CULTURAL DIVERSITY

I live in Holland, a kind of home away from home for me. I work at an International school, where my three sons also attend. My colleagues come from all over the world, Australia, England, America, South America, and Holland. There is a combination of woman and men, Caucasian and black African. There is a lovely mix and Dutch and English spoken between people. A true melting pot of culture.

The assignment for this week is to analyze my interactions with the different people around me. This class has confirmed that I have been correct in the way that I communicate, in the sense that one adapts to different cultures. I know that when I speak to Japanese parents my communication is very different to when I talk to Latin American or Greek parents. By individually recognizing and adapting ones communication to suit different cultures I believe it shows respect and cultural awareness.

When I interact with the Japanese families at school I am aware to speak softer and quietly. I do not use too many hand gestures and always speak slowly. To bow one’s head is a sign of respect I tend to do that when I have an exchange with them. Each culture has different nonverbal gestures or actions that they use when communicating, it is important to understand them as they can be easily misinterpreted (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).

I feel that it is important to communicate with respect for one another even if that means creating a third culture (Beebe, S. A, Beebe, S. J, & Redmond, 2011). There are colleagues that are closer to my culture, which is a more relaxed and outspoken culture. These colleagues I can be more casual with and less formal. When I am chatting to my Latin American colleagues they always greet with one kiss and some of my Dutch colleagues that are friends will greet with 3 kisses. The American like to hug hello, while formally with Dutch (even from a very young age) you shake hands. Age also plays a role in communication and the way that you speak to someone. I am more respectful when speaking to people that are older than myself.  When I talk to my Australian colleague who is younger me the interaction is much more playful and a lot of joking and laughing. This week’s reading has reinforced the importance of understanding other cultures and how we can learn from them and become effective communicators

          (O'Hair and Wiemann, 2012). I think the more one gets to know and truly understand other cultures the better you can communicate with them. Humor is another important factor in cultures and we all have such different forms of humor and what is acceptable and not. By being able to predict someone’s culture we can ensure that we have appropriate communication with them and find common group to relate to one another (Vuckovic, 2008).  I find it essential to understand the background of the learners, their families and my colleagues that I work with. I knowing their background I can ensure a meaningful interaction with appropriate communication.

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Vuckovic, A. (2008). Inter-cultural communication: A foundation of communicative action. Multicultural Education and Technology Journal, 2(1), 47–59.

You can tell a lot from Nonverbal Communication

This was a fun assignment and very interesting to say the least. I always felt that body language and non-spoken communication can give us a very clear indication of peoples emotions and feelings. I have a colleague that I work with and although she is very friendly and smiles a lot I could tell from the moment that I met her that there was a lot going on in her in life and that she great burdens. I later found out that that was true to say the least.         

I choose to watch a Dutch day time soap opera, I had a good excuse now! When I first watched the episode and having the sound turned off I was far more focused on the body language and gestures between the actors and actresses. The series is called “Goede tijden, slechten tijden” (translated as “good times, bad times)

Non-verbal communication has the ability to give a powerful message without the need for words (O'Hair & Wieman tell us, 2012). On the flip side of this non-verbal communication can be misinterpreted. 

What do you think the characters' relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

The scene that I watched had a female and male in a hospital room with a woman lying in the bed. I watched closely and felt that the two were very concerned and seemed to be arguing, the female seemed angry and frustrated and the male much calmer and not as worked up. The person in the bed just slept so there was no communication or emotion there. The female touched the man’s shoulder and gazed into his eyes, he did not touch her back and looked down to the ground, almost in shame. I felt that they were lovers and she was sad and angry about something. He looked remorseful and ashamed. I could not work out what the link to the person in the hospital bed was.

I then watched the scene with the volume on, I was able to put the pieces together and see where I had misinterpreted things that I had observed without dialogue.

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

I was right that there was a romantic connection between the two but I was wrong to assume that she was angry and he was remorseful. In fact they were talking about the person in the hospital bed and she was very emotional and he was as sad but showed it very differently. It was not clear in the one episode but I think that they were somehow involved in the accident that caused the persons hospitalization. There were of course more scenes that I watched and some I interrupted more correctly than others.

I realized that because I was not familiar with the show, characters and storyline it was challenging to read their body language and make predictions on their body language and behavior.

I think if I had done the same exercise with a show that I was familiar with that I would have been far better in interpreting what the storyline and interactions were about. I would have been able to use previous information and recall my memory about the show to link to my predictions on the scenes I watched (O'Hair & Wiemann,  2012). 

