Communication in a culturally diverse world!

When I think about diversity I often refer back to my current program. I work in a program with a huge variety of families with different backgrounds, culture and income levels. I find myself having to act and conduct myself with some families in a different way. I feel it is important to give every family the same respect at all times. I know that certain families expect a certain amount of respect and they feel that they should be handled in a different way than other families.

For example, I have families that are high income families and they feel that they should receive more services and individualized just because they pay more and they are in the highest category. I feel that this is so untrue. I try to treat each family the same, no exceptions. I also have some families that are low income and they feel they should receive free childcare just because they are low income and it should still be the same quality as every family. Again, I saw that all families should be treated the same way. The last example is the families that we have in our center that are from another country. We have some families that feel that they are exempt from following certain rules because of their diversity. I feel that we have to have a happy medium. All families should follow the rules and regulations of our program.

The three ways that I feel that I should use to help me communicate more effectively are to :
- Listen to the families and give them my undivided attention.
- Respect each family and request and cultural decisions while the child is in my care.
- I want to be more aware of the ways that I react and look at families. For example, I want to be more conscious of my facial expressions when dealing with families’ issues and concerns.

Being a great communicator!

For your blog this week, think of someone (e.g., family member, celebrity, politician, friend, or professor) who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context. What behaviors does this person exhibit that make him or her effective? Would you want to model some of your own communication behaviors after this person? Why or why not.

I believe that communication is key to sending a message or explaining exactly what is on your mind. I feel that some people express themselves through communication better than others. It takes some skill to communicate to large groups of people effectively. I feel that one person that I know that communicates in a positive manner is my good friend and boss. She has a way with words. Being her assistant I often try to duplicate some of the tactics that she displays and uses with our staff. I try to imitate her savvy method of disciplining staff and solving critical issues with parents. I feel she is a great communicator because she gets her point across no matter what and the staff and parents respect her and follows her wishes. This is a great skill that I would love to learn.