Using Communication Skills to Enact Change

Using effective communication helps better understand a person or policy, while enabling one to resolve differences, build trust and respect, and create environments where creative ideas, problem solving, affection, and caring can flourish at both personal and professional levels. Two communication skills that are important to personify when leading policy change include listening and emotional awareness. First, “Listening is one of the most important aspects of effective communication. Successful listening means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but also understanding how the speaker feels about what they’re communicating” (Helpguide, n.d).  Building listening skills is important because it makes the speaker feel heard and understood, creates a safe environment, saves time, and relieves any negativity attached to the policy.  Secondly, the feelings expressed through listening are also a part of building emotional awareness. “Emotions play an important role in the way we communicate and what motivates you to communicate or to make decisions. The way you react to emotionally driven, nonverbal cues affects both how you understand other people and how they understand you” (Helpguide, n.d.). Being emotionally aware is important because you can become understanding and empathize with others ideas through building strong, trusting, and rewarding relationships.

Communication has always been a strong skill on mine.  I have always been known to say what needs to be said, but in a direct, appropriate, and considerate manner.  As the head of the language arts department, I have to be readily available to offer advice, strategies, information, or teamwork opportunities.  When problems arise, being a good listener, being emotionally aware and compassionate about the circumstance gets the best outcome. Using the 7 C’s of communication, “Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct, Coherent, Complete, and Courteous” are not only an important steps to follow, but would be appropriate when communicating a policy” (Mind Tools, n.d.).

References

Helpguide.org. (n.d.). Effective communication. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/effective_communication_skills.htm

Mind Tools. (n.d.). The 7 Cs of communication: A checklist for clear communication. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_85.htm

Social Media’s Influence on Policy Issues

“In the twenty-first century, the proliferation of electronic social media portals, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Blogs, deployed on laptops and handheld mobile devices, are new, powerful communication tools capable of influencing users’ opinions in the realms of politics and policy” (Auer, 2011). None of these portals were specifically designed for collecting or sharing information on politics or public affairs, but much of the internet’s present-day functions go well beyond the purposes.

One realm of social media I would use to promote my policy on early childhood curriculum and development would be Twitter because the use of tweets, #hashtags, and "followers" can spread an educational trend globally in a matter of moments. “Evidence of this trend, for example, are the half-million followers of tweets transmitted by two, young State Department officials. The New York Times reports the pair’s tweets have become an integral part of a new State Department effort to bring diplomacy into the digital age, by using widely available technologies to reach out to citizens, companies, and other non-state actors” (Auer, 2011).  The audience following Twitter is immense, and although it only offers a 140 character limit per message, a “trending” or “viral” policy could create global change by the gathering, processing, and dissemination of information relevant to the policy.

Another realm of social media I would use to share my policy would be a professional blog because this avenue also creates a platform in which to mediate public understanding of important events, trends, and decisions. By building a reputation fueled with dependability and comprehensiveness, I can build a solid reputation that attracts followers to receive my cumulative decisions of the policy. Although this avenue may not reach as many users, it provides a fast and low cost way to disseminate policy information, while still attaining public feedback and communication with the citizens.

The benefit of using social media such as Twitter or a professional blog is that it opens up communication channels by virtually anyone with an iPhone, smartphone, or high-speed modem, to disseminate people’s immediate impressions on a policy. Additionally, as the writer of the policy, I can post messages to social media platforms without interference from editors or censors.  One challenge in examining social media includes a present concern that social media does not offer an “official” stance on a policy, just a mere opinion, leading to the dependability or credibility aspects to the audience reading information from social media.

Reference

Auer, M. R. (2011). The policy sciences of social media. Policy Studies Journal, 39(4), 709–736.Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Professional Goals for Systems and Policies

As I enter this course, I feel anxious due to the small amount of knowledge I possess relating to early childhood systems and public policy.  Although I find myself inexperienced in this field, I understand that policies and systems can largely impact my role as an educator.  

Three professional goals that can guide my path through this course include:

First, I must understand the ways systems obtain resources, while also integrating resources to better provide for young children and their families. 

Secondly, to fully engage in public policies, I must become aware of service integration and funding challenges that ignite concern and discussion in professional and political networks.

Finally, the goal I will have the hardest time achieving is to not only understand the systemic angle of early childhood, but one that also exhibits the confidence to participate in the highly political policy environment, in which I have never been a part.

Through these goals, I hope to fully understand the dynamic web entwined to the many facets of policies and systems.  Many hours of research within the Walden library will be necessary in order to fully understand and apply the information gathered and learned.  

