Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

I feel that gender identity is a sensitive subject when it comes to early childhood education. It is sensitive in a sense that children may at most cases view everyone as friends and as a girl or a boy. When we start children at a very young age to start labeling other people, that is what they will grow up to do. Homosexuality would be something that a child discovers at a later age, but not during early childhood education. It is important to maintain the innocence of a child rather than informing them of what is not necessary at their age. This goes the same to books. Books should for early childhood education should avoid putting labels to others, especially homosexual, disability or any form of race. Children are better off learning about these subject at grade level school. 

Best of Luck

Thank you everyone for the opportunity to learn and grow in this course, I wish you luck with your future plans. 

Teamwork

I have not experience being in a group and finding hard to leave. Most group that I join were required of me and when the work was done we all left without any issues or difficulty. Although during high school, it was hard to leave all my fellow classmates as we’ve grown so much, got to know each other like family. For my master’s degree journey, I would feel like any other group. We got to know each other and helped each other through our journey, but the end comes we are going our separate ways to success. Adjourning is important as we all get closure that we completed the project, we gained something from the project and working with each other, and that we know the results of our work.

Conflicts

An argument I had with my cousin regarding something we saw on the news. My cousin had an opinion about what was on the news, which was different compared to mine. Although I feel like I know something regarding the topic, I had to stand down, because I knew our conversation is not going anywhere. My cousin, is the type of person that would always defend what she thinks and never wants to be wrong. She would go out of her way to prove her point, when she finds herself wrong, she’ll cover it up with a lot of “buts”. Arguments with her can never go anywhere, and is hard to resolve. At that point I would step down, say “okay, I respect what you think”. I would let everything cool off, in a while, I would come back and present to her what I know and how I feel. 

I feel that I somewhat apply the 3Rs with my arguments with my cousin. I do tell her I respect her perspective. I give it time till I respond, but in a way that we both have an understanding and common grounds. It is not because I want to prove my point as well, but it is to let her know that she was wrong, or that there are can be two sides of one issue. 

Who am I as a Communicator

The Result
The result of the communication anxiety inventory that I took was 69. The result indicates that “feel uncomfortable in several communication contexts” (Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 2009). My cousin scored 45, while my friend scored a 60. While questioning them about the result, my cousin said that she has noticed that I blend in at any communication context and I show confidence in what I say. My friend, said that she has noticed me during class presentations that I turn into a different person than usual. I seem to freak out more, not stay focused and think a lot about my presentation. I feel both people have been with me through different settings and have a different idea of who I am with communication anxiety. 

The result of the verbal aggressive scale that I took was 61. The result indicates that I “maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others’ viewpoints, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding that position” (Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 2009). My cousin and my friend both scored a 52 on the test. They both said that I am a very respectful person when it comes to others point of view, and I seldom argue to prove my point. I would voice out what I think about the topic, and tell the other person I respect what they say, but we have different opinion about the topic. 

The result of the listening style profile that I took was 55. The result suggests that I am “empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others” (Rubin, Rubin, Graham, Perse, & Seibold, 2009). My cousin scored a 42 while my friend scored a 35. They both indicate that I am always the person who they come to when they need a person to listen to their problems. They said that when they vent their emotions, I am always listening and engage with their emotion. I give them advice and I make them feel better. 

Who I am?
I am a somewhat outgoing person, but mostly comfortable in settings and with people who I know well. When in a new setting or with new people I tend to keep to myself and only talk to them if they ask me a question or engage in a conversation with me. I am not the type of person who would try and start a conversation with someone I just met, unless I have to. When it comes to talking to a crowd, I feel so much stress and anxiety. Although I practice, prepare myself, and try calming techniques, once I face the crowd even in front of only ten people, I start to stutter and begin reading my presentation instead of connecting with them. When it comes to listening, I am the type of person that would be all ears. I listen to the person talk, then after they talk I try to give advice if needed. If it is a technical conversation, I would listen, and try to converse to the best of my abilities. When a person is talking to me, I make sure my facial expression and my body language is not sending a message through the person talking that I am bored or that I need to go or do not have time for this. I am not an aggressive person. I was raised to respect others even if I do not agree with them. I will sometimes voice out my point, but not to the point where I offend a person and make them feel uncomfortable. 

Reference

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.


Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Communication with Different Group and Culture

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

In every setting I attend to, I communicate differently than others. When I am new to a place, I am mainly quiet and reserved. At home with my family and friends, I am more open, outgoing, and I feel more like myself. At work I communicate more professionally, to my understanding, I speak in terms where both myself and my colleagues understand. When I am around children I communicate more on a level where the children understand. Depending on the group and culture, I try to communicate similarly, or not too much at all that I offend someone or create misunderstanding and miscommunication.

When I encounter groups of people from different culture, I usually try to develop an understanding of their culture, and be aware of my surroundings. I try to understand the diversity of my surroundings to identify if there is more than one culture I am dealing with. I would always keep communication simple, but also try and identify a common understanding between myself and the different groups of people. Look for something we have in common that we can conversate about, or look for activities and other things to do to be involved and not look like I am not fitting in.

Communication in Action

Mute on, Mute Off

One aha moment I had while watching the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) with my daughter, first in mute for the first half of the movie, and after replay and with music till the end was my assumptions. I began with the knowledge that the giant was friendly and lonely with no friends because of his circumstances. The little orphan girl walked through the house wishing for a different living situation. While she was snatched by the giant, I began to wonder if the giant was really friendly or not. After turning on the sound for the movie and starting all over again, it started to make sense. 

I began with some knowledge, what I thought I knew, and from there I build up all the assumptions regarding the movie and the characters. After the two main characters got to know each other, their friendship grew stronger and they started a mission to convince the queen to get rid of all the bad giants. At the end of the movie, I realize that we always tend to judge people by how we see them without giving them a chance to speak up for themselves. The big friendly giant, although big, he cared about everything, even the little creatures or "human beans" as they call them in the movie. Communication is important in life because we give people the chance to be themselves, and share who they are with others. I felt that even without sound, but with subtitle, I could have understood the movie without assumptions from the start. The greatest skill of communication is listening. We tend to not listen to understand what other people are saying instead we are always looking for and think about a response. Sometimes what people need is to be heard.