Messages Communicated Through Body Language and Facial Expression

For this assignment, then record an episode of a television show you do not normally watch. Watch the show with the sound turned off.

 

A show that I have never had time to watch is called “Orange is the New Black”. I watched an episode of the show on Netflix and with the sound turned off, I observed a few women arguing with one another, so it seemed. One of the women was rolling her neck at another woman as she talked, one woman had her arms crossed talking with her head to the side to another woman, and it looked as if they were interrupting each other as they talked. From their body language it seems as if they were upset with one another and also enemies. 

After turning the sound on, it was nothing I thought it was. The women were just joking around with one another. They were all friends and having fun in prison. Some of the women did keep eye contact with one another as they were joking around. 

I think my assumptions would have been correct if I was watching a show that I knew well and normally watched.

An insight that I have learned from this experience is that nonverbal communication could be misunderstand. Just because a person is rolling their neck at someone doesn’t mean that they are upset with them. We should not just pay attention to one form of communication; we need to pay attention to both.

Competent Communication

The person who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context to me is the center manager at the Head Start I’m employed at. No matter what environment she is in, hostile or ruffled, she is always able to communicate and calm everyone down. She is a very caring and understanding person who has the ability to listen attentively to any and everyone. When you talk to her, she will sit quietly and listen until you have stopped talking. What I love about her is she never interrupts when you are talking to her. I do not like it when someone interrupts me when I am talking. 

I would love to model some of my communication behaviors after my center manager because sometime, without thinking, when my coworkers, friends, husband or other family members are talking to me, I often check text messages or make a phone call when they are talking to me. When this happens, I often ask them to repeat themselves which causes them to walk away or inform me that I am not being respectful or being a good listener. 

I really need to work on being an effective listener and communicator. I have a hard time communicating with some parents, especially if I have to be the deliverer of bad news. I’m always trying to be the good guy and don’t want to cause a problem or conflict with parents. I really need to work on this.

Professional Hopes and Dreams

One hope that I have when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to always be culturally aware, competent, and sensitive. I hope to become more prepared to teach children from different backgrounds. 

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to help families teach children about prejudice and discrimination. Also, create opportunities for our children to interact and make friends with people who are different from them. 

I would like to thank each of my colleagues for contributing to my learning throughout this course. Thank you all for sharing your insights and knowledge on the blogs and in discussions. It has been a pleasure working with everyone. I would like to wish you all the best in this course and in future courses as well. Wishing you continued success!!! 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

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.

The name of my family’s country of origin is Asia. 

The five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family is by (1) learning familiar words in my family’s language (2) becoming familiar with and including the cultural traditions of my family in the classroom (3) adding classroom visuals reflecting my family’s culture (4) incorporating books that reflect their culture and (5) integrating their art, games, and music into the classroom activities. 

These preparations will benefit me and the family in many ways. There will be an ongoing process of learning for me and the family. Becoming familiar with and including the cultural traditions of the family will help me learn about my Asian family and their history. The family will have opportunities to participate in their child’s education and also have opportunities to share ideas and stories. These preparations will help me meet the needs of and be culturally responsive to my families and their children.