(EDUC-6164 Diversity) Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, my hope is that ALL children feel confident about who they are and what makes them so special and unique. I hope that they don’t have to experience the resistance that diversity can bring, so that every child and family can experience the same privileges and never have to experience or witness discrimination or prejudice. My hope is for all children to be able to embrace their diversity and cherish you they are!

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is for educators to continue on the path towards being better prepared to work with diversity. I want educators to feel comfortable working in diverse programs so ALL children feel included and where each child’s individual needs are being met. My goal is for educators to think about how they would answer this question from Louise Derman-Sparks,

“Do I recognize, understand, acknowledge, and respect each child’s individual cultural and learning styles?”

My goal is to get educators to think about this question and think about how they will then turn it into an action statement!!

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for sharing your thoughts, knowledge, and experiences with diversity and culture. The discussion boards and Blogs gave me the opportunity to learn through the experiences you shared each week. It is wonderful to know that there are amazing people like all of you who share this passion for equity and social justice for children and families. The children and families that you work with are very lucky that you care the way you do! J   Dr. Parrish, thank you once again for your constant support, encouragement, and feedback. The questions you pose and the "food for thought" comments that you posed challenged me to think deeper and reflect even more! When I first began my journey, my specialization courses were going to be “teaching adults” but for some reason I changed my mind. After taking this course, I am so happy that I chose diversity instead. As I head towards my specialized courses in January, I know I made the right decision! I wish all of you continued success with your studies!!

Take care,
Stephanie

(EDUC 6165 Communication) THANK YOU!!!!

The last couple of weeks we have been discussing team building and the collaboration process and that is exactly what we have been doing for the past eight weeks!! We came together voluntarily as a group with a shared goal and vision which is to complete another course towards our Master’s degree. Our professor Dr. Darragh who took the leadership role not only supported but valued our ideas, thoughts, and questions. As the leader in our group, Dr. Darragh not only kept us focused but also kept us on track towards our learning. She used her knowledge to not only support and guide us, but to pose questions so we could expand our thinking.  I thank her for that!! Everyone involved in this class became a valued member of the group where we shared our thoughts in the discussion boards and our Blogs. Everyone’s encouragement and positive feedback each week made me feel like a valued member of this team and I thank you for your support! 

As we move off into our specialization courses, I look forward to when we can enter the adjourning stage where we might meet at our graduation so we can take the opportunity to congratulate everyone on their successes. Until then, I wish all of you continued success with your courses to come. My specialization courses are taking me down the path to diversity, so I hope that many of you are on the same path!!

I wish you ALL the best and what it is to come!!

Take care,

Stephanie J

(EDUC 6164 - Diversity) Welcoming Families Around the World

This week we were told that a new child will be joining or group in a few weeks and that this family is from Botswana. As soon as our team received word that this child and family will be a new member of our early learning program, we began to discuss how we could prepare ourselves so we could be truly culturally responsive towards this family. We realized that this meant going above and beyond just having the surface facts about their country of origin, so we knew that we would have to think deeper about how we could really be culturally responsive so they would feel welcome.  We wondered about the language they spoke so we found out that although the national language of Botswana is Setswana, English is the second most language used and this family did in fact speak some English. We were also informed that this would be their first time leaving their country, so we wanted to try our best to make them feel that this was a safe place to be when they arrived. The mother sent us this picture, so this gave us an idea......................

.................We still had lots of time to prepare ourselves and lucky enough we had their contact information and e-mail, so we began our process by taking pictures of the educators, children, and the environment and sent them to the family so they could get a feel for our early learning program. The children really got involved and began writing this child letters of how they are awaiting her arrival. Now that we began the process, we thought that we better come up with some concrete ways that we could prepare ourselves to be culturally responsive towards this family.

My colleague and I talked about how lucky we are that I am enrolled in a diversity course and that we can apply what I have learned to our situation. We realized that we will need to learn about the country of Botswana and some of the culture, customs, and traditions that you would find there. Although it is important to learn about their country, we knew that we could not rely solely  on that information as this family will have their own distinct family customs and traditions; however, we knew that we would only be able to learn this when we actually get to meet the family and have time to connect with them. Their arrival will enable us to get to them know them on a more personal level.