Final Thoughts

This course has been my favorite thus far throughout my experience at Walden University.  Since I am an avid reader, the novel “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two culture,” was the material in which I enjoyed or connected with the most.  I love learning about other cultures and their differences in ways of life. Learning about anti-bias education and the effect it has on students and the society as a whole was greatly beneficial.  I knew that building relationships with students and families was important, but was surprised at the impact relationships have on major issues such as poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse. I would like to further investigate additional strategies in which to work with families to gain trust and lasting partnerships that are tied to achievement in the classroom.  Additionally, my research on substance abuse has allowed me broaden my knowledge base and possibly be an asset to our school counselor in substance abuse situations involving child maltreatment, isolation, or cultural or ethnic scenarios in our middle school environment.  

Interview Experience

Participants

Coleman Evans has worked as a school counselor at South Paulding Middle School from 1999-Present. He has a Specialist degree in School Counseling from University of West Alabama. He has daily and monthly interactions with the Division of Family and Children’s Services (DFACS), due to referrals he receives regularly dealing with children subjected to substance abuse, abuse, neglect, or other harmful events that deal with children in our school.

Kristie Amritt has worked as the Special Education Department Head at Nebo Elementary School from 2001-Present. She is in charge of the special education population at her elementary school and also runs a clothes closet for underprivileged children. She has experience in working with diverse and ethnic families and also builds loving and positive experiences for the lowest of the socioeconomic class, usually plagued with substance abuse, homelessness, and/or neglect.  She has many enlightening stories to share about her experiences working with this population.

Interviews

I thoroughly enjoyed the interview process. Both participants were eager to speak with me and shared invaluable information regarding my course project topic, substance abuse. The biggest success in speaking with them is getting to know more about what they do professionally. I know each person on a personal level, but learning about their experience and situations they encounter in their schools was truly inspiring. One situation I learned about was the extent of what our counselor at our school has had to add to his job, due to budget constraints. Mr. Evans explained, “My position can be very demanding as well as I am the only counselor in a building of over slightly 500 students.  So, I am responsible for providing counseling services, assisting with all testing (training and administration), and helping to provide a smooth transition for students going from elementary to middle school and students going from my school to high school to just a name a few of my duties.  Recently, there has been a big push to make sure all students participate in a career/job program the state of Georgia has developed called GACollege411.  This program introduces students (in the computer lab) to opportunities after high school such as the armed forces and higher education.”  I feel that some of his daily and administrative tasks take priority over the counseling at times, which is frustrating. As an educator in the same building, I need to be more cognizant of these tasks and need to be available to help when needed, so that he can do the job he loves, counseling.

Through the annotated bibliographies I have learned a plethora of information regarding substance abuse. I have researched the foundational research of Bronfenbrenner and how substance abuse fits into his theory.  Additionally, I have looked into how substance abuse affects mental health, the brain make-up, maternal abuse, and substance abuse vs child maltreatment. I have also delved into how substance abuse affects the community through truancy, homelessness, suicide, and cultural beliefs and ties to substance abuse. Finally, I have discovered how stress/trauma affect substance abuse through risky sexual behavior, family members, racial discrimination, community cohesion, and how it affects gay, lesbians, and transgender people. I have been looking at different viewpoints and how substance abuse affects the entire family unit, but have not had much success in linking early childhood to substance abuse.  Any articles or information linking my research to early childhood would be much appreciated! 

Course Project- Substance Abuse

My challenge I have chosen for my course project falls into the category of children exposed to risk, stress, or trauma, with a focus on substance abuse. I selected this challenge because I grew up with a mother that was an alcoholic, and I also see many situations as an educator of lives being torn apart, due to substance abuse. Working with students that live with this challenge is difficult because every child deals with substance abuse in different ways. Children that live with an addicted parent(s) may often feel insecure or scared and long term can contribute to mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. Some of the challenges that children face due to living with substance abuse include behavioral issues, medical or psychiatric issues, educational issues, socioeconomic strains, or emotional consequences. Often overwhelmed and distracted by issues occurring in the home, these children may be unable to focus on homework assignments and may arrive to school feeling anxious and preoccupied about their parents' behavior.  I feel it is my job as an educator to learn more about this challenge to nurture, guide, and help these students, so they too do not fall into the same situations as their parents. What educational strategies have you found effective when working with these students? Are there any programs out there that are effective in dealing with substance abuse? How can we help our students beat the odds and flourish in a negative environment such as this?

Emily Williams