Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

Heterosexism is a topic that you have to be mindful of the things you say. I try not to assume anything about people because I really don’t like to prejudge people before I get to know them. I assume that in certain situation that same sex couples will not make good parents. The reason I say that is because I believe it’s harder to explain to a child why they have two mothers or fathers.  How do you explain that to a child?  I think that it’s just like men in the past that did not permit women to work in certain professions, because they felt those jobs where only for men.  Homosexuality and being transgender are very touchy topics.  There have been so many issues surrounding the LGBT community.  I wasn’t aware of the LGBT community until my husband starting telling me about it.  He works in social services  so his clients kept him abreast of everything that went on.  I don’t know anyone personally in the LGBT community.  However, there are always issues surrounding the LGBT community on the news.  The challenges that I know about surrounding the LGBT community is that they want to have the same rights as heterosexual.  I used to work for an agency that issued drivers license.  When the new law passed about same sex marriage that created a lot of controversy.  We had couples wanting to change their name to something that we couldn’t legally do.  We kept running into this issue but we had to politely explain the same rules apply to everyone.  We would like to help everyone but in some situations our hands are tired. I personally don’t think LGBT individuals should not be permitted in early childhood settings. The most important issue is the children we serve.  How a person live their life outside that setting is totally up to them.  This information shouldn’t even be shared with anyone for people to prejudge.  I feel like regardless of your preference don’t push that on other’s.  How you chose to live your life is totally up to you, but please don’t expect everyone to agree with that lifestyle. I may not agree with that lifestyle, but I will still speak and be respectful with you. I feel that early childhood centers should avoid any material depicting gay or lesbian lifestyles because you don't know a parents belief. It should be left up to parents whether or not they want to introduce that information to their child.  There is a time and place for everything.

Team Buidling and Collaboration, Part 1

As I think of the adjourning phase of groups, I think of leaving my last employer.  I have been apart of several groups that had an adjourning phase. The adjourning phase of each group provided closure and encouragement to move on.  I left my previous employer in August of 2015.  As with most jobs, I provided a 2 week notice because that's the norm with most employers. This employer was hard to leave because of the friendships I had developed  over 2 years.  I had also developed relationships with a lot of the customer's that I came in contact with. On my last day, I was given a going away party.  My co-workers all brought food and one of the ladies that loved to cook made a cake.  I really appreciated the going away party because they didn't have to do that.  This showed me that they really cared about me and they want to see me do well.

I feel like adjourning with colleagues in the masters program will be hard to do. I haven't met any of my classmates personally, but I feel like we have a bond just from the experiences we shared. We all share some common goals which makes us understand each other more.  I am looking forward to the adjourning phase because this means I will be one step closer to achieving my goals. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it brings everyone together to reflect on the goal and vision. It's also an opportunity to provide encouragement and to reflect on failures and accomplishments.

Conflict Resolution

I haven't experienced any conflicts of disagreements at my current job.  I try really hard not to get into conflict situations or disagreements with other people especially in the workplace.  I have always been the person that tried hard to avoid conflict.  I normally try to make people happy or try to find the positive in a negative situation and focus on that.  However, I can think back to August of last year when I was having a number of issues with my schedule at an agency I used to work for.  My supervisor and district manager both seemed to want or need different things when it came to my availability.  I am was only a part time worker, and they wanted me to be flexible like the full time staff.  I had a meeting and expressed my concern to see if they could work out a modified schedule that would help with child care issues.  At the first meeting my supervisor was not receptive to changing my schedule.  She stated that my schedule has to be based on the needs of the business.  I understood her concern, but I told her she must have forgotten that she had young children once.   We continuously came to one wall after another each time she tried to make amendments to my schedule and find something that worked for everyone. I felt like she was trying not to work with my schedule because she knew I would resign.  Eventually we were able to find a workable solution that met everyone’s needs.  However it was only temporary, and she advised that it would last about 3 months. I ended up resigning at the end of the 3 months. I think we could have worked together to compromise and find a solution that would be beneficial for everyone.  It was important that we listened to and respected each other throughout this process or we would have never gotten to that point.

After this week’s resources I now see there were so many different ways I could have handled the situation from the beginning. The 3 R’s of communication would have helped me understand how to resolve the conflict of the conversation a little better. We both should have communicated with respect through out the conversation.  It's hard to respect someone when you feel like they don't have your best interest at heart.  As a supervisor, she should understand that you treat people like you want to be treated regardless of the situation.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

I have never been one that liked to talk in front of large groups of people.  I do better in small groups or one on one. The results from the communication assessments were very accurate.  The Communication Anxiety Inventory revealed that I feel uneasy in some communication situations and more confident in others.  This is a very true representation of me.  The Verbal Aggressiveness Scale revealed that I maintain a good balance between respect and considering others' view.  I argue fairly and attach the issue at hand not the person. I am glad that my level of aggressiveness was moderate. I know I can be aggressive at times, but sometimes that's all people understand.  They don't understand when you be nice. The one thing that surprised me most is that I appear to have more patience with people than I give myself credit for.  The insight that I gained is that it's good to have balance when communicating.  This is very important in ECE because we have to be respectful of the children and families we serve.  This has truly been an eye opening experience.  I learned alot about communicating this week.

Communicating

I find myself communicating differently with groups/cultures. I know with my students and parents I have to remain professional at all times.  I try to make sure I am using correct English when I speak to my students.  I speak that way because I want them to use correct English when they speak as well.  We have a flyer posted in the classroom that says leave your casual language at the door. When I am speaking to elderly people I always try to be courteous and polite.  I still say "yes sir and no sir" when I am speaking to older men. I know some people think that's old fashioned but I was raised that way.  When I talk to teenagers or my friends I can use slang and let my hair down a little.  I don't have to be so politically correct. When I communicate with different cultures I am very cautious of what I say.  I don't want to offend anyone so I try to make sure I don't say anything that would be perceived the wrong way.  The three strategies that I would use to communicate more effectively with different groups/cultures are to limit nonverbal cues,  ask questions about the culture or group that I may not understand, and try to be open and respectful to their opinions  regardless of how I feel.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

I chose to watch an old tv show Martin.  I haven't watched Martin in years.  That used to be one of my favorite sitcoms.  I felt like watching this episode with no sound was going to be alot harder than I thought.  While watching this show on mute I was able to pick up on some of the characters nonverbal cues.  In this particular episode, Martin appears to be upset because someone broke into his apartment and stole some items.   When Gina comes home he is trying to explain to her what happened. The assumptions I made with the volume off were correct.  Martin was very upset because he found out that one of his neighbors had broken into his house.  I have come to realize that it is possible to communicate with nonverbal cues.  However, I feel like it's much easier to communicate verbally.  A lot of times people misinterpret nonverbal cues the wrong way. 

Competent Communication

My husband demonstrates competent communication on a consistent basis.  He is a talker by nature.  He gets that honestly from his dad.  He is a Social Worker so he does a lot of talking every day.  He gives advice to families on a daily basis. I had the opportunity to sit in on a session he had with a family.  He is professional at all times. He uses eye contact, and he asks questions to clarify information he doesn’t understand.  He is able to put his thoughts into words in a very clear and concise manner. He also keeps a straight face no matter how sensitive the information is.  I would like to model some of my own communication behaviors after him because I need to learn how to control my face when talking to someone.  My facial expression tells how I am feeling at all times.  It’s hard for me to hide how I am feeling about a certain situation.  If I don’t like something or don’t agree with it, my facial expression will let you know immediately. While taking this class about communication, I am going to work harder on my nonverbal communication.