Disagreements

Throughout my life, I handle situations with different individuals different want.  Throughout my education experience, there is always going to be disagreements or arguments.  It is the way that you handle these situations that either hurts or helps the situation.  One of the disagreements would be with a fellow 3rd grade teacher.  As a third grade team, we sit down and discuss the order or what we are going to teach our students so we stay on the same pace.  She thought that it would be best if we teach a certain topic and I disagreed on teaching that same topic.  It was math related.  One strategy that I learned that would help me is to talk out the problem.  Talking out the problem will allow for a positive communication between the two of us.  It will also help the problem to get resolved at a quicker pace if you talk it out and provide several examples to back up your decision.  The second solution that I learned is one of the R's.  The second strategy is respect.  It is important to respect their decision and understand that she has been teaching longer than I have.  Therefore, she has more experience than I do when it comes to planning the lesson plans.

When asking my fellow 3rd grade co-worker, she stated that she listens to what everyone has to say and evaluates each of the reasons that are provided.  Once she has listens to all of the examples, she gets input from other individuals that have more experience and then collaborates with them and brings the information back to us to discuss.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

This week was very interesting to learn about where I am ranked in regards to the tests that were provided.  I related more to the way my mother felt about how I was in my communication ability than the girl that I teach with.  The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that Ms. Rogers, the girl I teach with, thinks that sometimes I am too outspoken with my students.  She is stern with her kids as well, but she stated that I was too hard on my students'.  The reason that this surprised me the most is because these kids need it.  I am only being stern with them because I want them to learn and improve academically and behavior wise.

The other insight that I gained about communication this week relates to my listening skills.  Listening is an important component of communication.  I learned that I need to be more open with what others tell me.  Listening will impact my personal and professional life.  The way that it will effect my professional life is because it will allow me to develop a knowledge of what I can communicate with the parents/guardians.  The reason that it will impact my personal life is because I will be able to be more open with my friends and accept their differences.

The second insight that I gained about communication is that I am more comfortable in small group settings than public speaking.  I have never done any public speaking other than in small groups and in the classroom.  These tests gave me hints on how I can improve my strength and ability to be more comfortable whether in small group meetings or public discussions.

Communication

Throughout this course, we are focusing on the importance of communication in relation to any of the different types of cultures or other differences there may be between individuals.  When thinking about the individuals that I communicate with daily, it is mainly other individuals that I teach with.  I do not find myself communicating any differently.  I am myself at all times.  If I am going to communicate with an individual, I treat every individual the same.  I would never say something around someone that I wouldn't say to any of my friends or acquaintances. 

One way that I could communicate more effectively is the communication with family.  It is important to communicate to my students' family so they know that they are appreciated.  The second way that I could communicate is by being open.  Sharing my views and experiences is very important.  The last way that I could communicate more effectively is by using more nonverbal communication.  Nonverbal communication is more important in every day life that other individuals may think.

Communication

The show that I chose to focus on for this blog assignment is a show called Full House.  This show is on ABC Family.  I used to watch this show when I was a kid, but haven't watched it in over 15 years.  It was very interesting watch the show on mute.  Based on watching the characters in this show, they all seem to have a positive relationship.  The reason being is because all of the characters are smiling and laughing with each other.  They are also using their touching, meaning they are hugging each other.  This means that they are getting along and have a positive relationship.  Having the show on mute, the episode was when one of the younger characters had a bike that was stolen.  Everyone in the family was trying to help find her bike that was stolen.  Instead of finding the bike that was stolen, each of the family members brought home a bike that they bought at the store.  They did not communicate with each other, saying which adult or character will get a new bike exactly like hers' that was stolen.  When the little girl noticed that everyone was trying to help, she hugged every single family member and had a huge smile on her face.  She was very appreciative that they went and bought her another bike that was the same as she had before.

After watching this Full House episode with the volume on, it was a little different.  Watching Full House with the volume off still allowed me to understand the story line, but it was great to hear the conversation between the individuals in the family.  I made the assumption that they all got along great because their were smiles.  When the family members were buying the new bike for Michelle, the little girl, they all were mad at each other.  Each of the other individuals in Michelle's family were mad because they wanted to be the individual to help her.  Now that everyone had the same idea, they argued about the bike.  At the end of the show, another family with another little kid came to their door with her bike.  The bike was her old bike that was stolen.  Her family hugged the other family that brought the bike to her.  After watching the show with sound, it allowed me to pay attention to the little comments that are said.  If I were to watch the show or movie that I knew well, the communication factor would definitely change.  For a show that I watch all the time, having the volume on mute would not change much.  I would already know the plot and story line of the show, which would not change much.  It may make me analyze the listening and nonverbal cues more, but I would be able to figure out what was going on quicker than watching a show that I have rarely ever watched.

Communication

The person that I chose to focus on this week for the blog assignment is my mother.  My mother is a high school math teacher at a school in DeWitt, Michigan.  She has been teaching for close to thirty years.  Throughout her thirty years of teaching, I have had the experience to hear several different stories that involve her communicating with others.  Not only does she have a strong communication with her students, but she communicates with the others that she works with and with her students' parents.  One primary example that I would like to share occurred this summer.  She is the head of the math department in her school district.  During the summer, she has other teachers in her school and other schools around her district call her and ask for help.  One day, another teacher that teaches math at the same high school that my mom teaches at, came over to our house.  My mother sat and helped develop the curriculum that needed to be taught and helped her with her lesson plans and worksheets.  This took a lot of time out of her day.  She did not have to do this, but this is a great example of communication. 

My mother contains many behaviors that make her effective.  The main behavior that she has is openness.  She is willing to help anyone as long as they will contribute some efforts.  I want to be open like my mother.  I am a first year teacher, but as I continue my years in teaching.  I want other teachers to feel that they can come to me for help for anything, whether it is school related or related to something else.