My Competent Communicator

Competent communication must be effective and appropriate and as such communicators must adjust their behavior to suit particular individuals and situations (O'Hair eta al, 2015) person who demonstrated that for me was my father, Rev. Earl Nobles. He was an educated, highly intelligent (he was a rocket scientist), articulate, and most importantly a Pastor.  All of those attributes didn’t make him a competent communicator, it was the fact that he knew how to treat people and interact with them. He was a great listener and I feel that is one of the most important characteristics of effective communication. His disposition was calm, inviting, and comforting that drew and welcomed anyone who spoke to him. He had a wonderful sense of quirky humor and that along with all of his other attributes are what I have tried to model for years. Why? My dad, in my opinion, was one of the greatest people that walked the face of the earth, not perfect, but a wonderful person, husband, father, friend, confidant, and grandfather, just to name a few and I can only wish to walk in his shadow and hope to catch the rays of the sun that shined so brightly on his life.

Reference

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.Chapter 1, "Communication: Essential Human Behavior" (pp. 3-26)

PROFESSIONAL HOPES AND GOALS

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)

I hope that I can make a positive difference in all the lives of the children and families I work with.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)

The goal I would like to set is to stand up to the inequities and injustices I see.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

Colleagues,

It has once again been a pleasure to collaborate, share, and learn from you.  I look forward to seeing your names in the next course.

Dr. H

This has been one of my favorite and enriching courses thus far. Thank you for your encouragement and support.

WELCOMING FAMILIES AROUND THE WORLD

I have chosen a family from Paraguay and will list 5 ways I will be culturally responsive towards this family and how it will be a benefit not only the family, but the child as well.

• Ways in which I will be culturally responsive towards this family

1.     Learn how much English they know. If very little learn some basic phrases to help them feel more comfortable communicating with me.  I have learned that when I speak, even just to say hello and how are you doing in a family’s native language, they are very appreciative and responsive. 

2.     Find out about the family culture such as the roles of the parents, family structure, who is the primary care taker of the children, socioeconomic status etc. This will enable me to make sure I am inclusive and sensitive with regards to the activities I plan for the children and their families.

3.     Prepare correspondences such as the parent survey to get in depth information about the child and family beliefs and routines in their native language, and let them know it is fine to respond in their native language.

4.    Self reflection and examination is also advisable to make sure any and all biases are eliminated prior to interacting with the family. Also, be cognizant of any microaggressions that may results because of their presence and be prepared to stand up and address them.

5.     Make sure I have books, toys, pictures, posters, etc. that reflect each child’s culture conspicuous in my classroom or work space.

• I hope that these preparations will benefit the family, myself, and the child because I have taken the time to learn about the family, their culture, familiarize myself with some basic language, translate correspondence, and provide an inclusive, culture rich environment. My goal is to empower the family so that they will feel welcome to offer input and so that the child can feel a sense of belonging.  In order for a child to develop and excel academically, socially, and emotionally, they will need positive input from everyone who interacts with them and each other.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppresion

When my son was very young, around the age of 3, we transitioned him to the autistic preschool program at our zoned elementary school. The first thing I noticed was that all the self-contained classrooms were located in the very back corner of the school furthest away from the cafeteria, media center, bus loop and car rider area.

 My initial thoughts were how inconvenient this was for these students and their parents because, like my son, some of them were orthopedically impaired, wore braces, and that was a long walk for them to get anywhere. I felt the reason they were back there was to keep them hidden and separated and this, in my opinion was unfair and definitely diminished equity because the principal was not sensitive about the needs of these children. Therefore, as usual, I went to battle for my son and confronted the principal about my (our) concerns.  He conceded in letting the parents drop their children off at the back of school where the classrooms were located and agreed to consider relocating the classrooms the next school year to accommodate their needs.

I believe not only does the victim need to change and/or speak up about the injustice, but the offender must be willing to be open minded and really willing to listen to the concerns of those they have offended and attempt to put themselves in their shoes to truly understand other’s point of view in order to turn these types of incidents into opportunities for greater equity. Furthermore, in my experience, I have learned one will need to be ready to fight for that equity because often times I had to go to the next level i.e. a person’s boss, or that bosses boss in order to get what I needed. I have truly become the squeaky wheel advocate for my son in order to make sure he is treated equitable, especially within the school system.