Cross-Cultural Communication

Within the community that I work, many cultures are represented. In my school alone, we see over 20 native languages embedded into our English speaking community. When thinking about if I communicate across cultures differently, I find that I do often shift my interactions towards cultural mediums. Though, the cultural shifts that I make within my own communications are similar in approach, regardless of the culture with which I am interacting. Even though the approach make be the same, I find that the direct presentation of my communication shifts depend on the situation. I find that I make more references towards meaningful cultural events in different families lives, such as their involvement in their cultural-communities (i.e. religious holidays, cultural traditions, etc.) I find that I also will be more cognisant of the differences in communication form (i.e. changes in eye contact, physical contact, and reciprocal turn taking within communications). When thinking about the best ways to communicate across cultures these are a few suggestions I have:

1. Take the time to understand the culture with which your are communicating. Learn through questioning (either the direct contact person, or through other means- books, internet, etc.). Learning more about what to expect from that culture's norms allows for easier navigating when communicating.
2. Take the time to listen more deeply, instead of simply hearing what is being said. By listening critically, with intention to understand language differences, you can grow more successful in understanding the functions of communications. By listening, you become privy to cultural priorities, and even sometimes cultural concerns.
3. Make a clear effort to show that you are open to the cultural difference. Making an effort can be done in a variety of ways. One way I find most helpful is through note taking. Prior to meeting with a family or colleague from a different background, I compile a list of my own questions/concerns that may arise within conversation. I also make a list of reminders to keep in the forefront of my mind regarding the cultural within which I am communicating. 

Silent Communication- Sitcom Style

The show I chose to (finally) watch was The Big Bang Theory. After having friends recommend it to me for years now, I figure what better chance to expose myself than through this activity!

In the opening scene, there is a group of 4 guys sitting around in the living room of an apartment. They are all facing one another openly, and seem to be friends by the way the conversation shifts across the group. Shortly after the show began, a female entered the apartment, and seemed to be friends as well. Initially it was as if she were only a friend, though after a short interaction one of the guys showed a more visually responsive demeanor towards her, and eventually kissed her. Being that it was welcomed, I can assume that the female and this one guy are a couple.

Once I turned the volume on, I found my initial assumptions to be true. The 4 gentlemen were in fact close friends. Throughout the remainder of the episode, the guys hung out together again, and again. The female from the beginning scene was, in fact, dating one of the friends. He was very fond of her, and continued to show very bold emotions of love and acceptance of her, more so than some of his friends. As the show continued, I was able to deduct relationship information from the body languages of the characters. Though, there were a few characters that didn't necessarily have a full range of emotional expressive abilities, which resulted in making those characters harder to understand without verbal communication. Because of these characters, the show proved to be chock-full of uncomfortable interactions due to miscommunications, or a lack of social grace (i.e. bluntness).

The multiple personalities on the show, and the unexpected relationships between the characters leaves me to believe that I will definitely watch more to understand the differences in communications between these very unique character personalities!

Communication Star

I met Dr. Paris my sophomore year of undergraduate studies. She was ethereal. Her voice was soft and kind. It was as if you could hear her smile in her words. When she spoke to anyone, you could just feel that she was listening. When I had first met her, she was simply a face in the Early Childhood Studies. I knew her name, as she was guaranteed to be my professor later in my studies. I had never hear anything negative about her as a person, simply that when you were in her class you had a chance to become involved in something bigger than you.

Dr. Paris, unsurprisingly, taught a course highlighting professional issues in early childhood. She was always working to provide us students with opportunities to grow independently, but also to grow as a collaborative unit. Throughout the time spent in her course, she shared a wide range of perspectives. SHe provided opportunities for open forum discussions, always restating and validating what the students would share. Regardless of if a student's statement was totally off topic, or seemingly failing to grasp the concepts discussed, Dr. Paris never responded as if an idea were wrong. She would ask more probing questions to better understand the thought process responsible for ideas shared. She allowed for self-reflection of students, but also shared her own process of self-reflection. Though she sat in a position of power, leading students through course work she was responsible for teaching, she always shared ultimate honesty. Her honest approaches to interactions, combined with a lack of judgement, and a clear presence of compassion, Dr. Paris helped me to grow a foundation of effective communication.

Each day, I work my hardest (successfully or not!) to think first before responding to ideas. When people speak to me, I work to listen before thinking. I even find that I often have to stop my mind from predicting what someone might say, and simply wait to hear their voice. Dr. Paris taught me what it feels like for sometime to value my own voice. From that, I plan to take her lessons and examples, and constantly work to grow my own ability to share that feeling with the individuals I meet.

I always find my "fire within" getting stoked when I engage in conversation about the current climate around national understanding of early childhood systems. Honestly, I think a part of this fire comes from the newness to my professional involvement in the field. In my eyes, early childhood care and education is a science. We make up a truly diverse field of people: children, their families both immediate and extended, various levels of governmental officials, community leaders, educators, researchers, policy makers, specialists, and the list will go on from there. No matter the level of involvements, some sort of early childhood education strucutre exists in each and every culture.

