Communication & Culture

Yes, I do find myself communicating on different levels with different groups of people.  For instance, when I am around my family and friends, I speak in what the text defines as low language.  In other words, I speak in slang and I speak from my point of view on almost every subject.  However, when I am around my colleagues and other professionals, I have to be “politically correct”.  Basically, I have to research and have documentation to back up my opinions and views.  In all groups, I try to practice the Platinum Rule.  I try hard to treat others the way I would want to be treated and I feel that it first starts by considering the other persons feelings over your own.

Three strategies I can use to help me communicate more effectively:

1.      I can practice the Platinum Rule, “Do to others as they themselves would like to be treated.”  This is a rule I try to practice at all times in order to understand the other persons point of view.

2.     Another strategy that can help me communicate more effectively is being aware of my assumptions.  “Another barrier to intercultural communication is to automatically assume that another person is different from you.  It can be just as detrimental to communication to assume someone is different from you as it is to assume that others are similar to you.”(Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011) I think that when I am amongst my family and friends, I assume that we all share the same feelings which we don’t.

3.     Lastly, I feel that I can improve my communication by becoming other-oriented.  This can help “enhance the quality and effectiveness of your interpersonal communication.” .”(Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011)

What is Communication?

For this assignment,  I feel that the President Barack Obama demonstrates competent communication skills.  I was watching the president speak on t.v. Thursday night during his congressional address and job proposal speech.  The president was very clear and precise about his plan and the reasoning behind it.  His behavior demonstrated that he understood what many Americans are facing now in this recession.  President Obama made me and the other people in my family who were watching him feel like this proposal would be the solution to all of the Americans economic problems.  He was effective at relaying this message because he spoke with authority and exhibited thorough knowledge about the issue.   Even if this is not the case, his communication skills demonstrated otherwise.

I would want to model my communication skills after him because he is a great communicator.  The president is able to win large crowds over by relating to their needs and demonstrating a sense of sincerity that is hard to imitate.  He is also able to communicate with a skill that unites diverse people.  Not many people can communicate one topic and make suggestions that opposing sides can agree on.

Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope that when I work with diverse backgrounds, I am able to use the material learned in this course to provide diverse family cultures with the support they might need.  I also hope that children from diverse backgrounds aren’t pressured to conform to societies views of whom they should be as they grow up to become adults.  In addition, I hope that all of the eight isms-racism, sexism, LGBT-ism, age-ism, religion-ism, classism, heterosexism, and ableism somehow come to an end so that diversity can be fully embraced in society.

One goal in relation to diversity, equity, and social justice for me is to consistently work on my knowledge and awareness of these topics.  I want to stay current on ways to promote diversity, equity, and social justice within my daycare so that children and families will feel that diversity is respected and appreciated in the early childhood setting.

I would also like to thank all of my colleagues and Dr. Ferrari for a great course!  I feel that I have learned a lot within these 8 weeks.  I also feel that this course has surpassed my expectations while being very rewarding.  Good luck to everyone in the future as we go on to our last class before everyone breaks off into their specific specialization.  I have met so many people who share a great deal of passion for the early childhood field which is awesome.  Again, thank you everyone for helping me on this journey and good luck on yours!

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 chose to discuss a memory when someone else was the target of bias and prejudice.  I was spending time with one of my family members who is a homosexual male.  I actually witnessed him in line at the store preparing to pay for his items.  When my cousin spoke to the sales lady and began to make small conversation, the sales lady frowned.  She then proceeded to treat him with disguise and was very snappy in her tone with him.  I observed how this made him feel and began to feel sympathetic towards his feelings.  Once he left the line, it was my turn to pay for my items.  The same sales lady greeted me and her attitude seemed lightened and friendlier.  She began to make small conversation with me and stated “no matter how much they want to be like us (women), they will never be.”  I was shocked and requested to speak to her manager.  The sales lady did not know we were together and couldn’t understand why I wanted to speak with her manager.  After all, she was very cordial with me.  Once the manager arrived, I informed her of the incident I witnessed and how I felt that this type of prejudice keeps our country in oppression.  I informed the manager that I was not trying to get her fired but I did suggest that the store give some type of formal training to make their employees aware of diversity, prejudice, bias, and isms.

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

It diminished equity because my cousin was not treated with courtesy and respect that was equal to the service I received.  This type of treatment and comments diminishes the fairness and equal rights of homosexuals everywhere.  I am aware that many religious groups and individual feelings keep people from giving homosexuals equality.  However, as a human being equity should not be diminished because of personal reasons.  I feel that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and not be the target of prejudice and bias forms of hatred that is verbal and nonverbal.

• What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

This incident made me feel inhumane.  I felt very emotional and saddened to witness that type of treatment.  I then started to think how the situation would have been heightened for my cousin if I shared the same feelings as the sales attendant.  This made me feel relieved to know I was with him.   After the incident was over, I asked my cousin how he felt about the comment and how she treated him.  My cousin appeared to be used to the treatment which made me feel even worst.  He stated that he is normally the target of rude comments and mockery when he goes about merging into society.  I did not know he had been the target of such comments all of the time.  He then stated to me that he appreciated me standing up for him because he became accustomed to the treatment and stopped fighting to be treated equally.

