes my language is slang. I use that type of language when I am talking with my nephews. They have their own language that they use when they communicate with them and I my self use it when I am talking with them. It makes the atmosphere more agreeable when we are speaking. I have learned that when talking in my culture that you have to use the dominate language of the conversation to fit in. So when I am around my nephews talking with them I use slang, when I am around my family we use what people in big cities call country talk. Which is an informal way of speaking that is not always using correct English, with some occasional verb splitting.



In my neighborhood my family is the only Black family. Our neighbors are all White and we sometimes talk when we meet each other outside. Whenever I speak with them I do not have to change my way of speaking because we all speak on the same level. We have conversations that are long and short at times and we are able to effectively communicate with each other on a level that is understood by all.



3 strategies that I will use to help me communicate effectively.

• Talk on the same level of the person/people that I am communicating with. I have learned that when I talk with the children and families that I serve I have to be like a chameleon, able to switch back and forth with the language that I use. The reason being is that people like to feel comfortable and relaxed when they speak without feeling inadequate or dumb. So when I talk to people I talk on the level that they communicate so that I am not offensive to them.
• I will have an open mind to their point of view and not have the conversation fastened on how I think things should be. I will apply the Platinum Rule principle while engaged in conversation with the families that I serve.
• I will take into consideration the culture and diversity aspect of the people that I am communicating with. I will have to remember that culture determines how people communicate, and I have to respect the various means of communication that is exhibited by the many different cultures in out society.

                                                                                  



Lets Talk TV Assignment 2

The TV show that I decided to record and observe was Heartland on The CW this is a movie about ranching, guys with jeans, hats, boots and horses. There were many scenes in the movie that had a lot of nonverbal language that I was able to guess correctly.

In one scene a guy dressed like a cowboy was sitting at a counter in a dinner and he was talking with his waitress he was smiling and he looked happy.  As he was talking the waitress gave him this look and said some words to him with an attitude. You could tell by her body movement, the look on her face and how she walked away from him that she had said something smart or offensive to him.

So when I watched the same scene in the movie with sound I was right. The guy liked the waitress and he was trying to make small talk, but she did not want to hear what he wanted to sat because she thought he was nothing but trouble and she walked away leaving him sitting at the counter. Then another girl walked up to him and he asked her “what did I say” she replied “it is not what you said but how you look”. The guy had a black eye. The waitress concluded from his black eye that he had been in a fight and that he was probably a trouble maker.

 

The second scene was one in a stable and a horse was giving birth to a fowl. There were three people there a young guy and young girl and this man that was much older and acted as a vet. All three of them were on their knees with the horse. The two guys had on elbow length gloves that were covered with blood. The older guy was reaching into the horse, and you could tell by his facial expressions that he was reaching around felling the fowl. Then he said something to the girl and her face turned red, her eyes filled with water, and she dropped her head.

The guy was telling her that the fowl was dead and she was asking him was he sure and why couldn’t they help it. I was able to tell from the facial expression that she had that something was wrong.

There was this one scene where this older guy was fussing at this younger guy. I thought he was giving him pointer on how to rustle a bull to the ground, but he was actually criticizing the guy telling him that he was not doing what he had told him, and that he did not listen to a word that he said, and so own. But after watching the show with word he was actually upset because he had moved past his prime as a bull rustler and wanted to get back to it, but he had lost it and it was time for him to pass it along to someone younger.

There scenes were easy to predict what was going on because of the body language, but not all of the scenes were that easy to figure out. If I would have been watching a TV show that I watch all of the time line Meet the Browns I would have been able to tell you exactly what was happening and what was being said because I have learned the characters and I know their persona.

