My Communication Hero

The person that comes to my mind when I think of someone who shows great communication skills is my uncle and Pastor Buckner.  He speaks clearly so that you can understand what he is saying.  He is constantly reading so he uses words that you may not know or understand what it means but he will give you the spelling and define it for you.  I enjoy hearing him talk because he gives examples so that it becomes real to you.  He was not always a great communicator but after working on it for years he has grown a lot in communicating.  As a grown person I enjoy hearing him but when children enjoy him it is taken to another level. 

I would love to communicate like him because he shows confidence when he speaks.  He looks at you like you are the only person he is talking to.  He walks around and not just stands in one place.  His tone of voice is very appealing and it stands out.  He pronounces his words in a great manner.  I could listen to him communicate all day because his communication skills are just that great!

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have about working with children and their families is that I will make them feel loved and respected when they walk into my classroom. I want everyone who walks through my door to feel important and to know that I am there for them and their child. I want them to know that our differences is what makes us unique. We all have something that we can learn and appreciate about each other.

One goal that I have for the field of early childhood is that we treat children and their families the way we want to be treated. It is important to know that we all have our roles to play in society. When children see that we are treating people differently because of their culture they are going to start doing the same thing. This is a cycle that needs to be stopped for good. It is important as educators to display a positive behavior because children first learn from their parents and then we fall next in line.

I would like to say a special thanks to my professor and colleagues for all of posts and comments that assisted me in my learning in this course. With your help, I learned a lot of information that will help me with my future endeavors. May your futures be filled with much love and respect. Know that we are all unique and deserve our spotlight in this diverse world.

　
　

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I chose is Japan.

5 ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards the family.

• I would have my classroom set up with pictures, books, and different things from their country to make them feel welcome when they walk into the room.
• I would prepare my children for the new child by doing a presentation on the Smart board about Japan.
• I would do some research of things that are important to them so that I want offend them with my gestures or things I say.
• I would find someone that is Japanese that I could talk with to find out first hand about the Japanese culture.
• I would dress like a Japanese person and may have the children dress up also to make the child and his/her family feel at home.

I hope that my five ways to be culturally prepared for a family from another culture will make the child and the family feel welcome when they walk into the classroom. I want them to know that they are a part of our family and that they are special. The family will see that we do care and love them even though they are different but what makes us unique is that we are all different in some way or another. I will get the knowledge first hand of having a Japanese child in my class. I will learn a lot about their culture and things that are important to them.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

I can remember when my parents and I took my brother off to visit a college in the upper part of SC and we went to eat at this restaurant. They set all the white people before they set us. We had to eat because we were staying the night there and it was the only restaurant that was close. The other restaurants were about a hour away and we were to tired to drive. After they seated us, it took over 10 minutes for them to take our drink order. Then, when they brought us our food it was burnt. We were to afraid to send it back because we did not know what they might do to it. When we paid for our food they placed my dad’s change on the table instead of in his hand.

　

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Prejudice was present in this incident. The people in the restaurant need to see and understand that we are all human beings. We should treat people with respect regardless to how they look, smell, or act.

　

　

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

This incident made me feel like we where back in days when my parents were children. I felt like I was not important and that they did not value us as people because our skin color was different than theirs.

　

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

The mind set of the people in that town need to change. They need to stop looking at people for their skin color and start see them as human beings. Yes, our skin color maybe different but we are all God’s children.

Practicing an Awarness for Microaggressions+

This week I experience a sexual orientation micro aggression. I was in church an a homosexual guy was in service. The row that he was on nobody would sit on that row because in their eyes he is different and people do not want to deal with things that are different. I feel they did not want to sit by him because his hair was long, mascara on his eyelashes, nails was long and manicured, and pants rolled up at bottom to sit on top of his shoes. I could scene that he was feeling uncomfortable because nobody would sit on his row. I got my purse and I moved from the row I was on and sat next to him. I spoke to him and told him my name. He smiled and told me his name. I knew that I made he feel comfortable to be at church. After church, he thanked me for coming to sit by him and I gave him a hug. He said he will be back next Sunday. I am glad that I did what I did because now he will feel more comfortable coming to our church.

My experience taught me that we need to change our way of thinking. We should treat all people the same way. We need to think really hard before we do or say something to people. Just because someone is different we should

Perspectives of Culture and Diversity

The first person I talked with was a 20 year old Caucasian female. She defined culture as the way you do things, how you survive in this world including belief, morals, custom, and habits. She defined diversity has differences of culture, background, and experience among individuals and groups.

The second person I talked with was a 35 year old African American male. He defined culture as beliefs characteristics of an ethnic or age group. He defined diversity has the quality of its physical, social, cultural, and intellectual environment which embraces the rich difference within the human characteristics.

The last person I talked with a 54 year old mixed female. She was Caucasian and African American. She defined culture has shared patterns of behaviors and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization. She defined diversity has the welcome and support of individuals from all groups encompassing the various characteristics of people in our community.

　

The Caucasian female really thought about the words to give me a definition that went beyond the surface layers of the words. Some of the comments she made was in our first week of class. The African American guy definition of culture was similar to mind before I started this course. His definition of diversity covered the person as a whole the same way we are learning this term in class. The last lady defined culture and diversity deeply going pass the first layer.

　

From talking with 3 of my friends I found that we all have our own definitions of the words culture and diversity but to some point we are all on the same page. I have learned that we have to go pass the outer skin of the words and must look deep into the words so that we cover it all.

My Family Culture

The three items that I would take with me are my deceased mother’s ring, my bible, and my sd card. I would take my mother’s ring that her grandma gave her at the age of 16 because she means so much to me. I will take my bible because that is what I live by on a daily basis. My bible will help me keep my faith walk going strong. It will also keep me on right track on knowing how to survive with it seems like everything is falling apart around me. I will take my sd card because I have all my pictures and videos of my family on there. I have all of my children important events on their from the time they were born. Most importantly I have our family last vacation with my mom on there and I enjoy watching it. If I had to give up one item that would be hard to choose which one because they are all important to me. Each of my three items has its personal meaning to me.

I learned that if you take me from my physical home I still have my culture. You can take all of my tangible things and I still will have my culture.