Once we knew that the family spoke a little English, we thought that it would be nice for us to learn some common words in their native language such as; hello, good-bye, eat, bathroom, etc. We also wanted to ensure that we were familiar with how to communicate with this family with regards to greetings so we are being respectful. We don’t want to assume that we can shake hands, so this was something that we thought was important to find out. We also thought it would be important to look for images and materials that we could include in our program that would represent their culture as this would make the environment more inclusive for this child and her family. We thought that it might be helpful to find out what types of food is most common in Botswana and see if we could incorporate some of the food into our program that would be familiar to her and this would give the rest of the children an opportunity to be exposed to food from a different country. We also thought that in order to be culturally responsive, we would need to think about our curriculum. We will need to be prepared and ready to implement a diverse curriculum which will encourage her to become an active learner in the environment that that she will be part of. This will also help to make her feel included and respected for who she is and what she brings to our program.

Our goal as a team is to hope that the preparations we made together will create an environment where this family feels that they belong. I know that it will take some time as this will be a new experience and environment for this family. Being respectful, greeting them with a “hello” spoken in Setswana, providing materials in the environment that represent their culture, I hope it will make them feel welcome. These preparations will let us know that we did our best to make an environment where everyone feels included and that we tried to make a peaceful transition from their country to a new one. Once the family has time to settle in, we will continue to get to know this family so they remain on the path towards a sense of belonging.

(6164-Diversity) The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have many different memories of when I have personally experienced incidents of prejudice as well as witnessing incidents of prejudice.  One memory in particular which made an impact on me was when I witnessed an incident of prejudice that was based on cultural and family practices. I was at the park with my children and a group of school aged children began playing tag. As I was watching my children play in the sand, I heard the group of boys say that they were all going to chase and tag the girls and the boys agreed on the plan and laughed. They began running around chasing the girls, then one of boys started to chase one of boys who was wearing a topknot. The boy wearing the topknot yelled, “Why are you chasing me? We said that we were going to tag the girls!” The other child replied, “You are a girl. Look you are wearing a pretty scarf on your head like a girl!” The boy replied, “It is not a scarf. It is called a topknot and that is what boys in my family wear.” The two boys began yelling at one another. It got quite intense and the boy with the topknot left the park crying. The group of children looked at each other after the child left the park. One child said, “That wasn’t nice. He is crying.” The boy replied, “I don’t care. He still looked like a girl!"

This incident of prejudice diminished equity as this child was discriminated against due to the difference in the way he dressed. This child was teased and excluded for having a different appearance. My belief is that this incident stemmed from the fact that the other child lacked the awareness and knowledge of the cultural differences between himself and the other boy. I couldn’t imagine the emotions that this boy was feeling. For me, this incident brought on feelings of anger and frustration as I witnessed this incident. I was angered at the fact that a child was teased and discriminated against due to the fact that he was different than the societal norm and at the same time I felt frustrated that this act of prejudice was coming from a child. I kept thinking where did this child learn this? Did he learn these biases and values from his family? Did his parents instill within him that it is fine to discriminate against another human being? My feelings then quickly shifted to the child who was the target of this act of prejudice. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. He was so strong and tried to stand up for himself, but he could not.

When I think about this incident, I think that education and knowledge would be needed to help turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity. We have to educate children that just because someone looks, acts, dresses, or speaks differently doesn’t mean that we should make assumptions about them. Explaining diversity will hopefully help children to understand each other better. I did not know the parents of the child who was discriminating against the other child, but I did know a few of the parents of the other children. I did open up a dialogue about this incident with them when I saw them at the park. They actually spoke to their children about what happened. It needs to start somewhere, even if it is baby steps like talking to our children and giving them the strategies with what they can do if they witness another incident of discrimination or prejudice. My children were younger at that time, but it brought forth a great discussion about what happened and how the boy was mistreated. I think the key is to keep the dialogue going about discrimination and prejudice rather than ignoring it and sweeping it under the rug.

