Adjourning

High-performing groups are the hardest groups to leave because you not only go through all of the group forming stages but actually master all of the stages successfully. Respect and trust are the clearest established norms. Groups with characteristics of respect, trust, and smart work vs. hard work are the hardest to leave. I learned early in my career that smart work is favored better than hard work. Ex. I could work hard cleaning my classroom of painted tables and easel everyday but that wouldn't be smart. It would instead be smart to teach my students painting rules and cleaning tatics. 

In my last position as an Early Head Start Teacher was at a high quality school and I loved it. There was a extremely high morale and teachers/staff put children first. Having these qualities in a group made it hardest to leave. My closing with the group didn't take place because I went into premature labor but other closing rituals included reward ceremonies, baby showers before a maternity leave, and or socials with lunch b provided.

Now I have moved on and found a new group of colleagues. I imagine that we will adjourn from our group at the commencement ceremony. Making sure that we celebrate our accomplishments together.

Managing Conflict

The last major conflict took place 2 months ago with a private children's organization that I volunteered with as a creative arts instructor. Bi-weekly I would have an art project to coincide with a biblical lesson. In the beginning I was told that I had free range on what to create as long as it was in line with the lesson. The children were always excited to carry out the lesson but it seemed that the program leader was not. The conflict took place when it came time to carry out my part of the lesson. Right before carrying out the lesson I was bombarded with questions about what I was going to do in my lesson and even asked to make changes at the last minute. My frustration arose from this happening consistently. I felt that it was unprofessional to inquire right before but should be discussed earlier in the week or prior to teaching the lesson.. My thought process was not to discard constructive criticism altogether but instead receive constructive criticism in enough time to apply change. It was frustrating to make changes right before and created a hostile working environment for me.

After reading the lesson I learned two different strategies to resolve this conflict from our text book Real Communication:

1. I enjoyed reading the Steps to a Supportive Climate, which suggests to focus on facts, be open for discussion, ask for help, and be assertive in order to achieve a supportive climate. 

In my conflict I could have been assertive and asked for a review of my lesson instead of waiting on the program leader to inquire. This could have prevented frustration on the day of the lesson. 

2. Compromising, when both parties has to give something up is another concept that can be used to resolve conflict. 

In my conflict the program leader could have compromised by giving some free range of the creative arts lesson vs. the entire lesson. More control or structure could have been more gratifying.

Reference
O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.   

• Chapter 8, "Managing Conflict in Relationships pg. 222-223" 

Communication Effectiveness

This week I was able to reflect on the similarities and differences of my communication style through my husband, former co-worker and myself. My evaluations as a communicator varied for each assessment. I received a mild/low score for communication anxiety and verbal aggressiveness from others and a moderate score for both communication anxiety and verbal aggressiveness from myself. This information revealed that I may be more harsh the way I judge my communication than others. Others think I am always respectful and able to disagree or change minds gently while I think I always remain respectful and attack the issue or facts rather than a persons and his or her character. 

I was surprised at the questions in the verbal aggressiveness assessment. Damaging self concept, devaluing, and assaulting others with words was an eye opener. I questioned my past actions. Do I inflict pain on others with my words? Can I handle conflict without attacking someone else's character? When I saw that I actually scored myself the highest, I thought maybe I can use some etiquette training to lower my score.   

In the end I believe the key to effective communication is respect for others. Being respectful sets the tone for more communication to happen. From this assignment I have decided to further research on verbal aggression and how to communicate non-offensively when their is a disagreement or a dialog of persuasion. By doing this I would be able to communicate more effectively in many of my relationships including those with children and families. 

Communicating with Other Cultures

When I thought about my interactions with people of different cultures and groups it became aware that I do communicate differently with them. Ex. I use high language and never code switch when speaking with someone of a different culture. This is because I am aware that people from other cultures learn formal English and I'm not aware of how much slang or jargon an individual would understand. Another reason I use high language is because I have experiences exchanging words with people from other cultures and often they have thick accents. Sometimes it is hard for me to understand them and so I prefer them to use high language as well.  Lastly, I always ask people from other cultures where are they from if they have an accent. Knowing where they come from opens up an opportunity to get know their culture better, which I love to do! 

