Week 2 Video without sound blog

  I thought the women in this relationship hate each other because there was lots of eye rolling, looking away. The relationships between the various women was confusing at times because they would smile at each other and laugh. The next minute hands would be flying and facial expressions changed. This is definetly a show that you would have to know the relationship of the people to understand the communication.

With the Sound on:

In the case of this show, Basketball Wives I still have the same impression of the relationship of the women because of the mood swings and nature of the conversation. It seems as though they were friends but only when working on a project or without certain other women around. There was lots of non verbal communication going on. I wonder how the women on Basketball Wives feel watching themselves on t.v.
Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?


Write about your experience in your blog, including what you learned about communication from this experience and insights or “aha” moments you believe would be helpful to your colleagues.  I learned from this video that you can really tell the intentions or interest of friends in social groups by stepping back and watching the interactions and facial expressions going on while hanging out.

Reflecting on COmmunication in the Early Childhood Field (6165)

This course came right on time. I think as we grow in our profession we face new challenges that involve how we communicate. I have enjoyed this course and the people in group 1.  I hope to see familiar faces as I embark on the next phase of this journey, Adult Studies.

Adjournment

The stage of adjournment is sometimes the most overlooked aspect of team development. It seems like that when a project is over the participants are so eager to be done that they go their seperate ways or they have become so close that they feel upset when the project is over. The hardest group for me to leave what a non collegiate sorority I joined. We started out very small and did lots of team building activities. These women became my sisters. We participated in community service projects, crafts, celebrated each others accomplishments, and other activities that drew us closer. After each meeting we would discuss the upcoming plans and do closing rituals. I loved those rituals and found comfort in them. When the group became inactive it was without notice and a few of the members including myself were hurt and struggled to get the organization back together but it was not possible. It was hard to realize that my organization was no longer a part of my life because we were such a strong team and got alot done.



I think that adjourning from this cohort at Walden will be interesting because we've all been connected for 2 years several times a week. I look forward to meeting my classmates at graduation and staying in contact via facebook or perhaps a Walden Early Childhood blog.

Non Violent Communication and Conflict Management

This week I was getting really frustrated and overwhelmed with my teaching assistant. She wasn't being responsive with the children, assisting me as usual, and was just in an overall bad mood. It was creating a thick cloud in the room because I was becoming irritable and so were the children. I made a few statements in the air about attitudes in reference to the children. However, by Wednesday's assignment I had read over the principles of nonviolent communication and 3 R's and thought maybe I should try a little "compassion". Afterall she had just come back off of maternity leave and was adjusting to the new group of children, changes I had made in the program, and new school policies. I could see how all of those things combined would be overwhelming. Thinking of all the changes she was going through helped me calm down some internally but there was still the problem of her needing to be able to perform her job duties. I struggle with this because while I want to have compassion I do need to be direct in saying what I want her to do and not focus on what she's not doing as discussed this week. So, I began talking with her during naptime about how she felt coming back to work and the adjustment. She got to talk about her feelings and I got a better perspective of her emotional state. However, all the compassion in the world doesn't help if the person /recipient isn't willing to share some responsibility in solving the problem.


　
I'm wondering is there a tactful way to communicate to a co-worker that their postpartum issues are effecting their job performance. I know that is a touchy period and I feel like I'm tready on thin ice because I don't want to be cold and I also don't want my kindness to be abused.

My Role as a Communicator

For your blog this week, think about the similarities and differences between how you evaluated yourself as a communicator and how others evaluated you. What is the one thing that surprised you the most? Why? What other insights about communication did you gain this week? Choose at least two to share with others through your blog and consider how each might inform your professional work and personal life.