(EDUC 6165-Communication) Team Building

Each time I have experienced working in a group we shared a goal and vision that we were trying to achieve. We would come together so we could share ideas and connect with one another on a regular basis. The article, “The Five Stages of Team Development: A Case Study” explained that every group who works together must go through five stages of team development in order for the team to develop to the point where they are working effectively together in order to produce high quality results (Abudi, 2010).  The five stages are; forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Abudi, 2010).  There have been times when I have worked with a team towards a shared goal where we worked long hours and months to accomplish our vision. What happens when all that hard work and team effort has come to an end? This is what Abudi referred to as the “adjourning” stage. How do you say good-bye to the people who you worked so closely and passionately with?

When I reflect on the times when I was working with a group and the project was wrapping up, it was hard knowing that this group who I had connected with on so many different levels would not be meeting in the same manner any longer. This is known as the “adjourning” stage where the project is coming to an end and the members of that team will be moving off into different directions (Abudi, 2010).  My experiences with this “adjourning” stage has been hard, as it has been difficult to say good-bye to a team who shared a common passion where ideas were communicated, discussions were held, and connections were made. Working in these groups created bonds and it was always difficult to say good-bye to a group who worked so closely together. My experience with closing rituals when a project came to an end would be going out together as a group to celebrate with a nice dinner and drinks. This was our reward for working together as a team and a way to give one another a “toast” for working so hard and achieving what we worked hard to accomplish.

When I think about my journey at Walden and the connections I have made with different people, I think that we go through the “adjourning” stage each time we complete a course. We thank one another for their support and we send one another off with hopes of continued success with the next course to come. Once we have completed all of our courses, I imagine that the way we will adjourn from the group will be at our graduation. This will enable us to formally say thank you to our colleagues and professors for all the support and wish one another continued success with whatever comes our way.

I look forward to reaching the “adjourning” stage at the end!!!! J  We can do it!!! 

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

(EDUC 6165 Communication) Nonviolent Communication

Conflict is a natural process that we go through whether it is in our personal or professional lives. Everyone reacts differently to it, as some people may display explosive reactions to conflict while others might avoid it. Conflict should be seen as a win-win situation in which everyone agrees to work it out with a willingness to listen, generate ideas, discuss solutions, and communicate. Having strategies and techniques put in place to help resolve conflict in a peaceful manner may help to think about conflict in a positive light.

With that said, I have been in conflicts where willingness to listen, generate ideas, and discuss solutions have been nonexistent…. here is one example. As I have shared before, my son has a learning disability and we have many IPRC meetings at his school where we discuss his strengths, challenges, successes, and goals. At the end of the school year I was at the school in a meeting with my son’s teachers, therapists, and school psychologist. We were discussing my son and the topic came up about how anxious he has been feeling amongst many other things on the agenda. I am usually very professional in these meetings and I keep quite a calm and try to keep my emotions in tact…although I do tend to need a Kleenex or two at these meetings as it is hard to discuss my son’s challenges. On this particular day I must have been feeling extra emotional and I couldn’t keep my emotions undercover and I began to cry a little more than I normally do. This psychologist who I had never met before said something very condescending to me about me being teary which resulted in me reacting in a way that I should not have. My emotions got the best of me and I became very reactive. Everyone else at the table who knows me quite well just sat there in silence as I said the, “How dare you” to this psychologist. It got quite uncomfortable, but I felt judged and I couldn’t control my emotions. When the meeting was over and after the psychologist left, the teachers came up to me and said that they couldn’t believe what she had said to me. I expressed that I was upset at how I handled the situation and that I should have remained professional, but my emotions got the best of me

This week we had the opportunity to learn about nonviolent communication from The Center for Nonviolent Communicationas well as the 3 R’s; respectful, reciprocal, and responsive from Magda Gerber. Strategies that I could have used based on the NVC and the 3R’s that would have made this conflict between myself and the psychologist more productive would be;

1. Differentiating feeling from thinking, being able to identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame/punishment (NVC, n.d.).

2. Requesting what I would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what I do want rather than what I don’t want (NVC, n.d.). 

