Communication and Cultural Diversity

I often find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures. Most of my family and friends are Nigerian and when I am around them I find myself speaking in a Nigerian accent. I also tend to use more eye gestures and hand gestures that is very common among Nigerians. Also, I tend to not use proper English grammar when communicating with them.

At work I am surrounded by people of diverse backgrounds. I notice that I use less eye and hand gestures. I also speak more politely and with proper English. I am calmer when speaking with my colleagues, whereas at home or with family I can be louder and raise my voice if in disagreement.

Three strategies I can use to communicate more effectively with these groups:

1. I can work on not raising my voice with anyone even if they are my family. I do not like it when I get loud and neither does anyone around me.

2. Another strategy is that I can try to be more comfortable at work. I should focus more on having a positive and effective communication with my colleagues instead of how they will react if I use hand or eye gestures. Most of us are very comfortable with each other so I can try and be more comfortable when communicating.

3. One last strategy is that I can listen more and be more aware of the communication skills of others. If I am in disagreement I can listen to what others are saying before raising my voice and trying to get my point across. Raising my voice can also negatively impact my communication and may not be the communication skill of someone else. If I am the only one raising my voice then I am not communicating effectively. 

Sound Off, Sound On

Sound Off

For this assignment I watched an episode of Drop Dead Diva. There seemed to be a lot going on in the show. I can tell that there are two main characters. One is a skinny blond hair girl who seems to care about the way she looks. When the show started she was trying on a dress but from her facial expressions she wasn't sure about how she looked or fit in it and it appeared that she asked her significant other how she looks and he gave her a hug and kiss so I’m assuming he told her she looks great. She also looked as if she was interviewing to be on a show similar to Price is Right because she was studying the models. She is driving and applying makeup and also on the phone I can see her mouth moving and the Bluetooth headset in her ear when she crashes into a truck carrying oranges. Next, there is a brunette lady who is slightly obese at an office who seems to not care much about her looks.  She seems to get along with one coworker who I think is her secretary because she helped her get a few things and they seemed comfortable near each other. There is another coworker who seems to think she is better than the rest from the way she looks at them. The brunette spills coffee and walks out her office to get a napkin when she sees the rest of her colleagues hiding from a man with a gun. She seems worried but walks toward the armed man. When she walks towards him she trips over a bag and he shoots her.

They show the blonde girl in what appears to be heaven because everything and everyone is in white. She presses a return button on a computer keyboard and she disappears. Next we see the brunette girl in a hospital going through surgery; she wakes up, and looks in a mirror and from the look on her face and her mouth she seems to be screaming. I assumed that it is the blond girl in the brunette girl’s body.

Sound On

My assumptions about the characters and plot based on my observations were correct. The blonde girl was a model auditioning for the price is right. The blonde girl did care about the way she looked. The brunette girl did not care about the way she looked and she did work in a law firm. One coworker was her secretary and the other coworker did think she was better than the rest of them. They did both die and the blonde girl did end up in the brunette’s body.

I think my assumptions would have been right on target if I had been watching a show I already know because I would already know the characters. I would know what each character does, how they react when happy or sad and who they are close with. Nonetheless, even though I have never watched the show paying attention to their facial expressions helped me to understand the character’s communication and what was going on during the show. 

Competent Communicator

A person who demonstrates competent communication is my pastor. My pastor’s name is Jide Lawore. He has been a pastor for over 7 years and I always admire him when he speaks. He is a great public speaker. My pastor speaks eloquently and always annunciates his words; it is also easy to understand him whenever he speaks or preaches. When my pastor communicates, he makes eye contact and makes you feel at ease. He doesn’t speak too fast or too slow and he always offers explanations if you do not know. He is also humorous and not uptight whether he is speaking to you in private or in public.

I would definitely want to model some of my own communication behaviors after my pastor. I get shy sometimes, but my pastor always seems so comfortable when communicating. He is bold and he draws your attention when he speaks. The more I watch and hear him speak, the more I want to be just as competent as he is. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, I hope that I can provide them with a feeling of warmth, respect and acceptance. I hope that I can be an example of what it means to be an anti-bias teacher. I hope that i can also show children and their families the beauty of diversity.