This exercise made me realize how much I depend on people’s dialogue and also how things are said as appose to text messages where you can also very easily misunderstand messages. I feel that body language and gestures convey a strong message and one needs to keep this in mind when dealing with families and especially families that may not have English as their first language.  I will remain dedicated to open communication and effective listening when it comes to parents, keeping in mind that parents have their family and children and the core of their interest (O'Hair& Wiemann, 2012).     

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

A competent Communicator

As we have read and what I fully believe is that in order to a competent communicator one needs to not only master the required skills but it also needs to come naturally (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  Good communication  needs to become instinctive and intrinsic.  I feel that when someone can communicate well and efficiently it inspires people to achieve their goals and aim high.

Quite a few names came to mind when I thought of a good communicator that I knew. The one that came to mind first was a teacher that I worked with many years ago that later became a close friend.  She had the ability to communicate with ease and clarity. She had a presence about her that made people comfortable.  When ever she addressed people she knew exactly how to set a tone and engage people into a conversation that would lead to good communication and desired results.  She was confident without being arrogant and always willing to listen to others ideas and questions. She had such a good balance of humor and seriousness, compassion and efficiency. I personally have problems with being direct with people if I do not agree. I don't want to offend anyone and so I tend to be too passive. I hope that this class will give me the skills to be more direct in my communication with others.

 

Considerations, reflections and aspirations

I feel privileged to have worked in four different International school in three different countries. I feel that the diversity adds a richness to not only the students experience but to my personal experience as a teacher. I have learned so much from the international community that I have had the privilege of being a part of. I have learned about different cultures and different education methods. When I focus on what one hope would be for me it would be simple. I would hope that the diversity that I provide in my classroom creates a place were children and families feel safe and secure, respected and appreciated. I see my classroom as a global village, a safe haven where we all come together to learn and discover new and exciting things. We learn from one another and from one another’s differences and diversities. The families make up our school community is part of the global education and awareness I want all my learners to be a part of.

As an Early Childhood teacher I feel strongly about the importance of quality ECE for all children. The foundations that we set from young are part of a child’s development and they need to strong, rich and solid. I feel that no matter where children come from, their background, colors, languages they speak or gender - they all essentially have the same needs and desires. It is wonderful to stand back and watch young children interacting in the role play area or in the sand pit together. Their conversations and the roles they choose to play tell us so much about their home culture and about their self identity. Having said all this I guess my goal would be to have a classroom or environment that is rich in diversity and is welcoming and familiar to all the children. I want the children to come to school excited and be confident within themselves. I encourage the children to be independent and make choices for their learning. I want to be able to stand back and see that all the children are engaged in an activity that they have chosen and are actively learning. The environment should lend itself to Independence and inquiry based learning. I would also aim to have good relationships with the families of my learners. For them to know they can come to me with questions and concerns at any stage. I will make the time for them as it is important to see the family and the child as a whole. If a family feel settled and secure so will a child and visa versa.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it so helpful in my daily teaching and even in my family life. I would like to thank all my fellow students for your weekly discussion posts and blogs. I found them to be insightful and make me stop to think about opinions and my own beliefs. A big thank you to Dr Williams for your comments and your words of support. I felt that the course was well communicated and if I may say - it has been my favorite course this far.  Good luck to the rest of you with your studies and don’t hesitate to be in touch if I can help with anything in the future. Good bye from a cold and wintery Holland.

Welcoming new families to school and the community

Welcoming new families to school and the community

Welcoming new families into the school community is such an important thing.

I have done this many time in different countries and school and also been welcomed by schools with my own children.  From both sides I know the importance of having a warm and open welcoming. Providing families with information that will help them integrate smoothly into the community.

I have experiences families with different religions, languages and educational backgrounds. I have children at my school that are immigrant children that come to Holland to escape their war ridden country.

For my story I will choose Zimbabwe in Africa. In order to get ready and welcome the child and their family I look at the records provided and try to get as much information I can regarding the families languages, religion and educational experiences.  I will try to make contact with the family before their arrival and welcome them to their new environment. I will ask the family to bring photos of their family and their country. As much background I can gather will help me to properly welcome the family. I will research Zimbabwe and the local language so that I can use a few words to make them feel at home. Knowing a bit about the reasons for moving to the new country and school is helpful for a teacher to prepare for a new family’s arrival.  I will see if I have anyone in the community that comes from Zimbabwe or a neighboring country that would be able to help welcome them.  I will make contact with the parent teacher committee so they too can welcome the family and introduce them to other families. It is important that my colleagues and other children know that the family will arrive and that they know the child’s name and do their best to welcome them.

