Course Reflection - Thank You!

     I would like to start by saying thank you to all of my colleagues that have worked along side me throughout this course.  I feel that especially in this course about communication I have been greatly influenced by others.  I have learned about varying communication capabilities and how we all react differently to group work, public speaking, and one-on-one environments.  I hope that I have shown my colleagues the same respect they have shown me throughout this process.  I hope they have learned from my experiences and we have all become better communicators.  I hope for my colleagues that they become comfortable with the communication struggles they may have had previously and that they have learned skills to help them effectively influence the lives of others.  I also hope they have learned effective leadership skills so that, together, we can lead the youth of the world in a positive direction.  Thank you all again and I hope to work with you again soon!

Effectively Resolving Conflict

There have been many situations throughout my life where I have struggled to effectively communicate my thoughts and feelings to others and, oftentimes, these struggles have led to conflict. It is difficult to step away from conflict while it is occurring if you are emotionally invested in the conversation.  I have been learning, through experience and throughout this course, that learning to listen and be nonreactive is essential to being an effective communicator.

My experience recently with conflict has been in my personal life.  I have learned to reflect on the conversation or conflict prior to reacting.  For instance, if an argument ensues I have learned to not voice my opinion automatically but to think about the purpose of the conversation and the emotions I am trying to convey.  I then return to the conversation and am better able to effectively communicate my point of view.

Another strategy is to propose a compromise of sorts.  To try and calm the situation down and realize that there is a solution as long as we can communicate with one another.  There is a compromise to be made and in any relationship it is important to compromise because resentment can build and tensions can grow that make communication in the future more difficult.

Please feel free to share any of your experiences and how to best resolve conflict when you comment on my blog post.

Evaluating Communication

This week we had an assignment to evaluate ourselves through some online quizzes.  In turn, two other individuals we know had to evaluate our communication as well.  Prior to this assignment I thought that I was an excellent communicator.  One thing that surprised me was my score on the verbal aggressive scale.  I tend to consider myself very mild-mannered and this score was not as high as I hoped it would be.  I will take this into consideration moving forward and recognizing any aggressiveness when dealing with others.  It was encouraging that when my colleague took the verbal aggressive scale test about me that my score was higher than I had received.

It is so interesting to realize how others perceive you and how you may be perceiving yourself without even noticing.  I do not tend to think I am as good of a listener as I could be.  I often become so passionate about a topic during conversation that I tend to interrupt others, however the listening test made me aware that in general I am a good listener.  Also, when another colleague took the test about me it too said that I was a good listener.  I think the process of evaluation and understanding yourself as a communicator is such an important part of being a human being and an early childhood educator.

Overall - I really enjoyed this assignment and will continue to seek out tests and quizzes that help me to reflect on my behaviors and evaluate myself personally and allow other to evaluate my skills and weaknesses.

Effective Communication

Communicating is an important part of every day life and can help to build relationships.  On the other hand, it can also be a factor in destroying and hindering relationships.  As early childhood educators it is essential that we understand and acknowledge diversity and the way it affects communication.  I have learned throughout this course that communication involves verbal, nonverbal, AND listening!!

When considering culture in your interactions with others, it is important to understand how different groups and culture react to various communication patterns.  It is important to communicate in a way that is comfortable and inviting to others when dealing with children and families of different backgrounds.  You definitely do not want to offend someone by being ignorant of their beliefs, values, and methods of communication.  I have taken this into consideration when dealing with multicultural groups of people and it has changed the way I view communication and its relation to culture.

Three strategies that could help me be more effective with the people or groups I am communicating are:

1. Always be mindful of cultural practices.  Take time to understand and learn about various cultural practices, verbal and nonverbal, and their significance to emotion.

2. DO NOT be afraid to ask questions to learn more about others.  This will help to build a strong bond between ourselves and those we work with, whether colleagues, students, or families.

3. Assess your nonverbal cues and listening skills as they are often overshadows by verbal communication techniques.  Be aware and collaborate with colleagues so that you gain an outside perspective and are truly aware of your behaviors.

Learning about Communication through Television

This week's blog assignment was very interesting to me.  I think that it really forced me to think outside my normal thought process.  We were required to view a TV show that we don't normally watch, and view it without the volume turned on.  I chose a show called The League.

   This show is about a group of friends that participate in a fantasy football league. When I was watching the show I saw that the relationships were light-hearted and friendly.  You could tell by watching that the characters had a sort of back-and-forth camaraderie in a joking manner.  The nonverbal behavior was aggressive at times.  There was eye rolling and hostility at times between the men especially.

  What I learned about communication was that is very dependent on your environment.  It is something that I haven't really thought about too often but is something I will pay more attention to. Recognizing how your communication changes with your surroundings and environment is an important part of being an educator.  Realizing how your tone needs to be with children and how it should not change dramatically when transitioning from professional to personal lives.  I think it is important to maintain balance and ensure that we are holding ourselves to a standard whether we are in the classroom environment or outside of it.

Communicating Competently

   First of all, I am excited to begin this class on communication and collaboration.  It is such an essential part of being an educator, particularly in early childhood when children are at their prime developmental years.

  The most effective communicator I know is my grandfathers.  He speaks to committees and groups at length helping to find funding for nonprofit organizations.  He is knowledgeable, understandings, and approachable.  I believe his knowledge helps increase his effectiveness as a communicator.  He is very good at speaking to people with various backgrounds and diverse cultures.

  I would like to model many of my communication behaviors after him.  I think the balance he exhibits with respect to passion and cooperation during communication is such a great quality as a leader and communicator.  Being effective in reaching various cultural groups is also another quality I admire and hope to be effective with in my communications.

  I look forward to learning and hearing from all my classmates!

Summing Up Diversity and Equity in Early Childhood Education

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds I hope that I can make a difference in their lives and help them to feel comfortable and welcomed.  I hope that I can learn to discuss the diversity within the classroom without offending any particular group or persons.  I hope I can be an anti-biased educator that leads children to become accepting and equitable people in society.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that each child has the ability to receive an equitable education.  I hope that children can feel respected and equal regardless of economic status, culture, and gender (just to name a few).

I would like to thank my colleagues for being open and honest when sharing personal experiences of discrimination and struggles with equity.  It has helped me learn the value of collaboration and sharing experiences.  I have learned so much from each colleague and will continue to lean on others ideas and values to expand my knowledge of diversity.