3. Keep calm when we respond to conflict, so we do not let our emotions take over. 

Even though what this person said made me feel upset, I should have remained calm. She was not respecting my feelings, but staying calm would have been more effective so I could have communicated my feelings more effectively.

Conflict is part of life and it can occur at any time of the day, but it is how we think of conflict that can cause it to be negative or positive. We need to learn how to communicate effectively, so having strategies that will give us the skills to have nonviolent communication is the step towards being able to solve conflict in a calm and passive manner.

Reference

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org./

(EDUC-6165 Communication) Evaluation of Our Communication Skills

We all want to think that we are effective communicators, but I don’t think we can really tell if we communicate effectively until we have the opportunity to test our skills as well as having others evaluate our skills. Well, this week I got this opportunity! It was very interesting to see the differences and similarities between how I evaluated myself and the way by husband and colleague/friend evaluated me. I participated in three different tests; Communication Anxiety Inventory, Verbal Aggressiveness Scale, and Listening Styles Profile. And the results.......

When I compared our results of the Communication Anxiety Inventory it was very interesting to see that we all scored within one to two marks of one another. My score was a 31, my husband gave me a 33 and my colleague/friend gave me a 30. I am extremely comfortable public speaking and the two people who evaluated me know this. I teach with one person who sees my comfort in the classroom and my husband knows my passion for teaching. I have been teaching in a college setting for almost 10 years now and I love getting in front of the classroom. It is where I am very comfortable. Now if I would have rated myself 15 years ago, my results would not have been so high. I have had to work hard to get where I am, where I can say that I truly enjoy public speaking. I have a son with a learning disability and I attend many meetings where I have to speak up and advocate for son and not let myself get intimidated by the people in the meeting.

The Verbal Aggressiveness Scale test was a different story. There were strong similarities between how I rated myself and my colleague/friend. We both had a rating of 62 which was moderate. As a teacher of adults I have to very respectful of the viewpoints of others and make everyone feel that what they have contributed in class is valid and important. My husband rated me a little higher at 68.....I am not being defensive, but we have been together for 22 years and married 14 years out of those 22 years….so that is probably why he scored me a bit higher!

The Listening Styles Profile test brought forth similar results once again. Based on the test all three us of had the same results which put me in level 1. Both of these individuals who evaluated me know that I am extremely empathetic and very concerned with the emotions of others.

What I found interesting about this process was the length of time it took us to complete the questions. It took me a lot longer as I was very reflective and I wanted to answer the questions honestly and not what I thought was the “best” answer. It did not take my husband or colleague/friend long to complete as they answered the questions with how they saw me. Having a better understanding of how I evaluated myself as well as two other people, gave me an idea of how I could communicate more effectively as well as how I show effective communication. I guess I need to be nicer to my husband!!!! J

References

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Copyright 2009 Taylor & Francis Group LLC Books. Used with permission from Routledge via the Copyright Clearance Center.

 Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

(EDUC-6164 Diversity) Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions, what are they? Many people like me may not have heard of the term microaggressions, but may be more familiar with what lurks behind the word. Microaggressions refers to, “The times when verbal behaviors create feelings of uncertainty, inferiority or marginalization even though no offense was consciously intended” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Now that you have a meaning behind the word, you might remember a time where you might have observed a microaggression or realized that you have been impacted by one. My growing knowledge of microaggressions made me realize, that I too have been directly impacted by these verbal behaviors. My understanding of what microaggressions are enabled me to remember a time just recently when I witnessed one occurring.

The college that I teach at is very diverse. We have many International students who come to our program to study early childhood education. A big population of our International students come from different countries in Asia such as; China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. During the first few weeks of classes, many of our International students sit together as they share the commonality of coming from another country to study. A few weeks ago just before class was about to begin, a student was talking to this group of students and said, “How are you liking being in Canada? Are you missing your family?” The student responded, “Yes.” Then she said, “Well at least you all speak Chinese, so you can communicate with each other. That must make you feel better.” The student responded, “We all don’t speak Chinese. I am the only one from China, so I am the only one who speaks Chinese.” She then explained that the other students were from other parts of Asia. The student said, “I just thought that you all spoke the same language.” This incident shows how that even though no malice or insult was intended, you could see by the other students’ nonverbal communication that they felt uncomfortable by the hidden message that was, “Every Asian student must be from China and speak Chinese.” From what I know about this student, I know that she would never intentionally or deliberately harm the other students, but the hidden message made these students feel uncomfortable. Listening to this also made me feel uncomfortable as I could sense how this hidden message made these students feel. You could sense their frustration as maybe this was not their first time being impacted by this type of microaggression.