Communication Skills and Style

I choose the show Breaking Bad. I have heard raves about the show but never watched it.  

Sound Off:

I believe the main character is an old man with glasses. He has a wife because he has on a wedding ring woke up in the bed and kissed a women who later made breakfast for him. They have a son who also received breakfast. It appears that the husband and wife are discussing a touchy subject of I'm going to assume cleaning up because their hand gestures increased and they no longer maintain eye contact. The wife turns her back over the sink while washing and continues to talk while making disappointing facial expressions. She occasionally looks over her shoulders in annoyance as she washes dishes, then finally storms out of the room. 

Sound On:

The assumptions that I made of the role of the characters were pretty accurate.There was a husband, wife and son. However, the assumption I made about what their argument was about was totally wrong. The couple was arguing about his frequent absenteeism in the home. The wife wanted to know where he was spending his time and he did not give her a straight answer which climaxed to her walking briskly out of the room.  

In the end I believe my assumptions would have been more correct if I watched the show. I learned a great about non verbal behavior and how powerful it can be. I even thought about deaf individuals and how they use non verbal behavior to understand our language. This assignment was very insightful. 

Competent Communicator

President Barack Obama is a competent communicator. His communication is always appropriate and effective. Rather he is hosting an event at the White House, press conference, or interviewing on late night television, he is always able to meet the demands of the crowd. I love the way he answers questions intelligently and directly with a hint of humor. His comic relief makes him relatable and appealing. President Obama does a fantastic job of deflecting ignorant comments. He's graced with stating facts in a professional way which includes his nonverbal expressions. He smiles when it's appropriate and uses hand gestures to reinforce his ideas. In spite of the numerous political speech ghost writers I believe President Obama has the intellect, charisma, and personality that captured the hearts of our nation. At the end of the day I would model some of my own communication behaviors after our president. Being firm, direct, and charismatic at the same time can lighten tough news. 

Professional Hopes and Goals!

I hope that someday everyone will have access to a great education. This includes having equal access to resources that help aide in education like technology. Working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds and different neighborhoods has shed a light unequal access to resources. 

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice requiring a course on anti-bias education with in the yearly service training required by most center based programs. I believe this will help remind teachers to put their best foot forward in this area. 

At the end of this course of I would like to thank my colleagues for sharing personal experiences, thoughts, ideas and feedback. This course went extremely fast! I wish we could have had more time together but we all know the next class has already started. Best of luck to you all! God bless!

Welcoming Families from All Around the World

• The name of “your” family’s country of origin: Liberia
• At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1. Learn greetings in their language: Hello, good morning, good bye and verbs like: Go, eat, sit, play, sleep, etc. in order to help the child transition into a new environment without stress.

2. Research cultural holidays and celebrations and display a picture or map of Liberia in the classroom. This will allow the child to remain connected with his cultural and embrace differences. 

3. Allow families time for prayer, bible study, or scripture reading. According to the CIA World Fact Book 85% of Liberians are Christian. 

4. During meal time I would make sure that our center or site is able to offer rice with every meal because it is a staple food in Liberia and can be a transitional food used to explore American dishes. I would also make sure that we are able to offer healthy but familiar alternatives i.e Bananas vs. Plantains. 

5. Lastly, I will make sure to have an open line of communication on a daily basis where the family can ask questions and/or provide feedback. 

• A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family.

Overall I hope to accomplish a sense of trust and safety with the new family upon arrival with these preparations. My desire would be to make their transition to our country as smooth as possible. 

Central Intelligence Agency (2015) CIA World Fact Book. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/06/06/188891906/the-fat-shaming-professor-a-twitter-fueled-firestorm

There is bias and prejudice against obese and overweight people in our society. Yes, the thin win and the individuals who already have extra weight to carry around experience unfair and unjust behavior. Unfortunately these bias and prejudice behaviors are occasionally exhibited by people you least expect. In this case a Psychology Professor at NYU & U posted a tweet regarding obese PhD applicants. This twitter post above is an prime example of someone in a leadership position correlating eating habits, appearance, and intellect. It's unfair to question someones ability based on their weight. I imagine that any obese person who came in contact with this professor was discriminated against and treated as inadequate. I personally don't agree with it. I seriously think obesity is a disease and condition that should be treated just like any other disease. In our society fast food, sugar, and processed foods have increased in television commercials, radio, and all other social media outlets. It's unfair to make individuals dealing with this condition feel less than when their surrounded by temptation. 

