Prejudicial impacts on professional life

One of the first things that came to mind is that when I have experienced things in my past that may have me having prejudice feelings towards others, I may overcompensate so my true feelings don't come through.  For example, I have had bad experiences with men throughout my life, and so I am not very trusting of them.  I may overcompensate by overreacting with trust in order to hide my true feelings, if that makes sense.

On the other hand, I may also may be very blunt in my feelings, which will of course cause problems.  I think knowing what your prejudices and biases are, and either paying attention to how you react or even asking the opinion of others will help you when working with families and children.  I will be able to gain a better perspective and be more careful of my words and body language.

Early sexuality for children

I have been thinking and noticing that children dress way to sexy and provocatively.  It even bothers me when I see two or three year olds with mini skirts on because it makes me wonder how are they going to want to dress as they get older.

I have also witnessed two young boys, about ages 5-7, talking about seeing their parents having sex, and it didn't even phase them.  I was just in shock that it didn't seem to bother them.  Just walking around the mall, you see middle and high school girls leaning all over their boyfriends wearing tight and see through clothes and it just makes you wonder if they have any pride in themselves.

I think this has implications on both boys and girls.  The girls are taught that how they dress is how they will get noticed, and boys are taught to treat girls who dress provocatively a certain way.  There is one thing in teaching how to dress and look nice and another when looks take priority over everything else.

Working with diverse children

This class has been good and has opened my eyes to what many children have to face, such as poverty, war, and parents who are incarcerated.  Not only that, it has opened my eyes to my own biases and what I am willing and not willing to do to change these.  While there are some things I am willing to work on, some things go against my beliefs, but I hope that this will not impact my work with children.

I hope that when I work with children and families coming from diverse backgrounds I am able to make a difference.  I hope that I can show that families need to stick together, and regardless of your circumstances, you can still love and support your children.

A goal I have for the early childhood field is to try and focus more on those families that are having a hard start.  I have a friend with two children who just cannot seem to get a break.  I realize that it varies from state to state as far as what is offered, but it seems she can't get the help she needs.  And she just needs that boost to help her get on her feet and get on her own.  I would like to see more programs designed for these types of families.

Thank you so much-to the class-for your comments and support and I wish you the best of luck in your future classes and your work with families.

Why does that guy look like a lady??

I know my son has asked me questions where I have had to explain why he couldn't ask, at least not out loud like that.  Of course, because I had to think of an example for this, none came to mind!  So I asked a friend of mine if her nephew had said anything, and this is what she told me.

He had asked why that guy looked like a lady.  I asked what her response was, and she said she didn't say anything out of fear, because the lady looked "hard."

By not responding, or at least explaining later, it might have just left more questions for her nephew to answer.  Also, depending on her nonverbal language, if her face showed any fear, it might have stopped him from asking questions in the future, and instead just form his own opinions and biases.

In a classroom setting, a teacher could have explained that some people just look different, and we shouldn't judge others off of how they look masculine or feminine.

Farewell and Good luck

This class was great, although I wish I had communicated more with the instructor on some things going on with me.  Lesson learned for next time!  I enjoyed reading everyone's posts, and I look forward to the next phase of our education.  Good luck to everyone, and I hope to work with some of you in future classes!

Who I am as a Communicator

I was pleasantly surprised to see that those that rated me as a communicator came up with similar ratings as I did.  The one that was different, but in a good way, was the communication anxiety.  I rated myself as mild, but my friends and colleagues rated me as low.  This shows that I do not come off as nervous as I may feel.

My verbal aggression was rated as moderate, but this is something I would like to work on.  I know there are situations where my emotions get the best of me, and I need to work on that.  I would like to also work on communication as a leader, because I hope to become a child advocate leader someday.

Do I Communicate Well?

I think that I communicate about the same with people, regardless of their background.  This is not necessarily a good thing, I just realized.  I may speak to everyone the same way, without taking into account their culture.  I may inadvertently offend someone.  But as far as my behavior, I act the same around people.

I do however tend to communicate badly when I get upset.  In order to help combat this, I need to step back from the situation and really look at how bad it may or may not be.  I also need to remember to have respect for the other person, even if I don't feel like showing respect, I know I would be the bigger person to do so.