This experience that I shared goes to show that even though people are well intended that stereotypes still do exist. This student may not have even realized that she was basing her information on a stereotype, but reality it was. This student could have also been clouded by her lack of knowledge about Asia and the stereotypes she has learned. She made an assumption about a group of people that could have been based on a generalization based on an assumption regarding a race. We have to be so cognizant of the assumptions that we make that may stem from stereotypes….what we come to realize is that these generalizations are usually incorrect.

Reference

Laureate Education, In., 2011. Microaggressons in everyday life. Retrieved from https://class.walden edu

(EDUC-6165 Communication) Communication in a Diverse Environment

When I reflect about the cultural diversity that I am surrounded with on a daily basis whether with individual people or groups of people, I must say that I am aware of the ways that I modify the way I communicate. The college that I teach at is quite diverse. This diversity that I see in my classrooms range from gender, culture, ethnicity, language, abilities, personalities, interests, as well as many other components of diversity. I need to be aware of how I communicate with each student so I can meet their individual needs so they can be successful in learning. If I am in a meeting with colleagues I ensure that I am using respectful and professional language. The way I communicate with my two children is quite different at times as well. My son has a learning disability and at times I need to make modifications and accommodations to the way I communicate with him compared to his sister.

Based on what I learned this week regarding communicating with diverse groups, three strategies that I could put into practice that would help me to communicate more effectively with my students, colleagues, and my children would be;

1.   When explaining a concept or idea it is important to provide additional information so you are not leaving any gaps in anyone’s learning (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011).  If you are using examples to help explain a topic, idea, or concept it is important to adapt your examples so they are relevant to all (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011).  We can’t make assumptions that the way we explain a concept, idea, or topic will be relevant to everyone. Being aware of cultural myopia will help to ensure that you are NOT making an assumption that because you think a concept is easy doesn’t mean that it is easy to everyone else. It is important to understand that all individual come with an array skills and abilities and knowing that you may have to explain the material or concept over again or explain it in a different manner is crucial for everyone’s success (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012).

2.   When communicating with any individual whether English is not their first language or not, you need to be aware of the use of slang or idioms as they may not understand the meaning behind the slang or idioms used.

3.    When communicating it is crucial to demonstrate excellent listening skills which ensures that we are interested and being respectful of everyone’s ideas and thoughts.

Each of the strategies that I identified can be used with the individuals and groups that I identified. They are not limited to one singular group or person as each strategy could be implemented with my son, students, and my colleagues. Having strategies help to ensure that we are communicating effectively with different groups of people. Not one person is the same, so adapting the way we communicate will ensure that everyone understands what is being communicated as well as allowing them to feel valued, respected, and empowered.

References 

Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M.V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon pp. 85-114    

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin;s

(EDUC-6164 Diversity) Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

                                                                                                          

                                       

What I having been learning about diversity and culture is that we all define what culture and diversity is differently. How I define culture may be different from another individual and that individual may define it differently from the next. I think it is due to our own experiences, knowledge, and understanding of what diversity and culture is. Even the way that I define or have defined culture has evolved and changed since I began this course, especially since I have had the opportunity over the past few weeks to take a deeper look at my own culture.

It was very interesting to have the opportunity to ask different people about how they define culture and diversity.