In order to change this incident into a opportunity for greater equity, I believe all professors should be mandated to take a class on diverse populations including obese students. Fat shaming and weight discrimination should not be tolerated.  

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

• 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 was able to observe a mother accompanied with her two children mistreated for using a  SNAP card.Before I made this conclusion I observed 3 people ahead of the woman greeted with a smile and greeting but she did not. She was simply asked "Is that all?" It was clear that the clerk did not smile or greet her. The clerk seemed to be disturbed about her method of payment with his facial expression and tapping of his fingers on the counter. When I observed this microagggression take place I was furious. Social class discrimination is worst type. A mother with two children should not be discriminated 
for receiving government assistance especially when that program was created to help. Recently in the news we have learned that the wages for  low skill jobs can barely feed one person. Minimum wages were stagnated for so long that the gap between the wealthy and poor remains higher. 

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

Discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes are alive and well in America. This week I was able to observe numerous microagressions take place in person and on television. Television shows often utilize comedy to of set the discrimination sexual discrimination and racial was the most often depicted. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Out of my three interviews I choose to share my former co-worker's definition of culture, and diversity. My co-worker is Mexican and was born and raised in Mexico. Today she appreciates living in the United States."In the U.S my family has more opportunities and here feels safer and secure than my home country." My co-worked is older in age getting close to retirement. Here are her thoughts about culture and diversity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

"I think of culture as a personal connection with family. Culture is a way of living, its how people live, act, and think."

"Diversity is culture, hair color, size, race, demographics. Diversity highlights our differences as people."

My co-worker's definitions is very closely aligned with what we're studying in this course. She mentioned it being a way people live but did not go in depth. The way we live involves surface culture and deep culture. It's not only the way dress, look, and eat but also our values, language, and gender roles. On the other hand diversity does involve our differences. Our different demographics highlights our differences.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Hearing others definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics The fact that the U.S is seen as a place of endless possibilities and resources changed my view of America. Often as a citizen you make focus on everything that's wrong in America. Other than that my personal definitions remain the same. 

My Family Culture

Family Picture

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102812572424340&set=a.10100516461983070.2639759.22909094&type=1

Hair Comb

Bible                                           

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

A picture of my family will show my husband and two children that I love dearly. This picture will bring unconditional love to mind along with a wonderful marriage and two childbirth experiences. This picture will have endless stories of my two two angels and they're growth before my eyes. 

The comb would represent the countless bonding experiencing with the women in my family. We practice so many design with our hair as African Americans I refer to it as our crowns. My mom braided and combed my hair into some many different styles. I recall my grandmother giving the ultimate perms and hot comb press. Now today I comb my daughters hair into ponytails, beads, braids. The crowns on our heads are forever changing and a journey in itself. 

Lastly I would take a small bible. This will be reminder to my faith and how trusting God has been with others and myself. Delivering others from evil and providing perfect peace. 

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 hurt but ultimately I would keep my bible. My bible with sustain my losses. Through prayer, worship, and faith I would be able to move on another country and live successfully with God creating my path. 

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

I was able to recognize how much time, money and energy myself and family discuss hair. Describe our hair as crowns is the perfect analogy because from infant to womanhood our women "Get our hair done!" We are blessed with course, kinky, curly hair that cannot be left untamed unless we want to look that way. But this exercise really made me think about how important it is to know how to do hair in order to save time, money and energy. It also made me realize all of the memories created from doing hair and getting my hair done and how is passed on down from generation to generation. 

When I Think of Research....

