Observing Communication

Provide an account of your observation.
The place is my son’s dining room. I, my son, my daughter and my grandson Adonis are all siting around the table having a casual conversation. Adonis is drawing on some paper and my son and my daughter are playing a game on their iPhones. I too had my phone and was inquiring about the game and how I could get it on my phone. Adonis asked if he could play “Angry Birds” on my phone and I said, “Adonis, I’m using my phone and he said ok.” Adonis said Tee Tee, that’s my daughter his aunt he calls her Tee Tee. “Can I use your phone, she said no.” Adonis then asked his dad the same question.
Conversation;
Adonis: Dad can I use your phone?
Dad: Donnie I’m using my phone.
Adonis: Dad can I use your phone?
Dad: Donnie I said I was using my phone.
Adonis is now a little anxious to get his dads phone and Adonis began to yell, “DAD CAN I USE YOUR PHONE” (repeating and with much anxiety) Dad began to yell back. “ADONIS, I notice now that Donnie is now Adonis and he says in a loud voice. “ADONIS I SAID I WAS USING MY PHONE AND YOU CAN SEE IT WHEN I’M DONE.” Adonis seen to understand then that he needed to wait until his dad was done with his game and then he could use the phone. Adonis said ok and that was the end of the conversation.
Describe what you noticed and learned.
What I noticed is that my son never lifted his head up to look at Adonis and Adonis never lifted his head either. They had a conversation without looking at each other. The conversation was interesting because I always observed Adonis and to see him interacting with his dad like that let me know that they communicate with each other.
Another thing I noticed is that Adonis kept asking for the phone until his dad yelled at him. Adonis is hyper and brilliant. He holds conversation like a ten year old and he is five. I did notice that the yelling was harmless but authoritive, because when his dad yelled at him he stops asking and patiently wait for his did to give him the phone. No matter how many times he asked for the phone he realized that he was not going to get it until his dad was done
My connections between what I observed and the effective communication strategies presented in this week’s learning resources. What could have been done to make the communication more affirming and effective?
I visit my son’s home almost every day. What I connected with is that they are comfortable with the way they do things in their household and I would be out of place as a visitor to interfere with the way they communicate. My place as a visitor was to sit and observe, but as a parent and an early childhood professional I felt what I said was in respect to Adonis and to my son.
Share your thoughts with regard to how the communication interactions you observed may have affected the child's feelings and/or any influences it may have had on the child's sense of self-worth.
I know that Adonis takes medication to help with his sometimes violent behavior me and Adonis have our own way of communicating. I don’t mind if they forget to bring his medication when he comes to spend the night. I am well equipped with the knowledge and skills to properly address his behavior and keep him focused. Adonis is an excellent five year old (from a professional point of view) however; when Adonis is in school he has good/bad days. For the most part on days his parents don’t give him his medication before he goes to school, he’s going to have a bad day. It has been proven every time they forget. His teachers understand and usually call his parents or put Adonis in an area like in the Ms. Castillo’s mentioned in the video we watched last week about family child care homes.
Offer insights on how the adult-child communication you observed this week compares to the ways in which you communicate with the children. What have you learned about yourself this week with respect to how well you talk with and listen to young children? In what ways could you improve?
I did not have a conversation with a child this week that I could relate to this week’s readings. When I think about the critical issues in early childhood education I felt that the way Adonis behaves at home is affecting how he behaves in school. I get a verbal report from his parents when I visit and seeing how things are at home I can see why he behave inappropriately at school when a teachers says he yelled a another student or to a teacher.
I would have not yelled at Adonis at all. I would have asked him in a lower toned voice to wait until I was done using the phone and he could use it and that if he did not stop asking after I had explained to him that he could use it when I was done that he would not get the phone at all. I believe that children respond to yelling with fear although Adonis is use to his dad’s disciplinary ways, Adonis has a mental disability that cause him to have with anger if he does not get his way.
“In child-centered pedagogy, power is conceptualized as a negative force held by particular groups of persons, like teachers, and used to constrain the actions of individuals such as students (Usher and Edwards, 1994). Agency, therefore, is freedom from the authority of others to be able to make rational choices and act consciously in the world (Walkerdine, 1990). By sharing authority with students, child-centered educators free children to become determiners of their own actions. Child-centered educators share authority with children in the learning process so that children become self-regulating and self-determining individuals (ibid.).”
I have witnessed this behavior and I did not interfere with the disciplinary response he received as a result of his behavior at times, even I felt bad and thought it was inappropriate because I’m grandma. His parents know how to treat his disability. I communicate with Adonis openly. This helps me to focus on when and what his reactions will be when things don’t go his way. I will tell his dad not to yell at him especially when I’m present, because I know that children respond better to softer calmer voices and the message is still clear.



References
Castillo, A. (2010) Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. [Media] Laureate Education
Inc. Walden University http://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal
Yelland, Nicola. (2005) Critical Issues in Early Childhood Education. McGraw-Hill Professional
Publishing. (p 100). http://site.ebrary.com/lib/waldenu/Doc?id=10175188&ppg=115
Silin, J. G. (2005 and 2008). Who can speak? Silence, voice and pedagogy. In: Yelland, N.
(Ed.) Critical issues in early childhood education. (p 81). Berkshire, Great Britain: McGraw-Hill
Education. Retrieved from:
http://site.ebrary.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/lib/waldenu/docDetail.action?docID=10175188