Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

As a human being I believe we all have a right to happiness and we must respect that. In schools we teach about differences in race, culture, traditions, as religions, and I think that we should not exclude sexual orientation. I have come across a few children who have had parents of the same sex and I treated them as I would with any other child. Those who feel that books and material that include gay and lesbian individuals should be aware that at one point African American and Caucasians were not allowed to attend school together and look how much has changed. We have to be able to show children that we all have differences and unique qualities. Sexual orientation does not make us who we are, it is just apart of our lives. Excluding books about gay and lesbian will not make the issue go away because one day they will learn about it.

If a parent told me that they did want their child being taught by someone who self reported being homosexual I would explain that the teacher is only their to educate their child and not to push his beliefs of sexual orientation on them. He or she is certified in educating young children and that the parent is more than welcome to observe their child's interaction with that teacher if they still feel uncomfortable.

Adjourning

Adjourning is the final stage of team development and it is when the group has come to a completion point in their project. Sometimes it can be difficult to say good-bye especially when you have formed a bond with the people you are working with and the process of developing and completing the project was an overall positive experience. I often find that when I go to training I develop and close connection to those who I am working with. At trainings I tend to sit with people with whom I have never met or the training instructors have placed in that particular group before the sessions begin. I went to a conference last July on cultural competency and I was paired with a woman from Atlanta who had similar viewpoints on cultural competency as I did. The conference consisted of many teach back moments where we were required to roll play scenarios on how best to handle different cultural dilemmas. I enjoyed working with the young woman and since that conference we have kept in contact through email from time to time and she has recently graduated with her master's degree. Saying good-bye in this situation was not too difficult because we had exchanged email address in order to keep in contact with one another.

Dealing With Conflict

This assignment touched home for, especially with this weekend. My husband and I have a 7 week old baby and we are still working on a sleeping schedule for him. Every week it gets a little bit better but it is still a process none the less. Well my husband believes that it is my responsibility to get up in the middle of the night (sometimes 2 or 4AM) to feed him because he does not (I quote) "feel like getting up". Well I told him sometimes I don't either but he is OUR child and we share the responsibilities as parents. Of course a huge argument broke out and he stressed how he didn't see a problem with it and I should be more understanding to his needs and I had the same argument with him. Finally after a screaming match for about an 1/2 hour I decided to walk away. All day Saturday I did not speak to him because I felt hurt that he could not be understanding to my needs. I felt that we both worked a full time job and I am in school as well as being a new mother. On Sunday my husband sat down with me and apologized for his comments and stated that he wanted to come to some type of agreement. We decided that after work he would allow me some time to complete my school work while he tends to our son. We are agreed that I would go to bed around 8pm and get around 5 hours of sleep before our son wakes up for his night feeding. My husband sits up with him until 11 or 12pm and puts him to bed and he sleeps until 6am so that he can go to work in the morning. We tried our new schedule out last night and I admit that I woke up this morning rested because I was able to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. By sitting down and having a honest conversation we were able to develop a strategy where both of our needs were met. I am glad this worked out because I am expecting my Valentine's gift this Friday lol.

Who Am I As a Communicator?

The assignment this week brought me great insight on how I view myself and how others viewed me. When I evaluated myself I found out that I my level of anxiety when speaking in front of people was mostly just situational. I realized that I am a good speak and communicator but I do get nervous when speaking in front of large crowds. My co-worker and mother evaluated me and they felt that I did not have anxiety and that I was a great speaker which surprised me. My mother stated that when I do have to speak in front of people she could never tell that I was nervous because I always maintained my composure and completed the task at hand. Through this assessment I also learned that my co-worker, mother and myself were all on the same page and agreed that I was a great listener and that I did not pass judgment on others and allowed them to express themselves freely. The one thing that I learned from O'Hair & Wiemann (2012) was that we cannot stereotype individuals. Stereotyping is just the process of passing opinions and judgments on individuals to simply place them in a category to be generalized.

Communicating With Others Who Are Different From Ourselves

I would like to believe that I communicate with everyone the same across the board but I would be lying to myself if I stated that. I think that I do treat other people who are of a different culture in a different way but I may not be fully aware of it. I have a difficult time communicating with individuals who are deaf because I have a fear that they will misunderstand me and I do not know sign language and I do not want to offend them. There has been occasions where I could have taken a sign language class but always made an excuse of being too busy or feared that if I did learn then someone would call upon for assistance and I would still mess things up. I find myself shying away from these individuals not because of discrimination but the fear of not knowing what to do. Three ways I can overcome this is by simply just taking the sign language class, finding resources to help me communicate with them better, and finally working with other professionals on what ways I can better serve and talking to them about their experiences.

First Impressions

For this assignment I decided to log into my Netflix account and find a TV series that I never viewed before but always heard about and I chose the TV series "The Walking Dead". I never was a person for movies about weird people or zombies but decided to give it a try. In the beginning of one episode a man in a police uniform was riding through an abandoned city on horse in an effort to get somewhere important I assume. When he turned the corner on one of the streets h was greeted by a large amount zombies running towards him. He was soon overrun and knocked off of his horse where he ran to hide underneath an armored tank. As he was shooting at the zombies he had the look of uncertainty on his face and place the gun to his own head. Before he pulled the trigger he found an opening in the armored tank and slipped inside. Inside, he had the look of panic on his face as if he was trying to figure out his next move. At one point he looked at a speaker in the distance with a confused look on his face but I couldn't understand why. On the next episode he escaped the tank and ran towards a building where he was greeted by normal people and he found refuge in side of that building. I decided to stop at this point and go back to the beginning of the show to watch it with sound to see what I could understand.

The man riding on the horse name was Rick and he was a cop in the city of Atlanta before the apocalypse took place. He was in search of his family, who he had been separated from during the apocalypse and decided to ride a horse through Atlanta to find him. The zombies caught up with him and he ran under the armored tank. As he was shooting the zombies he realized that he wasn't going to make it so he said, "Lori and Carl I'm sorry" and almost pulled the trigger before realizing there was a way inside of the tank. Inside of the tank he heard the voice of a man coming from the speaker and that is why he looked so surprised. The man on the speaker name is Glenn and he was assisting Rick with the route to get to the building they were in for safety.

My first impression of this show without the sound was a bit confusing and I felt like the TV series wouldn't be worth watching what so ever but after watching it again and listening it peaked my interest to want to watch more. In the text (OHair & Wiemann,2012) it states, "that just because we place more stock in nonverbal communication doesn't mean that we are always right." This statement was true when I first viewed the show without sound. I made a assumption because of the nonverbal cues that the show would not be interesting because of focused on the body language of the characters. I decided to watch a few more episodes and I think I am hooked, well let's just say that I will be watching once the series starts again in February.

Effective Communication

I am very excited to begin this semester with each of you and being able to have the opportunity to learn something about you as well as something new about myself. Communication is extremely important in everyday life and it is key when working with young children and their families. The one person in my life that I believe has excellent communication skills is my mother. My mother hold a Master's degree in counseling as well as being a LPC. Although she is now retired she still amazes me on how in tune she is with her environment and communicating with other around her. She offers great insight, advice, eye contact, and overall positive feedback when speaking with her. She makes a point to repeat what you have told her in order to make sure that she is understanding you correctly before she begins her response. I believe that she obtained these skills not only through her studies but through her years of experience as an educator before becoming a counselor.