National/Federal Jobs & Roles

These are national organizations I am interested in:

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - advocates for the civil rights of people based upon race.  I like this organization because of their impact on society.  I also enjoy the impact the organization has had on discrimination of race.  
• The Executive Assistant Position interest me.   It is a position that requires a degree in accounting, knowledge of Microsoft Office and administrative experience.  Unfortunately, I am not qualified for this one.  https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=17fb7309-3861-4b47-8413-7fd2090ce526&ccId=19000101_000001&type=MP&lang=en_US 
• National Education Association - this organization advocates for teacher's rights, salary, benefits, and equal funding for schools. I support the reasons behind the NEA wanting to advocate.  I also feel that teachers should make more money.  
• Senior Communication Strategist position interests me.  I didn't realize that I could use my current professional skills and education to advocate for educators.  The position requires a Marketing or Communication Degree.  Knowledge of social media as a method of communication.  I would need additional experience regarding how to build campaigns.  http://www.nea.org/home/825.htm
• A Comunity of Practice I have always been interested in is Delta Sigma Theta.  It is a female sorority that serves the community.  Unfortunately, I was not able to join the sorority while in college.  I had other responsibilities.  
• The Communications and Membership Services Specialist would be the position I would be interested in.  The job description is not listed, but I am sure that it would require Microsoft office knowledge,  membership to the organization, knowledge of proper ways to advertise throughout social media.  

ECE Communities of Practice I Admire

3 Local/State Communities of Practice

• South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators (https://scabse.net/about-us) 
• South Carolina Oddesy of the Mind (https://www.scodysseyofthemind.org)
• South Carolina Council for African American Studies (https://www.sccaas.org/page-1581466) 

     The South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators identifies issues in state and local policies and advocates to improve academic achievement for all children.  In my opinion, South Carolina's education standards need to be reviewed and revised.  There are policies set in place that allow and promote exclusion.  There are also schools that don't have the proper materials to adequately teach quality education.  "Coincidentally" the schools that lack are predominately African American schools.  Someone has to be an advocate for these children.   

     South Carolina Oddesy of the Mind is a group of people that teach children K-12 to be creative problem solvers.  They use their imagination and problem-solving skills to think beyond the limitations they see in front of them.  I like the program because it teaches children to think for themselves.  It also teaches teachers to equip and challenge students to be creative and problem solvers.  

     South Carolina's Council for African American Studies helps teachers to teach African American history.  The council is a resource for all teachers.  SCCAAS makes sure that African American history is apart of every social studies class and confirms that the students get accurate information.  They are educated on culture, the lives of slaves, how the country was built, and other factors.  

Job opportunities that interest me: 

- Director in Training Position - https://www.glassdoor.com/job-listing/childcare-director-in-training-sunshine-house-early-learning-academy-JV_IC1155074_KO0,30_KE31,68.htm?jl=3206859785&utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic

- Child Care Director - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/child-care-director-at-aminas-1247387114?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic

What I will need to be qualified for the positions: 

Although there wasn't really any job descriptions posted, these are the characteristics/skills this position would require.... 

• teaching experience
• knowledge of the job responsibilities  
• knowledge of the state rules and regulations 
• managerial skills 
• ability to encourage cohesion 
• flexibility from 6am -6:00pm

Saying Goodbye to a Great Team

I can still remember my emotional struggle when I left my previous job.  I truly loved the Career Services Team at my previous job.  We loved, fought, and communicated like a family.  We were connected and often prayed together.  I felt as if I was leaving family, but I knew that I needed a change.  I decided to pursue other career opportunities because of the financial situation of the company and the need to advance within my career.  

We ranked highest in the company for career placement and worked very hard to get there.       We had established roles which allowed us to work and communicate with students within certain fields.  This allowed us to work as a team, but knew our responsibilities and goals within the team.  

We had going away parties as each person left.  I was the second to leave, but everything remained the same.  Parties and a photo album with all of us.  It was a bitter-sweet goodbye, but we still contact each other occasionally.  

I believe that it won't be difficult to adjourn from the group of my colleagues completing a master's degree.  I have a hard time building relationships with people that I don't speak to or socialize with. Although I have seen pictures of my fellow colleagues, I have not formed true relationships.  We will continue to be colleagues and work together on the projects we have.  

Resolving Conflict

Scenario:  

I work with multiple people of all ages and different cultural beliefs.  There is a communication barrier that has caused a great deal of conflict within the department.  We are now going through a program review based upon the results of many surveys.  Because we know the main reason behind the conflict is communication, I need to show people how to communicate effectively.  Therefore I have thought of 2 different strategic plans that could help with decreasing conflict.  

Strategy 1: 

3S Skills (Third Side Skills) https://thirdside.williamury.com/category/tools/3s-skills/

Seeing, listening, and speaking from the third side allows for everyone to look at the problem without any bias opinions, emotions, or any connections.  

• Seeing the situation and not being apart of the situation allows everyone to see both sides.  The website refers to everyone looking at the conflict from a balcony seat, as if you are watching a play (https://thirdside.williamury.com/category/tools/3s-skills/ ) 
• Listening with intent to resolve the problem is very important. There are many ways to listen, but we have to learn to listen without having a bias attitude or trying to find an argument point.  
• Speaking is a very important part of communication but so is remaining silent.  Silence is allowing everyone to give their point of view and communicate.  Using the right verbiage to ask questions can be one of the very few times to speak.   

Strategy 2: 

3R's (Respect, Response Relationship) 

No matter what the age, it is very important that we use the 3R strategy to communicate with people.  

