Communications Skills and Styles--Muted

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2013/01/days-of-our-lives.jpg

This week’s assignment was to watch a show we do not usually watch (without the volume on) and watch for non-verbal communications that might allow us to figure out the relationship of the characters and what their feelings and expressions may be telling us of the interaction.

I googled an episode of Days of Our Lives, I hadn’t seen the show since 1998 and thought for sure I would be able to see some exaggerated non-verbal communications. I was not disappointed! As I remembered, it was ever dramatic.

Between the arms flailing and eye rolling, I could easily tell who the adversaries and allies were. 

I then started the program over and listened this time, I was pretty close to the mark, I had not been able to peg what sort of conversation topic they were having from the silent screening, but the worded watching was filled with the emotional words that matched the actions. It seems, as though the more exaggerated the physical movements are the more either celebratory or confrontational the situation.

I can remember when I was in high school it was one of my friends and my favorite games to play in the cafeteria. We would put words to the actions from groups talking across the room. I do not know if it was helpful but it was fun, I learned a lot about reading people by watching them talk.

The Great Communicator...

Great communicators have the ability to influence others both intentionally and unintentionally, one such communicator what Ronald Reagan. 

I can remember being a teen when Ronald Reagan was President. He reminded me of my Pap (grandpa), and his birthday was one day after mine. The 1980’s were  called the decade of excess and the charisma of its leaders were excessive too. President Reagan had done it all it seemed, he started from humble beginnings and rose to the pinnacle of power, movie star turned politician—first a democrat then a republican—although at the time I had no idea what that meant.  He was dubbed “the great communicator” earning that title because of his skill at talking evocatively and using folksy anecdotes that ordinary people could understand.

He had a gift for optimism. He always spoke of the future.  He exuded a sense of country; and became a magnet for young audiences he attracted them because he stood for something; talked about substance. But he kept his message basic and simple and on mainstream American concerns. Who else could have done what he did? He got the leader of the Soviet Republic to play nice with the rest of the world and put an end to the cold war.  “There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987).

This was no small task; it gives me hope that the common man (or in my case, woman) can rally around important issues and get the world to back you…that is skill. Skills I would like to be able to emulate.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds…

     My greatest hope is that I can build the kind of relationships with families and children that last after they leave my program. It is my wish that the children and families remembered their time with us for a long time and that it becomes a positive and cherished memory about feeling welcomed, accepted and a valued member of our school family.  

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice…

     A goal I would set is to educate to providers and professionals what it means to be truly an anti-bias teacher and program.  This training would be provided to all those service organizations, schools, and programs that are exposed to the public.  In service hours that are completely based on how to create policies for ensuring that children and families are all handled with the same respect and positivity that they deserve.

A brief note of thanks to my colleagues…

     It has come to the end of our semester and most of us only have one more class “together” before we begin our chosen specializations. Thank you to all who have shared the sometimes vulnerable and personal information with us as an insight into learning about diversity, equity and social justice. Know that it will create permanent change in our own lives knowing our struggles about these injustices and moving forward to create a world where children and families do not have to go through the same hurt as we may have. It may seem like a drop in the bucket, but each drop fills the bucket to overflowing…good luck and thank you!

Welcoming Families from Around the World...

Imagine if you will that same old mission impossible theme playing in the background…

EDUC 6464 Cohort…Your mission this week should you choose to accept it…

Think for a moment about the following two statistics:

• About 195 different countries exist in the world today.
• According to the U.S. census bureau, the United States’ population includes individuals and families from 150 different countries.

It is certain that as an early childhood professional you will encounter children from diverse backgrounds whose families may have come from many different countries. In what ways can you prepare yourself for working in early childhood settings which represent such diversity?

For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

In order to complete this assignment, first choose a country you know nothing about as this family’s country of origin.

By Saturday of this week, post the following:

• The name of “your” family’s country of origin
• At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family
• A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family

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I got the call today…(and this really did happen) we are enrolling a child from a family who is moving to our area from Australia. The mother has accepted a position at the university in the International Studies Program. The family has one child who is three years old (that part might be made up).

My to do list includes the following:

• Because the family does speak English, it will be much easier to communicate, although they do have colloquialisms and dialects that are not spoken here in the states. So hone up on those, ask the family to help with this.
• Do some research on the types of preschools and educational systems they have in Australia (it is a large continent, so they may be very diverse from region to region).
• Do some more research on Australia, explore the different regions, demographics, foods, forms of entertainment etc.
• Prepare enrollment paperwork for family, is there anything that may seem difficult to understand about “how we do things here”
• Meet with parents, show them around the school, discuss policies, practices and beliefs (child rearing and educational), find out about the foods that the family eats, can I incorporate some of those meals into our menu, what are the child’s favorite foods, books, toys, have them ready in the classroom to welcome her and make her feel comfortable in her new surroundings. What about the family’s unique and personal traditions, are they willing to share some of those with us? Understand that things such as eating and sleeping “on American time” are going to be completely different (I believe they are 15 hours ahead of us…that makes day and night opposite, literally). Help complete paperwork as needed.

In making my list, checking it twice, and being prepared I am hoping to make a conscious effort to meet the needs of the family. I will make no assumptions and be open to learn from and about them. It will be a partnership that is mutually advantageous. It is my hope that we will create a long lasting relationship that will allow us to learn from one another and grow as a school family.