I always like to have the children’s name visible where they can hang their coat and bag and somewhere in the classroom too. In this way they feel valued and have a place in this new environment. I will make sure to have some pictures of Zimbabwe in the classroom so the child has something familiar to connect with. It is essential to include the whole family in the integration of the school and the host country and culture. If a family feel comfortable and settled a child has a higher chance of success at school, Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010).

 

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

My Personal Experiences 

I go back to my upbringing as a white girl in an Apartheid era in South Africa in the late 1970’s. A country so divided by bias and racist laws. A beautiful country filled with hatred and sadness. A country I call home. 

I am slightly relieved when I am able to recount the days differently from my other white friends, who’s only contact with black people where those who cleaned their houses or worked in their garden. My father was a true freedom fighter, a passionate individual who put sport first. His sport saw no boundaries and he fought hard to have any South African be part of his dojo (karate school) regardless of color. He fought so hard that he landed up in compromising situations. I recall a certain scenario where I was out at a local swimming pool with my friends, the pool was divided into whites and non-whites. White people got the grassy shady area, which I never thought to question why. I saw a friend from karate, a black friend, excited to spot one another we ran over to each other to say hello. The whistle blew and the life guard came rushing over, as if someone may be drowning. Instead he asked what we were doing and that my friend should stop bothering me and stay in her area. When I recount the events of that day I can hardly believe it. This is beyond diminishing equality and beyond biases, the brutal racism and the mere fact that a law allowed for this is inconceivable.

When recalling these events I feel so angry that this was allowed to happen for so long but at the same time I feel proud that this country has managed to move through and beyond this. The great Nelson Mandela helped to heal the wounds of the past and tried to have people forgive and move on. A rainbow nation with a brutal past and a colorful future. I choose to think that due to the political prejudices from the past this country and it’s many culture have an opportunity to learn and make conscious changes to never have history repeat itself.

 

Microaggressions around us

It was really very interesting to be consciously looking for signs of discrimination and microaggressions. I think that when you are aware of this and making an effort to hear and see them you will be surprised how often and how many times it occurs.  Often it is unintentional and no harm intended, more ignorant than anything else.

People seem to say and do things and not even realize that it is inappropriate and harmful to others. It was enlightening to listen to Dr Sue (Laureate Education, 2010), where she addresses the issues around microaggressions.

Being born and raised in South Africa one can only imagine the constant micro insults that would occur.  Sadly it was often more direct and outright racism.  Although there were ignorant people who thought they were not racism but there actions were enough to see that they were. An example is our neighbour when I was growing up.  An elderly lady who had a Black maid working in the house and a gardener who was referred to as the garden boy, even though he was a man in his late 60’s.  She lived alone and they helped her to run her home. Without them she would not have been able to stay in the house alone.  I can remember going over to visit and play with the dog and at lunch time the maid and the gardener would get their lunch, made by the maid, on separate tin plates and cups.  These cups and plates were not kept in the kitchen but in the scullery away from the old ladies own crockery.  They had to eat outside and there was a separate toilet for them outside as well.  Perhaps these are drastic forms of aggression and insults and not micro at all.  However the old lady did not see or realise that she was treating them differently or badly.  This is what was done in those times by many white people. She was sweet to them and they were happy to have a job.  It strikes me that even as a young child I questioned this and noticed the separation.

Having looked around me this week and trying to notice more of these things in daily life was interesting.  The Dutch are extremely liberal people and very aware of these things.  They are aware of categorizing and labeling people.  I did however witness something at school.  We had a boy of 10 years old (South American) and the teacher (British) was complaining that he had not finished his homework for the 3^rd time this week. Another teacher (Australian) commented, “oh but you know the South Americans, they so laid back and late with everything, he probably doesn’t even realize that it needs to be done today”. No one really thought the comment was inappropriate. I do feel that was a microinsult towards a boy and his culture.

Stereotyping is not appropriate and can be harmful to others. We need to be aware of our words and our actions as teachers.  As teachers we need to role models of the correct behaviors towards one another as well as being aware of any microaggressions or harmful behaviors that are occurring and help children or staff and families to deal with these issues.

References
Laureate education, Inc. (Executive producer). (2010). "Microaggressions in Everyday life"Baltimore, MD: Author