Communication Evaluation

I think that the variation of differences in the scores for the tests all depend on who takes which test.  Some of the tests require someone who has been with me in certain settings to have experienced situations that would show my personality and reactions.  My mother evaluated me with many more situations to draw upon.  My coworker was sometimes asking me what I prefer because she has never been in a situation were I was verbally aggressive or angry.  One thing is that I evaluated myself more harshly than everyone around me.  That is a good thing, but my parents are always telling me that I am too hard on myself. 

It is not that I did not know that I am a direct person when talking to people, but as I have gone through the courses in this program and some conversations between my family, I have become more empathetic and sympathetic to the way I approach parents and people in general. 

Personally my family and boyfriend feel that I am critical when speaking to them but I am a great listener.  My coworker feels that I am sympathetic and engage in positive conversations with colleagues and parents.  The differences speak to the my self-concept and how I view others as well as the differences in environment.

Communicating with ALL

In undergrad, the education dept. gives teachers insight to how to appropriately deal with families from different backgrounds to parents who are just difficult.  Unfortunately, some of those tactics can only go so far.  I learned through hands on experience how to really communicate with the families that I work with.  I had to realize for myself that not all parents are just thinking about what is best for their child.  Though there are only a select few who operate this way, the demands can really ruin your day.  So my first strategy is to calm them with kindness.  Dealing with frustrated parents has hurt my feelings many times, but when I look at their perspective, they are reacting to hurt as well. 

When communicating with children, there are many different strategies to employ.  It depends on if the child is sensitive, aggressive, a go getter, a child that refuses to try things by his or herself or if the student has never encountered a specific situation before.  I have received about 3 new students in the past month.  This is difficult in Pre-k because when they come in most know little to nothing about self-regulation and academic information.  I have really had to adjust my mindset and approach when going all the way back to September information about information, like colors and drawing a picture.  In this situation patience is a virtue.

When communicating with co-workers and professionals, it is important that my tone is calm and understanding.  It is imperative that professionals sense an open mind.  Many people have many different views on certain topics but sometimes as a educator you have to know when to speak up and when not to.  It is a finesse to understand how to work the system.  Sometimes you have to play the game, instead of always trying to make your voice heard when no one wants to listen. 

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

The Housewives of Atlanta

I decided to watch the housewives of Atlanta on bravo for this assignment.  If you havr never seen this show, its about affluent wives of Atlanta, Georgia that are "friends".  Most of the show contains women arguing, hanging out, doing some type of charity and being housewives.  

As I began watching, it was really difficult not to turn on the volume.  The first scene was the women meeting at the airport on their way to somewhere.  They all seemed excited to be there.  They gave hugs, there were smiles and their husbands were dapping each other up and it seemed that they were telling each other jokes, from the way they were laughing.  The show then cut to when they were at the hotel.  One of the women, Nene, was rolling her eyes and gave another cast member a fake hug when she arrived.  The part of the show that showed the most amount of communication was at the dinner table.  All of the couples from the airport were there and two other couples as well.  The dinner received about 10 min of airtime.  For the first part of the dinner everyone was laughing and talking with each other.  Then, one of the husbands seemed to direct his questions at one of the women across the table from him.  Through body movements, facial expressions and gestures I was able to conclude that the male, Peter, was questioning the other lady, Porsha, about something.  As I looked at her answering him, she was flustered, it looked that she was speaking in a loud tone but not yelling and she was using her hands while she was speaking.   

As the dinner continued there were shots of the dinner party members making confused faces, others having side conversations in low tones voices, and hand gestures telling others to stop or to show if they were getting all worked up.  

Without the sound I assumed that everyone was friends and they were all taking a trip.  Come to find with the sound that, many of them do not like each other made clear through Nene eye roll earlier in the show.  The show culminated at the dinner at the end.  Come to find out the couples were separated from their significant other around the table to stimulate conversation and avoid conflict.  Because this show is reality TV, I feel that I was able to get the gist of the show and its cast.  If I was watching a show that I knew I would probably not have needed to turn on because I might have been able to figure out the plot through what I previously knew.  

I learned that I was mostly right about what I was viewing with and without the volume.  This tells me that non-verbal communication is a big part of communication.  It has also shown me that without listening you can miss large parts of what people are trying to communicate.

Competent Communication

The person that I know that exhibits competent communication is my principal.  She is very knowledgeable, she has many years of experience and through my 3 years of teaching she has been able to give me mentoring, without making me feel incompetent. 

The first thing I would say that she does well is, when she is listening to you she looks right at you.  She validates the conversation by answering during the conversation.  Secondly, the demeanor in which she communicates is respectful.  She thinks deeply about the words she intends to use.  There have been some situations in which I have had to communicate unfortunate news to a parent and it did not go well.  She explained to me that no matter how disturbed or irritated I am with a parent or their child that I must always be empathetic, even if the parent tries to "engage" with me.  Lastly, she has a relationship with each of her teachers.  This aspect is important the person that you are communicating with must know that though you may be delivering some bad news, you are still being respectful.

No one is perfect but my principal is respected and I feel that she has communicated well with me over the years.  

Professional Hopes and Goals

One goal that I have for myself is to have better communication with families from diverse backgrounds.  In a district where is there is not alot of diversity, it is easy to become set in your ways of dealing with young children and their families.  I have always struggled with the way I speak to people.  I often say what is on my mind and depending on the type of person they may be offended or thankful for my honesty.  As I have grown in my past three years of teaching, my goal is to keep growing, not loose my vision and become a better communicator.  I am an early childhood educator because I want to educate and help young children and their families.

My goal for the early childhood field is a local one.  I would want the EC community where I work to better address the diversity that we do encounter.  This a small step of printing notices in multiple languages, having ELL staff and translators for conferences are just the details but so important to addressing diversity. 

I would like to thank all my colleagues this semester for their insight and contributions to the learning community.  Many of you have different perspectives and I am appreciative because your perspectives have helped me to grow as an educator.  Good luck and God Bless to all on their journey!

-Alyssa Glenn