What I have learned…

         It is hard to believe that we have already come to an end for this class. I have learned a great deal on anti-bias education, and especially my personal biases and where they stem from. One hope I have when I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I will recognize that all the people are unique in their own way. Teachers should value diversity and they need to model this attitude to their students. When people value diversity, they recognize and respect the fact that people are different and that these differences are generally a good thing. Also, as our society becomes more diverse, it is important that students learn to value and use diversity for the greater good.

          One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that I will be able to implement and create a curriculum that promotes diversity so that all who enter feel welcome. This curriculum will see that all children and families, no matter their race, gender, religion, socio-economic status, etc. will be successful. Teachers must provide students with an environment that is conducive to learning. If a student feels uncomfortable, unsafe, or not respected, then their chances of success in that class dramatically decrease. I would like to give a special thanks to all of my classmates for their continued feedback on both the discussion boards as well as the blogs. There has been so much insight shared among all of us and has taught me so much on how to be a better anti-bias educator. I would also like to send a special thanks to Dr. Klein for all of her feedback and timely responses to any questions I have. It was truly a wonderful experience learning all that I have in this class and I wish you all the best of luck in all you do.

Shayla Mitchell

Creating Art

This is what came to mind when I thought back on all that I have learned throughout this course. As an anti-bias educator, I strive to promote peace, equality, and respect for all individuals. I found it most intriguing the final picture and quote by Doe Zantamata. It clearly represents all that I work hard for.

“We Don’t Say Those Words in Class!”

          There was a time when I reprimanded and silenced my own child for pointing out something she saw different. There was a “little person” in the grocery store and they were shopping as all people who go in the grocery store do. My child said as loud as she could while pointing “Why is that lady smaller than me?” I immediately shushed her and told her that it is unkind to point at others and to make comments about the way they look. I then followed up with God made all people in His own image and that he does not make any mistakes. She immediately weld up with tears and apologized for doing that. She said she never saw a person that small before, which is why she reacted that way. I told her that it was okay to ask questions about things that are different, but she should never point and talk loud about the person to make them feel uncomfortable in any way. She said “ok” and that was the end of that.

“Start Seeing Diversity Video” Blog

          After viewing the “Start Seeing Diversity” video, I have a better understanding of how to introduce discussions relating to gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation into the classroom. I believe it is very important to teach children at a young age what these concepts are so that they can identify and work through them should they encounter difficult situations as they get older. The two bullet points for this weeks assignment that stood out to me the most are; my response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families and how would I respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child.

          To respond to the first bullet, I am a firm believer that children should be exposed to and taught properly how to respect and interact with people who are different from they. The best way to teach young children are through the use of books, pictures, media, etc. I would ask the parents who are requesting there be no inclusion of gay or lesbian individuals in the classroom if they would want me to exclude heterosexual books, or books on same-sex marriages, or people with disabilities from the classroom. I would also make it a point to discuss the importance of a healthy development of each child when they are taught about the world around them. I would also highlight that children may one day come in contact with someone who is not like them and rather than treat them unfairly, they can learn how to be respectful even if they do not agree with their lifestyle. This really hits home with me because my best friend is gay and my daughter loves her “uncle” no matter what he chooses to do with his life. We have discussions with her to help her understand that not everyone is alike, but that we are all made by God.

          The second bullet listed above that I will respond to I would let the parent know that in my school and in my classroom, I have a diverse group of teachers who take pride in making sure the children are their first priority. I would make sure the parents know my teachers, no matter their sexual preference, are highly qualified to teach their children as well as any other child that comes into the school. It would be a priority to make sure I discussed that there will be “No Tolerance” for disrespect from the parent or child towards the teacher who may or may not be homosexual and that if they do not like it, they are free to take their child elsewhere. Like I said this is a very touchy subject for me because of my friend. I have no tolerance for ignorance or disrespect and it will be clearly communicated to all parents, children and staff.

Adjourning

          After thinking about the groups that I am currently involved with and groups I was previously involved with, I have come to the conclusion that my high-performing groups are indeed the hardest ones to adjourn. I worked as a Behavioral Specialist part-time last year for a client who was doing so well. It was indeed a team effort to get this child back on track and he was able to follow the treatment plan and could soon be mainstreamed into the regular classrooms. In this specific group, we developed goals with the child that could be changed at any time if they meet the goal within the time allotted. The goal could also be extended for however long to help the child. The parent was highly involved in every aspect of the treatment for the child and she also would keep notes on her child’s progress. I developed such a great bond with both the mother and the child, it was almost as if we were a non-traditional family. We adjourned because I didn’t have the necessary Certification to work with this child, and the agency I worked with did not allow me to obtain it before discontinuing my services with this child.

          As a Director for child care, I have experienced graduation ceremonies for the younger kids who would be entering kindergarten and no longer needing pre-school. I would love to experience the dinner celebration ritual, and possibly have the just the parents come out to celebrate them helping us get the kids to the next level. I should not have a hard time adjourning from the group of colleagues I have met throughout my time here at Walden. I have not personally established a relationship with classmates other than on the discussion board and on the blogs. I also have not sat face to face with any of the classmates to build a relationship with them. I believe that adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it allows for time to reflect on accomplishments as well as failures. This will also help the team decide if they will stick together to work on another project.

