Gender, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

In responding to a parent that was opposed or concerned about books depicting gays/lesbians I would first start with acknowledging their concerns.  I would then continue to discuss with them that as educators we teach about diversified cultures and that it is important for children to understand not all families are the same.  By teaching at a young age, we are hopefully minimizing stereotyping later in life.  I would assure the parents that these books are to introduce the concept of different family structures.  The parents would need to understand that the books are age appropriate and that we are not preferring one style over the other.   I think if parents had the opportunity to look at, read and ask questions about the books that we would be able to soothe their concerns.

I have worked in daycares and schools that have had caregivers/teachers that are homosexuals.  Some parents have had concerns over this.  In response to their concerns, I would assure them that their child is in safe hands.  In any type of childcare facility, individuals must have thorough background checks.  This would eliminate any fear of these individuals having any type of felons or misdemeanors against them.  I would also stress that even though a person may be a homosexual, their main priority is for the education, safety and well- being of the children. 

Note of Thanks

This semester has been very challenging for me due to personal battles I am undergoing.  It has been wonderful having classmates and an instructor who have strenghtened me through conversations and postings.  I feel that even though I have had issues, I have learned so much in this course.  Thanks to all for wonderful discussions.  I hope to have you all in the next course.  Good luck and God Bless!

Week 6: Team Building and Collaboration

The hardest group I ever had to leave was one of my previous jobs.  When I started my student teaching experience I had to give up my position as a Daycare Director.  I worked with a group of 8 women and we all had become great friends - it was a family.  The respect that we had for each other is one that I have yet to find again.

On my last day, we made it a point to all go out for dinner after work.  Little did I know that they had gifts for me also for teaching.  This was an opportunity for us to talk about the funny things that happened during my time there and and to talk about the tryng times also. 

I think the adjourning process is necessary for a sense of closure.  I still keep in touch with most of these women.  We get together and talk about what has happened in our lives and things that we are looking forward to.  Even the people that made my job difficult I still have contact with, and the adjourning just reminds us that rude remarks and harsh words are just part of the job and that we need to carry on.

Week 5: Conflict Resolution

Recently I had a  conflict with a colleague...actually it was the principal.  Her and I did not see eye to eye on the issue at hand.  When we met one on one, we were very respectful to each other and things were going good.  When the assistant principal joined in, then it was a different story.  She was quick to lay blame and was not open to my side of the problem.

I think the best coommunciation technique that would have worked hear was the 3 R's.  The principal and I was doing a great job with this; however, the assistant was not willing to be respectful or reciprocal.  I therefore, listened to what she had to say but turned my responses to the principal.  This allowed me to address questions and concerns of one person.  Since the principal was willing to listen to my points, we were able to respond to each other's requests and to solve the problem calmly and rationally.
For this conflict we were able to communicate verbally to each other and also our nonverbal skills played a role.  The principal and I were both sitting next to each with our hands in our laps, making eye contact with each other.  We listened to each other until that person was finished before we spoke (no interrupting each other).  The assistant principal had different nonverbal skills that made it more tense.  As I talked she recorded everything onto her IPOD.  When she spoke she would point her finger and shake her head.  This just made me want to go on the defensive with her. 
Since I had to deal with two completely different types of communicators, this was an interesting learning experience for me.  I was able to evaluate both pros and cons of effective communication.  It also helped me to become more aware of how my body language makes others feel.

Communicating Week 4

This week I evaluated myself as a communicator and also had my mom and friend evaluate me.  My mom scored me almost exactly as I scored myself in the anxiety section.  I hate public speaking and speaking in small groups.  I feel that I do a terrible job at it and leave an awful impression.  It surprised me to see my mom thinking I leave a positive impression.  Our biggest discrepancy was in the aggressive session.  I have a temper and my mom knows it, but she has not seen it in full swing!  I tend to be more aggressive with people I have known for a long time and not newly met people.

My friend was very much on target with me.  She has been my best friend for about 30 years!  She knows me better than I know myself.  Like my mom she thinks I do well with public speaking, even though my voice is cracking and my body is shaking!

This assignment was very  insightful.  Where I think I lack confidence others see as positive outcomes.  I'm hoping knowing this will help me become more comfortable when I need to speak in public, but this is still something I will never volunteer to do!

Communicating with different groups

I find that I do communicate differently with people of other groups or cultures.  I notice that I tend to be different towards people with a higher status than I.  This is evident in my workplace.  I can have a normal, talk about anything conversation with my colleagues.  When I have to discuss things with the principals, or have meetings with them,I am very uncomfortable and I tend to pay more attention to my body language and grammar.  Sometimes I feel that this hinders me in that I am not showing them my knowledge and confidence because I feel intimidated.

Three strategies that I try to use when communicating with higher status individuals are:
1)  To overlook who they are and talk to them as normal people. 
2)  I need to respect their position but also be open and honest about my views and to communicate that in a respectful manner.
3)  Be open to their ideas, suggestions and/or criticisms. 

Nonverbal Communication

For this assignment, I chose to view the show Hot in Cleveland.  I have never seen this show before but heard of it.  For the first part of the lesson, I watched it with no sound.  It started off with one of the characters on the phone and two other females sitting at the table.   The person on the phone was obviously very upset about something.  This was obvious to me because she had her free hand waving in the air and her facial expression was very apparent.  Betty White was then shown talking to another girl that had come down stairs dressed in a robe.  It appeared that Betty White, who plays Elka, made a sarcastic remark to Joy.  I noticed that Elka moved in closer to Joy when she spoke to her and did some pointing with her fingers.  The other characters faces showed a stunned look which led me to believe that a sarcastic or rude remark had been made.

When I watched the show again with the sound on, I found my assumptions to be correct.  Melanie was on the phone with the drycleaner.  She was upset because the drycleaner lost her favorite dress.  After Melanie hung up the phone, you could hear Joy upstairs getting ready to come down.  Melanie and Victoria said to be nice to Joy because it was the anniversary of Joy being left at the altar.  When Joy sat down next to Elka, she had a dried bouquet of flowers, and Elka made the comment “what are you doing with that old dried up thing?”  Joy said they were her flowers and Elka commented that she was talking to the flowers.   

Even though I am not familiar with this program, I found it easy to figure out what was happening with the body language.  I learned from this assignment that facial expressions really tell us what a person is thinking or feeling.