Competent Communication

I have heard many people talk giving speeches and lectures from professionals in early childhood and other educations, as well as Doctors, lawyers, policy makers, Pastors, and Ministers. Of all of the people that I have heard communicate there is one that if I had to be like them I would be like her. She is my oldest sister, Assistant Principal at the middle school, and Minister of the Gospel Bernice Johnson Martin. Bernice has a way of communication with people that catches all of their attention. Her way of communicating actually draws you into a deep understanding, and the way she communicated what she is saying is easy to understand and grasp. When I see her in action it is like she is in dual roles. She is at one time in teacher mode then in other times she is in Minister mode, but in either mode she effectively gets her point across to the listeners. She never loses her listeners in fancy jargon that is an onslaught of words without meaning. The communicating style that she has is understandable to those who have little education to those that are of highly educated. She has a great way of getting people to understand what she is saying and it all makes sense. Bernice delivers her words in a clear concise manner that always captures the attention of her listeners. She is an excellent model of competent communication

Bernice Johnson Martin

Assitstant Principal Turner Co. Middle School

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have for working with children and families from a diverse background is that I want these families and children to realize that I am a woman that they can depend on to help them press their way through any situation that they might go through, and that I truly care what happens to them and their children.


One goal that I would like to set for the education field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be a Cultural Awareness Liaison for the school system in Turner Co. This person would have a multicultural educational background that would allow them to advocate for fairness in the schools for the children in the marginalized groups.


I would like to thank each and every last one of you for your feed backs on mt blog postings as well as on discussion postings. I have enjoyed this course and I leave truly believing that I have learned something that I can use in my career as an early childhood educator. Again thanks you guys for being there.




Sincerely,




Melanie

My New Russian Student

I am a teacher at the local elementary school where I teach 4th grade and I have been notified by the Principal that I will be getting a new student and that student is from Russia. I have no idea what the customs and culture is in Russia so I began to prepare my self so that when I am introduced to the child and his family I will be prepared. I want to make the new student feel at home so I will have to learn things from his Russian life so that I can incorporate it into his new life at school.

5 ways I will prepare myself to meet my new Russian student and his family.

• When I meet the new student I will give a firm handshake to him and his dad and look them directly in the eyes. It is Russian custom that whenever you greet each other that the males will give a firm, almost bone crushing handshake, maintain direct eye contact, and give the appropriate greeting for the time of day. The handshake for a woman is less firm. If I were good friends with the mother I would kiss her on the cheek three times starting with the left and then rotating.
• I would be able to tell the new student's fathers name the students middle name which would be the fathers first name with "vich or ovich" added to it.
• If I were invited to their home for dinner I would dress in office clothes because this shows respect for the hosts. I would take a small gift along with me. If I were a guy I would take flowers, but not yellow flowers because they are seen as bad luck.
• I should know that Russian children attend school from ages 6-17, and elementary education lasts for 9 grades. After the 9th grade they either go to secondary school or vocational school. So I will have to help the child adjust to his new school system. After secondary education the student can go onto high education which is equivalent to college for us.
• I will need to keep in mind that the Russian schools have classroom that range from 20-30 students, the students are together from the 1st grade to the last grade, the students in primary school will stay with the same teacher for all subjects and do not change classes, the school day is from 8:00-1 or 2:00.

This information that I have learned would help me to be able to help the student adjust to a new school system with very few problems, because I would be able to lead him through the changes that he will have to make in order to adjust to an American school system which is very different from a Russian school system. i would also need this information so that I would know how to operated as a teacher to a Russian student. I would have to make adjustments as well as the student.



Personal Experiences of Bias, Prejudice, and/or Oppression

One day I was in a clothing store browsing around to find me something to wear. So I was just walking from place to place in the store just looking around. So I noticed that this employee was following me around in the store. So I would move around intentionally to see if she was following me and everywhere I would move she would follow. I had found a shirt that I liked and really wanted it, but after the employee kept following me I put it down, and left the store. I went to another store and bought what I needed.

That lady was following me around as if I was about to walk out with that whole store stuffed under my shirt.I know that she was watching me to see if I were going to steal something, but rest assured I do not steal and if I do not have the money to pay for it then it will stay in their store. I have seen it many of times where there are workers in a store that will follow a black person around in the store and not follow anyone else. I guess that is because they think that black people will steal, but there are people from every race that steals so one group of people can't be singled out as thieves.

I have to be honest when that happened to me it upset me because I do not steal and I was being followed as if my picture and name had been left at the store by the cops identifying me as a thief. I am not sure that they employee would be able to change because she felt that she was doing her job.Maybe that store had had an increase in missing products and the employees were ordered to follow the shoppers, who knows. I only know that I do not like being followed around in a store on the assumption that I might be a thief.