         I have learned a great deal from this research course. Independent and dependent variable, qualitative and quantitative research, design methods, equity. I learned about the societal benefits from subjecting children to greater than minimal risks in research and how our society will benefit from the results of this type of research conducted. I also learned that researchers are required to maintain confidentiality but not at the risk of a child’s safety. Researchers are also considered mandated reporters. If he/she suspects that a participants is being abused they may need to override and breach the participants confidentiality.

                

        Overall my ideas about research have been enhanced. I underestimated the amount of work it takes to create a research topic. The planning, designing and conducting research takes time. When discussing the process of research design there is lists of factors that need to be considered. First, choosing and refining a topic is key. The entire research project will surround this question, so it is important to make sure that the question can be researched and is understandable. In doing that framing research questions with the idea of non experimental or experimental research needs to be taken into consideration. Figure out you will create an experiment or if you will research something that has already been done for further clarification. Once you have determined the type of research you want to conduct then establish a time, place and individuals for the research. After that chose a method of data collection and analysis. Then evaluate the possible restrictions on the design, test results, and compare your results to past research. I have a new appreciation for researchers and their diligence. 

      I was challenged with both the topic and the design of my stimulation study. In my research I was able to turn my research question into a hypothesis. Is Kangaroo Care the best attachment hospital practice performed by parents to help premature infants achieve viability? Which eventually got changed to: What extent does frequent use of Kangaroo Care (KC), a hospital attachment practice, performed by parents of premature infants benefit an infant’s health? Narrowing down my question was actually the most challenging.

Thanks to Professor Dartt, and each and everyone of my classmates for an enjoyable course!

 

Research that Benefits Children and Families

I've had the chance of having one experience with children/families and research. This took place back in 2012 the National Opinion Research Center with the University of Chicago. The study took place in 10 Chicago Public Schools involving 400+ children ages 3-5. The study examined school readiness skills in literacy and math subjects with preschoolers and the development of an assessment tool for teachers and caregivers to support effective instruction. I believe this helped families knowing that the instruction of their children could ultimately be improved. The amount of effort to make the study possible included an array of steps which I was not involved but handled by research experts. My role in the study was administrating the assessment tool and working directly with the children; However, I was aware of ethics behind the study. Informed consent was gained from every child that participated in the study and there was not greater than minimum risk. Children may have experienced slight discomfort during the assessments if they did not know the answers but overall risk was low. Each assessment was timed and there was a maximum number of assessments that students could take in one day. In the end this study was a positive learning experience for myself. I was exposed to the project interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, practitioners and methodological experts and a team of child development experts, early learning practitioners, curriculum and assessment developers, and methodologists. Check out the link to the project overview.

http://www.norc.org/PDFs/Getting%20on%20Track%20Early%20for%20School%20Success/Project%20Overview-%20Getting%20on%20Track%20for%20Early%20School%20Success%20.pdf

My Personal Research

It was amazing to witness our baby weighing 1 pound 3oz and beating all odds. Before she was born we were told chances of her living was 50/50. And when she was born Kennedy Jones was born severely premature at 23 weeks. Being born so premature she had to endure 2 surgeries, develop skin, learn how to breath, eat, and more. Everyday was a fight for her. But she fought strong for 6 months in the Intensive Care Unit also known as the NICU. Our miracle inspired me to research prematurity. My subtopics include: Resilience of premature infants,  causes of prematurity and post partum depression.

International Early Childhood

I've gained 3 positive consequences about the field of International Early Childhood. Before this course I was unaware of the grassroots work being done in ECE all over the world. 

Different organizations including: NIEER, Developing Child at Harvard, and UNESCO. All three of these organizations are interested in seeing change all over the world and not just in America. Striving for early education as a human right for all children is something that I stand for 100%.
The same issues and trends in America effect other countries. Poverty, Economics, and Politics are very common.
Research and best practices are being implemented all over the world.
 The efforts to help third world countries and others by resourcing clean water, nutrition, vaccinations, shelter, and improving parenting skills and the socio-emotional domain is being done based on scientific research and best practices. Although implementing research and best practices will take time to implement, children will benefit especially if they do not have ECE programming.
 In the near future my goal is to join an organization that focuses on international awareness of issues and trends. Hopefully Walden University will develop a partnership and create collegiate relations with other countries.