• Respecting a person should be a way of life for anyone.  Treating people the way that you want to be treated will eliminate confusion, possible interruptions, and hopefully some rudeness.  This is a way of people on equal ground... no matter what their age, sex, or any other categories.  
• Response - knowing the people you are having a conflict with makes a difference and is apart of your response.  The responses you have to questions, concerns, or comments determines if you are approachable.  In my scenario, the people involved don't feel as if leadership is approachable.  This perception has been formed based upon previous responses to questions or concerns.  So teaching leadership how to respond to situations can help 
• Relationship building can decrease future conflict.  A relationship can link two or more people together.  It builds trust and shows that each person is able to communicate. Encouraging team building can help my coworkers to one day be able to communicate effectively

I left out plenty of details regarding the conflict due to confidentiality, but overall using the 2 strategies or a combination of the strategies will help my coworkers to understand and work effectively as a team.   

  

Who am I as a Communicator?? 

My evaluation scores were very similar to the scores that my husband and sister had made about me.  I thought it was funny that I had always matched with one other person in each category.  Then the other person was only different by a few points.  

For example my sister and I both rated me as low in communication anxiety.  We were only 2 points from each other!  On the other hand, my husband and I scored me as people oriented in the listening category. We were 4 points off from each other!  

I kind of expected us to be around the same scores because these two people are closest to me.  They know how I think and communicate with people.  

I was very surprised the descriptions of the score levels were very accurate.  I agreed with each of the descriptions.  I guess I am kind of skeptical about the scores on evaluations.  At times, I have seen the level descriptions be completely off from the personalities of the people being evaluated.  

I learned that there are still many areas in which I can improve to become a better communicator. Also, although some categories may appear to have a negative connotation, there can be positive that comes from it.   Having an aggressive personality can be beneficial in some situations.  It just depends on the situation and the audience.  

Cultural Diversity

Different groups tend to make you communicate differently. For me it depends on two factors:

• If I know the person I am communicating with
• How I know the person I am communicating with 

There are many differences in the way I communicate with my church family versus my coworkers.

Church family 

• greet with a hug and sometimes kiss 
• talk about personal experiences 
• meet outside of church 
• have meals during special events 
• introduce to family that live out of town 
• know children and are invited to birthday
• answer older people as ma'am and sir

Coworkers 

• greet by saying good morning or hello 
• build agendas and itineraries 
• talk about limited personal experiences 
• sometimes go to lunch 
• show pictures of some family
• occasionally invite children to personal events 

Over the past couple of weeks I have learned to:

1. Listening with intent  -   Knowing how to listen is essential when communicating.  
2. Acknowledging differences like age, ethnicity, and culture.
3. Be respectful of the differences once realizing what they are 

Observing Communication Through Television

I watched a show called The Good Wife without any sound to see how to character’s body language matched in regards to their emotions.  I have never watched the show, but heard that it was very good.  It was based upon South Carolina governor’s marital affair. 

Watching the show without sound….. 

Based upon the scene, I could see that the female character was uncomfortable at the beginning of the show. The show started with what looked like a couple holding hands and the man said something to the reporters and the wife was imagining the man naked with someone else.  The woman looked as if she was in shock, hurt, and ashamed, but continued to move where the man was going hand in hand.  They walked in some back hall and she completely stopped. The man turned around and said something.  The woman slapped the man across the face, then walked towards a crowd of reporters.  She was still in shock, but looked as if she was walking more confident.  The scene went to 6 months later and she was in a conference room.  Her facial expression looked as if the meeting was late, and someone walked into the room.  She immediately picked up her things and ran to another part of the building.  The meeting was being held in another part of the building.  She eased in the back of the room, and started to look around.  She looked as if she was embarrassed.  The presenter closed the meeting a few minutes after she had gotten there. 

During another scene she went into another woman’s office where there was a dog.  She was handed a box of papers and had a short conversation with her.  The first female’s face looked as if she was trying to retain information.  She appeared to be mentally preparing herself for work or an assignment.  After the discussion, she walked down a hall and spoke to a number of other people.  When speaking to the other people, her body language and expressions changed to be more business casual.  She laughed as if she was discussing something funny or interesting.   

Watching the show with sound….. 

The main character’s husband was explaining what happened and why he was resigning.  Her body language and the emotions showed that she was distraught.  She was trying to self monitor herself.  O’hair, Weimann, and Mullin (2015) describe this as watching others around you to see how you should behave.  She was masking her feelings and trying to look as if she was supportive and understanding. I was correct when I assumed that she was in shock, hurt and ashamed during the conference.  Her husband was cheating on her.  Based upon the first part of the show, it seemed as if she would not be able to handle the press and information overload she was receiving.  I believe I was wrong when I said that she was walking with more confidence.  It appeared as if she was still with him after the 6 months had gone by.  One could see that she was still affected by the scene, but it would not destroy the main character.  

The main character (Alisha) was a lawyer and waiting for the staff meeting to start.  After finding out that she was late, she was assigned the cases that didn’t have any significant value to the firm.  She was given multiple tasks to do by another co-work who kept her dog in her office.  This woman gave Alisha a client that would have to represent later that day. This caused Alisha to be very unsure of her ability to assist the client.  Alisha’s insecurities didn’t show as she spoke to the other employees while walking down the hall.  I was also wrong with the assumption that she was comfortable with her other co-workers. She wasn’t and the smile was a smirk, because they were playing and commenting on the video of her husband’s speech while she held his hand.

After watching half of the video, I realized I was able to identify a portion of what the character was trying to portray.  My assumptions were about half correct.  If I knew more about the show, I would be able to identify more communication skills. It would know the significance of following Alisha.     

Reference:  

   

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.