The first person I asked was my daughter’s physiotherapist. You might think that is strange, but my daughter is a competitive gymnast and we spend time making friends with physiotherapists. Two weeks ago she hurt her foot and we have spent the last two weeks in physio with Arthur. Yesterday at our appointment I asked if I could ask him a few questions about culture and diversity and he was all fired up to answer! Arthur is a 39 year male who is a first generation Canadian. Both his parents are from the Philippines. Here is Arthur’s definition of culture and diversity;

“Culture is the identity of oneself such as; religion, faith, and language. It can also be your visual appearance, food, customs, and the all different parts of a person. A person is born with culture and you get to grow into your culture. Diversity is what makes us different such as our gender, age, orientation. We might see different sets of people. Within culture there is diversity.” Arthur told my daughter and me that when he was in grade six he won the national writing contest and his name is on a big huge trophy that travels from school to school each year. He told us that his story was actually on diversity and that he ended his story with a poem that he still remembered and it goes like this…..”Is there really a difference, black, white, or brown when your feelings are hurt there is not a smile, but a frown. For you are you and I am I. You are prejudice please tell me why?”  Arthur was so interesting to talk to and we ended up talking about this for my daughter’s entire appointment….the stories he continued to share about growing up in a culture that was different form his friends was fascinating!!

The second person I asked is my neighbor/friend who is a 45 year female who is a first generation Canadian. Both her parents are from Italy who immigrated to Canada in the early 1960’s. Here is Sonia’s definition of culture and diversity;

“Culture and diversity is not so straightforward and there are many interpretations. Diversity and culture go hand in hand in with how people represent themselves in their practice and beliefs. If I define them separately, diversity is what makes people different and unique, things specific for the individual and their specific characteristics. We are all diverse, but we come together with our likeness. Diversity can be our race, ethnicity, religion. We can’t make assumptions about diversity. Diversity is not homogenous. A woman can be diverse from other women. One woman might be lesbian, have a physical disability, speak different languages, and be Jewish. Just because individuals are women doesn’t mean they are the same because of gender. Culture can be seen as the tangible things that represent part of a group and the symbols around a group such as their belief systems, customs, and rituals. I see how diversity and culture can be combined.”

The third person I asked is my colleague/friend who I teach with. Chris is a 60 year old Canadian woman who is a teacher. Here is Chris’ definition of culture and diversity;

“My definition of diversity and culture has changed over the years with my maturity and knowledge. I grew up in a small, working class, all white city. From what I remember there was no diversity and if there was, no one acknowledge it or talked about it. It wasn’t until I moved to Ottawa, Canada that I was first exposed to diversity and then I became aware of diverse people and diverse practices. With more knowledge, I began to understand and see different races, religion, life styles, and I began to understand that there was more to diversity than just gender. Culture is the family where you grow up in and the expectations and traditions of your family make culture. In my family, we had to be in for dinner and couldn’t leave the table until everyone finished dinner, we could never talk back to our parents, we had to go to church and say our prayers every night.”

When I reflect on how each one of these individuals defined diversity and culture, their perspectives have helped to add to the way I think about diversity and culture. Anytime we gain more information, it enables me to widen my lens and to understand how important it is to value everyone’s understanding and perspectives. We can’t make assumptions that we should all define things in the same manner. Just because I may view culture or diversity in one way does not mean that I think that we should all define it the same.  Even though their experiences with diversity and culture may have been different, there were similarities in their responses. When I think about how Janet Gonzalez-Mena talked about culture being like an iceberg, I think they all touch on what she referred to as the “tip” of the iceberg as well as the part that is immersed that we can’t see. The conversations that I had with each of these individuals were eye opening and so meaningful. I really enjoyed this assignment!!

(6165-Communication) Nonverbal Communication

For this assignment I chose to watch, “The Millers” as this is a television show that I am not familiar with. It was quite challenging to get a grasp of the characters and their relationships not having any previous background knowledge as well as not having the ability to hear what they were talking about and only relying on what I could see. The show began with two people entering what I assumed to be an open house. I was not sure of the relationship of the two people, but based on the picture, I assumed it was a mother and son. The agent walked over to them and said something that made them both laugh. This gave me the information that something was funny, but I did not know the context of what she said that made it funny. After the mother and son left the open house, they went to a different house with other characters who I assumed were other family members. I assumed they were family as there was what looked like a mother, father, son, daughter, and granddaughter. There were a lot of things that were going on that I could not keep up with, but I knew from their body language and facial expressions that they were happy, at times confused as eye brows were raised, and something bad must have happened as arms were crossed. In the next scene, the mother and son were sitting in someone’s office. I could not tell you who the character was, but it must have been someone of authority as he was sitting at a desk. During this time there was laughter and the son seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable as his body language was indicating this. The next day, the son went back to office, but this time he was acting flirtatious and the man at the desk seemed surprised and awkward with how this person was acting. The man at the desk walked over to him and they began to talk and they looked at each other with mischievous eyes making it seem like they were scheming something.  The next day, you could tell that they were getting ready to play out their scheme and you could tell by their nonverbal communication that it was not going well.