Conflict-Resolution

          At the start of the New Year, I was promoted to the Executive Director of my families child care business. Needless to say I oversee both the child care programs and the pre-k counts programs for both of our locations. My most recent conflict was with two staff members who made poor decisions regarding their work schedules. My one employee was observed 10 days straight arriving to work 10-15 minutes late. I sat down and had a discussion with her regarding her punctuality and offered a resolution to the conflict. After writing her up, I adjusted her schedule to arrive at 8am instead of 7:30am. She agreed and has been on time, of not early for the last 3 weeks. I was willing to compromise with her and bring someone else more dependable to be in at 7:30am with me to open. She knew that this schedule change was the best thing for her because if she arrived late one more time, she would be terminated.

          A second conflict I had with another staff member concerned her lack of concern for the good of the children we provide service to. She made a decision to leave the facility to go get something to eat and that left the center out of ratio. Luckily, we were all down at our office and could quickly come to the aid of the staff who were in the center. When we questioned why the staff member left, she apologized and stated she thought someone was coming in to cover her. We explained how serious this offense was and when considering her most recent offenses, we offered her a retirement package and felt it be best for her to no longer work in the facility. She agreed that it was time for her to retire and she accepted her retirement package with no questions asked. We are planning on throwing her a retirement party this spring and all the staff look forward to seeing her one last time.

          Two strategies I have learned that might have helped me manage or resolve the conflict more productively are the Platinum Rule and Non-Violent Communication. In the Platinum Rule, we learned to treated others as we would want them to treat us. I would always want someone to treat me with respect and to show empathy when necessary. The Non-Violent Communication (NVC) is a way of communicating respectfully to others in such a manner to increase effective communication and both parties are heard/understood. If I applied these two models in the conflicts I stated above, I believe the conflicts would have been settled in a similar manner. There were no harsh words exchanged in the communication with these two employees and the resolution was the best for all parts of the business. I explained to them that in any work field, accountability and responsibility are everything. They knew exactly what I meant and we have been progressing ever since.

Assessment Evaluation

After completing the assessment’s for this week’s application assignment and having a family member and co-worker complete an assessment too, I found the most surprising thing to be how close the scores were to mine. I hoped that I communicated effectively, but after seeing it from two other sources that I do, I am now more confident in the way I speak and in the settings that I am in. It is always better to see the acknowledgement from others that you are doing a good job to truly believe you are, at least for me it is. Some other insights I have gained about communication are areas in which I need to improve to become a more effective communicator both personally and professionally.

My one goal is to have good self-control of my emotional expressions. I used to be unaware that I would cringe or wrinkle my face when an individual would make a statement I didn’t agree with. I tried practicing in the mirror and even when talking with my husband or other family members, I try to be more mindful of what my face is doing. I will continue to work on my facial expressions when conversing with others about topics I have strong opinions on.  I believe that facial expressions and body language tell a person how interested you are in the conversation.

Another goal that I will work on is managing my identities and not letting them get in the way of my decision-making. In a previous class, I learned that I define myself by so many different identities. I will work on not allowing these definitions make decisions for me. According to the text, people make decisions about how to share internal views with others, which is then manifested in both verbal and non-verbal communication (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). I will continue to work on these goals as the week’s progress.

Communicating across cultures

          I do believe that I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. For those who do not speak English very well, I use simple vocabulary so that they can understand what I am saying. I also use hand gestures and point to written/printed words on paper so that they may read and understand what it is I am saying. When working with younger children, I also simplify my vocabulary so that they can understand what I am saying. I often find myself changing my pitch when communicating with babies. It seems to get their attention more, not saying that they understand what I am talking about. Based on what I have learned this week, three strategies I can use to help me communicate more effectively with people or groups I have identified would be to: be respectful of other cultures decisions even if I don’t agree, take myself out of the equation when communicating with others in order to become more sympathetic, and finally understanding and appreciating cultural differences.

Communication on Television

     For this assignment, I watched an episode of Breaking Bad. I heard about this show and read the bio before watching the show. It is about a Chemistry teacher who was diagnosed with a terminal illness, cancer. He decides to cook and sell crystal meth in order to provide money for his family when he dies. While watching this episode with no noise, it appeared that the relationships between the characters was very stressful, strained, and full of drama. The man appeared to be yelling at the woman about something and at that same time, he stormed out of the house and threw a pizza pie on the roof of his home in frustration. He got into his car and slammed the door then pounded his fists on the steering wheel. I would suspect that there was an argument that occurred between the two characters and the man expressed his anger in a different manner than did the female.

     After seeing this episode with the sound turned on, I was correct about them having a disagreement. The woman had come into the house after assuming her husband was having an affair because he was out all night cooking crystal meth. He would not tell her where he had been for all those hours and she told him that she wanted a divorce. At that point, he stormed out of the house and proceeded to throw pizza on the roof of the home and slamming his car door. I think my assumptions were on point with this show and it has a great plot and is filled with suspense. I think that watching a show I am familiar with would cause me to predict what the episode is about based on the previous episode. I like the idea of finding new shows to watch and viewing their communication styles.

Competent Communication

          When I first read the guidelines for this blog, I thought who is it that I know who is a competent communicator within a specific setting. The first person that comes to mind is President Barack Obama. I truly enjoy listening to President Obama speak. He is a very articulate and educated man who knows his stuff. He knows how to gauge his audience, use hand motions to get his point across, and he has a charm that makes me want to listen to what he has to say. I like how prepared he is when he comes into press conferences or anywhere he has to speak. He uses eye contact with his audience and always seems to have great body language. I would definitely model some of my own communication behaviors after President Obama. The way he speaks reminds me a lot of former Civil Rights activists and so if I could use some of his effective communication styles into my communication, I am certain I would have more individuals interested in what I have to say. I also feel like this would help me increase the rapports I develop with the parents in my childcare center.