Week 6: Team Building

Considering the adjorning phase that comes with many groups, there were certain groups which I found more difficult to leave then others.

These groups were the ones where we had the most mutual respect, trust and social bonds created.  These groups were also the high performing groups, the ones that worked together for programs, created from scratch.  Such as a diversity summit and a drug and alcohol summit.  We had a couple of months to work together to bring these programs into working light.  We spent many evenings over coffee(or hot chocolate in my case) to discuss which would be the best speakers to get, which topcis would be the best to focus on.  While each group had different aspects, the number of people involved, we still had a dead line to meet.

I also had other groups working on small projects.  The small project groups involved members that I am still in close contact to today. 

I think that any time you work closely with people to set a common goal it is difficult to say goodbye to them.  Memories and bonds are made, but our closing rituals with every group involved a group dinner after the programs were complete to reflect and celebrate (Abudi, G, 2010). and I felt this was adequate.  "Team members are moving off into different directions."(Abudi, G,  2010)  I still kept in touch with some members of the larger groups.

When I leave this masters program I will be thankful for all the information I have learned from my colleagues, as we all brought different experiences to the program.  I had the opportunity to meet one of my colleagues which was nice, and work closely with a few other colleagues.  I enjoy starting my new classes and recognizing many of the names.  It was a great feeling to know that these members of the class already have an idea of my background, and some of my stories.   I feel that the end will be sad, and I hope to keep in contact with some members to exchange ideas and theories as the field of early childhood is constantly changing.

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study.

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Blog Week 5: Conflict

There were very few times I was ever involved in a conflict.  I tend to avoid disagreements, or any disruptions. 

I used to work at McDonalds as a cashier, and I feel the most conflicts I ever had came from my interactions there.  Customers would treat you very poorly, and many had stated that if I just stayed in college, I would not have to have a job dealing with them.   Little did they know, that job was helping to pay for me to attend this graduate program.  I would not respond to many of them, except one instance when a woman had insisted I did a bad job on two of her orders.

Her husband had done the order, ordering a cheeseburger for their son.  Moments later the wife came up to me, slamming the cheeseburger down onto the counter and inisiting I messed up, and want to make her child starve.  I was perplexed, I ordered a cheeseburger as her husband stated.  She stated he would only eat the cheeseburger if it was ketchup only, and if I didn't know how to do my job I should return to school to get an actual education.  The husband entered the conflict stating he did not order it as a ketchup only cheeseburger.  Her response was to ignore him and continue to insist I had screwed up on purpose so her son would not eat dinner.  My supervisor was listening to the whole conflict and had already had the other cheeseburger made, and handed it to the lady.  She walked away with her husband who was still insisting that he made the mistake and did not special order the sandwich, but she responded that I should have known what he meant.

She ate with her family, and came back up to order four french fries without salt.  She repeated three times no salt, and asked "Did you understand that I said I want no salt, if you do mess this one up I will report to the owner, maybe she can pay for you to attend college or finish high school." 

I yelled, clearly to my supervisor to drop some new french fries for an order of 4 no salt french fries.  She repeated this back to me.  The lady shook her head and said "Now you are being a smart-ass, maybe you did graduate high school." 

I finally responded, "Yes ma'am I did, I am in graduate school, working to get my masters this job is ensuring I won't be in debt."   Her response was to roll her eyes and ask if her fries were finished.

I made the four fries with my supervisor and gave them to her on a seperate tray, which she took back to her table.  Not as soon as she got to her table, she came back up her finger out pointed at me.  She raised her voice and said "I knew you would mess this up, you only gave me three french fries.  You are cheating me out of my money, I paid for four I want a fourth."

Now, my supervisor and her husband came up both insisting there were four french fries on the tray.

This conflict is one of the things that always will stick with me as the most difficult situation I was eveer involved in.  I was lucky to have my supervisor involved.

I did my best to not be involved in this conflict as I had nothing to gain from entering into the discussion.  It was easier to remake the food, then to enter into a power struggle.   The situation was a one sided argument, and I was lucky to have the backing of my supervisor and her husband.

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Week 4 Blog Post

This assignment made me realize that my actions are not as I perceive them, and I will attempt to change my language, verbal and non-verbal as I interact with others.  While my assessments came from close friends I have known for multiple years, my actions could look more concerning to those who have not known me as long.  When working with families and colleagues, I need to show that I understand, I am listening and that I can effectively communication with them to continue to build a positive relationship (O’Hair and Wiemann, 2009).

I was most shocked in regards to my being impatient.  I never noticed just how many times I will look at the clock, or simply end a conversation.  I admit to never saying that I could only talk for a short amount of time, but I never realized that I wouldn’t give a small notification that I would have to leave soon, even if I never did when the conversations began.  I worry now if that appears in other situations as when talking with families, and this si something I am going to pay closer attention to.

I also liked to utilize the Platinum rule, which is to treat others how they would like to be treated.  Thus meaning I would need to be more open in communications with others, in order to understand how they wish to be treated by me and others.  I could always guess, but that could be wrong.  I also like the strategy to agree to disagree, showing you understand they have a view, and opinion, but that you do not agree and will be okay with leaving it at that.  Both sides are able to discuss the issues at hand, and they at least both know where the other stands on an issue.