Yet, with that thought, I am always cocking my head to the side and racking my brain for an explanation as to why more people do not see our field to be scientific. Maybe it's because young children are just "so stinking cute,"  rather than being seen as incredible vessels for rapid neuro- and neurophysiology development. Fortunately, as the federal government has placed increased pressures of young learners to achieve as high as our disciplined, differently-structured international competitors, more policy makers have picked up on the fact that we need to invest more in these young children.


Even though the actions being taken at a higher level may not always be directly affecting classrooms and care settings, there have been major improvements made. Looking at states such as Oklahoma, we see that state governments aren't afraid to test out new programs and initiatives supporting young children and families. In stakes like OK, at risk children are being provided with a great deal of support prior to entering primary schools. State juvenile crime rates have since decreased, along with the high school drop out rates.

Educ 6765

After spending my first two years in the field working as a special education teacher in private early learning centers,I found my mind constantly wandering towards the notion that the families whom I was serving needed deeper support than they were given. I was always asking my supervisors questions about the different supports that were available, but they often were not able to give me answers that left me feeling dissatisfied. After attending several state and national NAEYC conferences, I found that the conversations that were taking place between professionals in the field (teachers, interventionists, administrators, policy makers) often were forms of advocacy. Having felt so invigorated by these conversations, I knew that obtaining a specialization in Advocacy & Policy within the field of early care and education would be the best immediate fit for me. 

Within early care and education, advocates serve as the voice for their most vulnerable population, one that does not have their own voice: children. Unlike many other fields, advocates of early care and education come in countless forms. Yet, often these people who hold the power to be the voice for positive changes in the lives and children and their families do not fully understand the changes that need to take place. The role of educated and skilled advocates is to assure that all involved parties, including policy makers, are provided with accurate and meaningful information. This information should reflect upon the understanding of the whole child, and the importance that "bigger picture" issues holds on improving the future for children all across the globe.

GOALS:
1. I plan to learn of one or several ways that I can further my direct effects as an advocate. (i.e. I plan to learn of specific organizations or advocacy groups that I can become involved with in order to further my own efforts.)
2. I plan to learn more about how policy is influenced at a state level in order to find more ways to utilize my knowledge to help guide and shape policies. 
3. I plan to learn about the different career options that may be available to me as an advocate. I would like to learn more about my options to help aid my plan to either stay in the classroom, or take my knowledge and passions into a totally different sector of the field. 

Entertainment Communications

Leading up to this week, I decided that I would consider watching a show that is totally unlike that of which I normally watch. Specifically, I chose to watch a wedding themed show: Say Yes To The Dress on TLC.

While watching this show for the first time, with the sound off, I paid especially close attention to the facial expressions of the future brides, their family members, and the bridal consultants. Knowing how stressful wedding planning can be, I figured that the facial expressions and general body language of the women that were featured in the episode would provide me with ample opportunities to understand the feelings of these women in a  monumental time within their lives.

Something that I found to be eye opening was when I noticed that the emotions of the brides were very clearly foreshadowed through their facial expressions. While watching without sound, I noticed that there were several tell-tale signs, such as a bride shifting her eye gaze downward while in a "solo-moment" with the camera. There had also been signs of frustration seen when the brides would approach their respective parties wearing certain dresses, but would express very solidary body movements, such as a lack of movement, or a dull, unexcited facial expression. When I turned the sound back on, I could almost sense the build up of emotions. With sound, I could hear the shift in tones when the brides would become discouraged. Yet, I also noticed that the respective parties would not always notice the same signs as I had.

All in all, I had realized that within many typical social situations for women, there seems to be somewhat of a social pressure to respond in certain ways. These women, these brides, had consistently expressed their desire to impress and satisfy the other women they were with.Yet, even though it was their big day at hand, their frustrations seem to have gone unnoticed. Most women would become visibly upset, yet their family and friends would almost always miss these subtle, or not so subtle cues. Especially in exciting situations, it seems as though many people become less aware of the feelings and responses felt by those around them, and rather hyperfocus on their own opinions and needs.

Culturally Responsive Scenario

• For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:
  You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

My family's country of origin is India.

I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family by:

-Learning the dialect that my family speaks, and understanding the differences between their dialect and other dialects in their country

-Learning the meal time traditions of families in India

-Learning about the religious holidays and traditions of this country

-Learning the traditional views on school, and home-school relationships in this country

-Learning the traditional gender roles and expectations of this country

I hope that my understanding of these specific things will allow me to understand the expectations that the family has on me as their child's teacher. I hope that I will understand ways to interact with the parents and the child so that I can increase their comfort level, and assure the eventual trust between myself and the family. I hope that I will be able to respectfully invite the family to share aspects of their culture with the classroom, but to do so in a way that does not appear abrasive or out of line.