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

What would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity is that the company enforces an immediate training for all of their employees on equity, prejudice, isms and bias.  I hold the company responsible for not empowering their employees by making them aware of diversity.  I feel that if we begin to hold companies accountable for giving formal training to their employees, we can reach the vast majority of society to teach and bring awareness to this issue.

• Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

This week, I experienced a microaggression toward gender.  I was parking my minivan when the guy walking by asked me if I could “handle it”.  The space was really close but I managed to work my vehicle into the parking space.  Once I was finished, the man told me that he did not think I could park the vehicle.  I then asked him “why did he think I couldn’t park the van?”  He then replied, because I am a woman and most women can’t drive let alone park larger vehicles.  I feel that this was a subtle microaggression.   I was shocked that he was so matter of fact about the situation and didn't feel that his comment was inappropriate.  I also was very upset that he had stereotyped me and all women as not being able to drive and park.  

• In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people

This experience made me realize that discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes exist and are amongst any and all communities.  It made me feel angry, hurt, and upset that I was the subject of such stereotypes when society has liberated everyone years ago.  The experience has helped me to understand the depths of how everyone can be affected sometime in their lifetime by discriminations against gender and stereotypes that are embedded deep within people’s hearts.

Their definition of culture and diversity:

Their definition of culture and diversity:

 

Dawn (Native American, Female)= “Culture is defined by various ethnic backgrounds and the different ways of interacting amongst our family. I relate diversity with my family because we have so many different ethnicities in our family. Since the majority of my family is Native American, our culture can truly be seen through the stories told by my grandfather at each gathering.”

Kennith (African American, Male)= “Culture and diversity is defined by the different nationalities.  Different cultures enjoy different things.  I think that different cultures have their own way of doing things.  Diversity can be seen in the different genre of music people listen to, the different ways of preparing foods, and the different ways and types of holidays that people celebrate.”

Sherry (Caucasian, Female)= “Diversity and culture can be shown around us daily.  My opinion of culture and diversity is the different ethnic groups within our society.  Culture is how our family develops different traditions, how we celebrate the holidays that relate to our families, and through our religion.  Diversity is the form of developing one’s own style of going about our culture.”

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

Culture and diversity has been defined in our course as surface culture which affects the outer layer of people such as ethnicity, sexuality, and economic status.  Deep culture can be seen through religion and personal interest.  Culture is also defined by family lifestyles and different ways of doing things within your own family.  The answers that I received from the people I’ve interviewed regarding culture and diversity was similar to the things I’ve learned in this course.  For example, I interviewed Dawn who is Native American in race, middle income in economic status, and a female.  Her idea of culture and diversity consisted of various ethnic backgrounds as well as individual family lifestyles.  Her family is made up of different ethnicities which she considers they reflect diversity.  In her opinion of culture, she feels that she is of the dominant culture because of her ethnicity.  Kenneth made a great point to relate culture to different genres of music and festivities.  Sherry’s idea of culture relates to religion which is what we have been studying in the course that would be considered deep culture.

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?

When I interviewed Kenneth, he omitted family lifestyles as culture and diversity.  His idea of culture was defined by many surface cultures.  He felt that each ethnicity has their own way of doing things such as the different foods they choose to eat and the different communities they live in.  I felt that everyone I interviewed omitted the way people have been raised and taught to do things from birth as a form of culture. I do feel that everyone’s ideas of culture and diversity are on the right track with the definition’s given by our course.

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

I feel that other people’s definition of culture and diversity has influenced me to look at culture differently than I use to view it.  I too would relate culture to ethnicity and other surface culture ideas.  However, I now feel that culture is much deeper than that.  Culture defines who we are individually because it’s our upbringing, rituals, likes, and dislikes.  The people I interviewed helped me to think about every aspect of my life as some form of culture and diversity relation.  Genres of music, the types of dance, and even the way I am raising my own children can be related to diversity and culture in some way or another.

MY FAMILY CULTURE

·         A description of the three items you would choose

1.       I would first take my Holy Bible.  I would never want my family to be away from the word of God.  In order for my family to survive such a traumatic event, we will definitely need to rely on our faith to help us through. 

2.      I would also take my family photo album.  The next best thing to having my entire family with me would be our memorbelum.  This is the album that holds all of my pictures from my childhood all the way through my adulthood.

3.      The last thing I would take is my children’s photo album.  This album was started when I first had my oldest child.  It contains my own children’s childhood. 

·         How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you

I would tell others about the purpose of the Holy Bible and why it is so dear to me.  I would also explain to them my religion and why I have a personal relationship with God.  I would tell them my personal life journey and how I discover God for myself.  I would then offer the plan of salvation to them.  I would also show both of my family photo albums to others and allow them to get to know my family through each story I share regarding the different photos in each of the albums.

·         Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I would be devastated and distraught.  It would be extremely hard for me to give up my photo albums to someone who would probably throw them away because they don’t have any sentimental value to them.  I think I would probably cry the entire time.   Although I love my family and would hate to give up my family photos, I would have to choose my Holy Bible.  This would be the time that I would have to do a lot of soul searching, reading, and praying to remain strong.

·         Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise

This exercise has been a real tear jerker.  I had to think about things that I never want to think about in order to complete the exercise.  This assignment has also helped me because you never think about emergency things and situations until you are forced to because it is too late.  This exercise also made me uncover raw emotions about my childhood which is healing for me.  I think that this exercise was good and very interesting.  I’m learning things about myself in the past, present, and future.