 

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Blog Assignment Week 3

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?  If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

When it comes to other cultures and groups, I do find myself communicating differently both verbally and non-verbally.  When using verbal words I find myself speaking louder, in a clear tone pronouncing words carefully.  When it comes to my non-verbal communication in regards to others of different groups and cultures I find myself smiling more, and alternating between eye contact and no eye contact.  I will use what their non verbal language is saying and seemingly mimic their movements.

I was aware of the speaking clearly and louder, but not of my non-verbal interactions until I really
focused on my interactions this week.

In my classroom we have a family for Korea and Saudi Arabia and I will use clearer words, I also found myself avoiding any slang that Americans use as to convey the wrong message about their child's day.

I also find myself becoming very aware of my own difference.  I notice any stutter in my speech, any words I think i say differently then others I work with, and how I hold myself in the classroom; such as the placement of my arms when I am talking.  I found that I seem to not know what to really do with my arms when i am interacting with other cultures.  The unsure feeling makes me want to cross them across my chest, but I know this would seem negative and possibly send a message that I was uninterested in their family.  I also utilize active listening, restating what they asked in or said to me back to them with my own words added.

O'Hair, & Wiemann. (2009) Real Communiucation: An Introduction. Bedford, St. Martin

Week 2: Blog post

I decided to watch the show Raising Hope, because it is a show I am very unfamiliar with.  I do not know any of the characters or even the premsis of the show.  Prior to watching, i did not read anything in regards to the show to give me any indication what might be happening.


The show has a family of a mom, dad, grandmother and 2 boys from what I am assuming during the interactions around the dinner table.  There are many different non-verbal cues that happen throughout the scenes.  In the beginning, the one boy spends time getting leaves out of a pool and another boy comes past and blows the leaves back into the pool.  The boy reacts by throwing his pole and walking away with his hands in the air. 

There were many other non-verbal gestures, such as placing a finger on your nose which in my understanding means "not it" and would indicate the last person to put their finger on their nose would have to do what was indicated.  There were also lots of facial expressions that clearly showed joy, disgust, or shock such as when a girl he picked up at night was on the news.  He also goes to visit her in jail, and is shocked to see she is pregnant.  I am assuming he did not know this woman until she got into his car that one night. 

The characters used proximity, as the family would stand close to each other at times.  They also used gestures to emphasize what statment they were making.

When i turned the sound back on, I was correct with my assumptions.  The boy quit his job in the beginning, and was livign with his family.  He did not know the woman before she got into his car and she ended up having his baby while in prison.

This activity showed that actions have a huge impact on how we interpret a situation, and the more emphasis a person has in their hand motions the more urgent the message such as the "I quit" hands up motion, or the boss at the supermarket trying to get his worker back inside.

Blog Assignment: Week 1 Communication

When I think of people who are effective communicators, many celebrities, politicians or news anchors come to mind, but I am removed from them.  I only am aware of these great speakers through media outlets such as the news, talk shows, or newspapers.

Such as, in my opinion I feel the Ellen DeGenerous is one of the best talk show hosts I have seen.  She is good at what she does because she is engaging, and can relate to her audience.  She has a goal before she begins her show, and she delievers this goal.

On a personal level, I had a professor as an Undergraduate who taught a Sexual Studies course.  Throughout this course we learned about the development of every spectrum of Sexuality.  He included heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, transsexual and even some fetishes.
He was always engaging, and left the class open to discussion.  No subject was taboo, and when a subject came up with stereotypes he explored where the stereotypes came from.  The class was allowed to be curious, to discuss the subjects without feeling judged.

I think his was effective because he allowed for the open, honest communication in the classroom.  He answered questions, and if he did not know the answer he actually researched it during the class. 
 A competent communicator can adjust their behavior to suit the situation, and this professor would adjust when he needed to be serious and demanding to have the class focus.  The professor could also be on a level with the class, and act as an equal.

Resources:

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Communication: Essential Human Behavior. Real communication: An introduction. (pp. 3-28) New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Professional Hopes and Goals

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

I hope to learn as much as I can about the children/families in my care that comes from differnt backgrounds.  I hope to learn as much from them as they can learn from me, and by my interactions with them I hope to become more diverse in my own thinking.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issue of diversity, equity and social justice.

My goal would be to work closely with my colleagues and the children and families in our center to lessen the stereotypes, the ism's and the negative thoughts towards other cultures.  I want to educate those in the community about diversity and just how important diversity is to our development.  Whether or not people realize it, they are in some way a minority.  There will be some point in their life when they will be in the minority, and need to be educated on others around them.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues.

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for your kind responses on my blog, as well as your kind responses to my discussion posts.  We are all very diverse, but hold the same values for children.

You have all helped me progress in this class, as well as a professional.  I am learning ways to respond to children, or issues I am having in my classroom.  It is also great to learn I am not alone in my of my feelings, or encounters I am having with families.  So truly, thank you.