This assignment allowed me to examine myself as a communicator and to also see how others viewed my communication skills. I had a close family friend and my teaching assistant conduct the evaluation.  The one thing that surprised me was that my close friend scored me fairly high in the "Verbal Aggressive" quiz. I don't see myself like that and neither did my coworker. It made me examine the types of interactions and behaviors that are present in my personal life that I don't show in my professional life.  I think this assignment helped me to see that I need to work on verbal aggressiveness. I still don't see myself as a person that personally attacks during conversation. I think that this friend was biased because of a recent "tough" conversation we had or I'm in extreme denial : )

This week I learned that our personal schemas can effect how we look at a person, the body language, attire, and other physical features to determine how we will communicate with them. The discussion board was interesting this week. I would still like to know how close we were to the details we guessed for our mystery woman.

Communication and Culture....It's a Sister Thing

Within my family their lies several different cultures. I'm the oldest of 4 brothers and 2 sisters. My brothers I keep the communication short and sweet. We don't talk often but when we do its effortless and I enjoy them. My sisters on the other hand require so much more of me than I find myself having the patience to give. With one sister Ame* I have to watch what I say because she's easily offended, doesn't understand what you mean most times, and will extend the conversation well beyond the time it needs to be. For that reason I find myself avoiding her calls or trying to stay busy when we're in person. My other sister, doesn't like to talk and it's fine with me. We can be in the same room and say 5 words. If she feels like talking she will initiate conversation and is direct. Our conversations are limited because we don't have similar interest. She says that she doesn't understand the things I talk about and I'm boring. However, when I have fashion questions or need her to help with makeup she comes alive and we have a good time. I really wish that I had a better communication/relationship with my sisters. I love them both but it seems like I'm from Mars and they're from Saturn and Uranus. I think it has a lot to do with our age gap, where we grew up( we all didn't live together), difference in lifestyles, and talents. There can be culture differences within families. This week I have learned that the Platinum Rule is an effective strategy to improve communication. I can apply the Platinum Rule to my communicating with my sisters. If I consider how Ame feels and likes to be talked to I can put my expectations aside SOMEtimes to show her I care. I don't mind sarcasm and someone telling me how it is, without the sugar but I KNOW she needs the sugar. I will admit that I cannot apply the Platinum Rule at the expense of my own sanity. I think it is important to take the other persons point of view but not in excess or if it makes you "unhealthy". Another strategy I gained this week is to beware of the effects of "cultural myopia" on my relationship with these ladies (my sisters). I think that I'm guilty of holding them to my standards and well I'm sure my parents have as well since I'm the oldest. However, is Lydia's really wrong for only talking to us when she needs to and does her silence really mean she doesn't care? The third strategy is "acknowleging our differences". My sister Ame and I have had a conversation in which we talked about some of our problems being becaue of our differences. It does seem as though it helped. However, Lydia and I have not had that talk. I think it would help to talk about how we are different but the differences don't have to be seen as negative but a way for us to celebrate each other. I like her directness and how she stays out of gossip. I think these strategies will help improve my communication with my sisters and can easily be used with other people I struggle to communicate with.

Competent communicator -Whoopi Goldberg

 For your blog this week, think of someone (e.g., family member, celebrity, politician, friend, or professor) who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context. What behaviors does this person exhibit that make him or her effective? Would you want to model some of your own communication behaviors after this person? Why or why not?

Whoopi Goldberg has always been one of my favorite actresses since her days of Ghost and Sister Act. I love her strong voice, good eye contact, and the way she can appeal to many audiences.

What I like most about Whoopi is her ability to articulate her ideas when in heated debates and how she's not afraid to address difficult topics or people as shown in the following video.

I have very little interest in politics but find it her ability to maintain her composure when voices are being raised at a high pitch admirable. That is an area of communicating that I have not been successful. I do not wish to take up debating issues of a political nature.However, I do know that anytime you talk about issues related to diversity and equity there will be times that you have to have "graceful conversations"  I have difficulty discussing topics in which the climate becomes hostile. However, I know that there are times when you have no choice. I like how Whoopi is able to stand her ground and get her point across with supporting facts.

Whoopi Goldberg has a theatrical side and can also be very funny. Sometimes humor can be an effective mode of communication.

I would like to use a different type of humor sometimes like Whoopi because I have a very dry sense of humor that usually gets me in more trouble more so than laughs.