My goal in the early childhood field in regards to diversity, equity and social justice is to continually educate myself on diversity, equity and social justice issues in the field. My goal is to also promote awareness to my colleagues and other professionals in the field on these topics. I believe diversity, equity and social justice are very important topics and all early childhood educators should take courses on the subject.


This has been a very rewarding and exciting class. I do not think it would be as much fun learning if not  for my colleagues. I personally want to thank you all for educating, inspiring and sharing with me. I have learned so much on diversity, equity and social justice because of all of you. Everyone shared great anecdotes throughout the weeks which helped me to learn more about the differences and similarities we all share. Thank you all so much and good luck in all your future endeavors and much success as you continue this journey in early childhood.

Welcoming Families Around the World

Country of Origin

The name of my family’s country of origin is Brazil. Brazil is a country located in South America. I do not know much about Brazil. The setting will be an early childcare center.

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

1. I will do a lot of research online and by going to the library about Brazil. I will like to learn more about the daily life in Brazil.

2. I will also try to familiarize myself with the school system in Brazil. I will find out how the early childcare system in Brazil is run. I will do this so that the child and family will have a smooth and comfortable transition.  

3. I will also try to learn some of the basic greetings from Brazil and buy a dictionary in case the family does not know English. The main language spoken in Brazil is Portuguese so I will also ask my mother’s friend who is Portuguese to teach me a few of the greetings.

4. I will also try to learn some songs from Brazil especially children’s songs so that I can teach to the rest of the class.

5. Lastly, I will decorate the classroom with greetings and pictures of Brazil to welcome the child and family to the center.

Brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family:

I hope that these preparations will welcome the new family not only to the child development center but also to America. I hope to learn much more about a country that I do not much about. These preparations will also help the other children to learn about a new culture; it will also prepare the children to not be biased or prejudiced towards the new child. It will be a great learning experience for myself and the other kids in the class. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

A memory of an incident when I experienced bias was an event that took place at a church I attended for a conference. The church was a predominantly Nigerian church; however, the conference was for other churches with different ethnic backgrounds. When it came to lunch, they served us Nigerian food which consisted of rice and a chicken that is tough to eat. I heard a few people complaining about the food and asking why people always insist on having Nigerian food at these events. A few people even mentioned it when there was a Q&A portion that people need to understand that not everyone likes or wants to eat Nigerian food and they should make sure to cater to everyone.

The incident diminished equity because the church assumed that everyone would enjoy eating the Nigerian food. There were no other options for lunch. You either ate the rice and chicken or you would be hungry. A few people had to buy food outside when they paid a registration fee that included lunch.

The incident brought up feelings of irritation. Although I am Nigerian I do not always want to eat Nigerian food. Also, I felt the frustration of those who did not want to eat the food. I would feel that there should have been more options for lunch and all those in attendance should have been taken into consideration.

In order for this incident to turn into an opportunity for greater equity, the church which hosted the event and the food coordinators would have to change. The church must understand that not everyone who is coming to the conference will be Nigerian. Those coordinating food must also change the notion of constantly serving Nigerian food at their functions. The church as a whole must be more open-minded to outsiders coming into their church.

Practicing Awareness of Mircroaggressions

One example of a microaggression I detected this week happened this morning at a wedding I attended. It was a beautiful multicultural wedding. The groom is Cuban and the bride is African-American. We were at the reception and the party began. The DJ began to play a variety of songs from old school to new school. After about an hour the DJ began to play Spanish music. At this point, one of my friends exclaimed “Duh, of course they would play Spanish music; I’m surprised they did not play it earlier”. At first, I laughed at her statement. After awhile I actually thought what she said and realized it was not funny. I told her that just because he is Cuban may not even mean that he likes Spanish music or that Spanish music must be played at his wedding.  She told me that she did not really mean the statement and that she had not really thought about what she said. She actually apologized and we went on with the party.

                                     

This experience made me realize how often and quickly microaggressions happen. I also realized that sometimes we may not realize that our comments are stereotyping or discriminating. Many people do not think about what they say before they say it. I was reminded that sometimes when microaggressions happen they are not truly intended to hurt anyone. Society is so used to making jokes and comments about people who are not like us. The experience reminded me to think before I speak and be careful of hurting other people.