After watching this episode again, but this time with the volume on, I was able to get a better understanding of the different relationships between the different characters as you could hear the words such as; mother, father, sister, friend, director of senior's living, and boyfriend. The volume enabled me to get the context of why there was laughter, awkwardness, embarrassment, anger, and frustration between the characters. Having the ability to hear them talk let me know that the son and the man at desk did in fact have a plan, but now I knew what the plan was about and how it was going to play out. There were times when I was watching without the volume that it looked like two of the characters where yelling at each other, but once I was able to hear what transpired, they were actually excited about something. The show is a lot funnier with the volume on!!! J

If I was watching a show that I was very familiar with such as Modern Family it would have been much easier to make better assumptions as I would have background information on all the characters and their relationships. I don’t think that it would still be easy to know exactly the context of their conversations if I could not hear the dialogue between the characters, but I would have a better understanding as I am more familiar with the characters and their personalities.

This assignment reinforced within me how important our listening skills are so we can ensure that we are getting the correct information and messages. Although some of the assumptions that I made were correct, it is probably not best practice to only rely on nonverbal communication. We need to use all other forms of communication to help us decipher what is being communicated more effectively. Nonverbal communication such as body language may give me some information, but we should not rely solely on it as it does not give the whole picture of what someone may be communicating. If we only rely on nonverbal communication then miscommunication could arise which could then result in mixed messages or conflict. 

(EDUC 6164 - Diversity & Equity) My Family Culture

If I lived through an experience such as a major catastrophe that has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of my country it would be shattering. Knowing that me and my immediate family were among the survivors and that we would be evacuating our country knowing that we would be transported to another country where their culture is completely different from our own would be something that words could not express. Being told that we could only take three small items that we hold dear to us that best represents our family culture would be a challenging and daunting task. My immediate family includes my husband, son, and daughter and I think that I would include them with choosing an item that is meaningful and that best represents our family culture. Together, my husband and I would choose a small photo album, my daughter said she would bring her stuffy, and my son would bring a small container of Lego.

My husband and I together would choose a small photo album that would include pictures that captured special moments that best portrayed our life together. It would include a photo from our childhood, a wedding photo and pictures of our children and other family members and the things we have done together throughout the years. The pictures in this small photo album would not let us forget who we are, where we came, and what best represents our family culture. My son is extremely creative and we have always supported his creativity especially when it comes to building Lego. He just turned 13 and he wants to be a Lego designer when he grows up, so he said he would bring Lego so he would not forget how about much he loves to build things. My daughter had a harder time as she has so many skills and talents ranging from gymnastics, knitting, sculpting, but looking beyond that,  she said that she would bring her stuffy named, “Buddy” who she got when she was a baby. This stuffy is her “go to” when she is happy or sad.

Once we arrived at our host country we were told that we could only keep one item and that we had to give up the other two items that we brought with us. I know this would be challenging, but I think as a family we would have to think objectively about what we should keep. As much as we would love to keep the Lego and “Buddy” these would be the two items that we would choose to leave behind. The photo album has memories about our family culture that will ensure that we won’t forget our family culture. As my children get older I would be afraid that they may forget their culture and not remember what made our family culture so special. The photos would help to keep the memories alive. I know my children would be saddened that they would have to leave what they brought behind, but they would understand the importance remembering who we are.

This exercise made me realize how important my family culture is and how crucial it is to have something that I hold close to my heart that best represents my family that no one could take away from me. I think I will now take more time to look at the little things that surround me and have a better understanding how they help to foster my family diversity.