Ktantanim Balev

  Reflecting upon this assignment illuminated my perception of myself as a communicator. It provided me the opportunity to view the way other people perceive my communication skills. Through the differences in my notions and others, it highlighted my awareness of becoming a competent communicator.  For instance, in terms of Communication anxiety ( Rubin et al., 2009), I got three different evaluations. I evaluated myself as moderate communication anxiety levels, my husband evaluated me as elevated, and my sister considered me mild communicator anxiety. As I chose two close family members who know me very well, they are aware of my public speaking challenges, and their evaluations of my performance reflected that fact. Whereas, in my assessment, I screened my abilities in various public communication opportunities. For example, when I speak in front of the parents at school, speak at a conference, and much more. In terms of Verbal aggression ( Rubin et al., 2009), my score and ...

  I remember an example of microaggression that I detected a while back. One of my assistants approached one of our parents, who were Gay, telling them how she is impressed by how they send their children to school dressed in coordinated and ironed clothing. Also, she added that she is surprised by how they monitor their children’s behavior and growth. She finished her statement by saying that she is amazed that fathers can raise their children in such sensitive care, and she wished that they could teach the other parents to treat and care for their children the way they do. I was shocked by her bias and embarrassed as I witnessed the incident. As this microaggression version was unintentional, and my assistant meant to compliment the parents, she offended them. She exposed her personal biases (Laureate Education, 2011) by questioning two fathers’ ability to raise children as heterosexual parents do. That microaggression incident led me to conduct a team meeting, addressing the ess...

  As communication means conveying or receiving data, I use active listening skills to make sure I understand. I pay close attention to get any cues that my information was received appropriately. Since intercultural knowledge involves communicating with a person that may hold distinctive values, beliefs, and perceptions on life, it requires being attentive and aware of the others’ nonverbal communication and our own. Besides, approaching intercultural communication in a mindful and empathetic state of mind is essential, as empathy portrays our genuine interest in the conversation. Using the Being other-oriented approach is beneficial  (Beebe et al., 2011), referred to the Golden rule, which emphasizes communicating with others how we would like others to treat us. Being understood and respected based on our cultural background  (Beebe et al., 2011). Furthermore, we should be vigilant and look for cues that will enhance our understanding of our diverse classroom when comm...

  I asked three people that differ from me in religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation: Culture :” Culture is customs, traditions, way of being, of a particular group.”     Diversity -”  Diversity is the differences amongst individuals that make us all unique and guide our lived experiences.” Culture - “Culture is a set of shared social roles, traditions, values, language, history of a specific group of people that is passed on through time.”  Diversity “ Diversity is different identifies (visible or invisible) that people hold that shapes aspects of themselves, including people’s relationship with themselves, others, and society.” “ Culture - “ Culture is incorporating a set of shared values and social practices associated with a group of people who share the same language, foods, music, possibly religious or traditional beliefs. These can be associated with a specific country, community, or family lifestyle.” Diversity - “ Diversity is the practice of ...

I consider myself a visual person, an attentive communicator, using my skill to observe people and get nonverbal communication cues during our mutual communication.  The show I watched started with a closeup of a man that seemed thinking, waiting. His hands were in his pocket, and he didn’t appear concerned. It led me to assumed he anticipates something. ( He was waiting to be sitting in a restaurant) . As the frame zoomed out, I observed a woman and two teenage children staying with him. The man and the woman sat next to each other, while the adolescent children sat in front. The teens started talking, looking at each other, touching each other’s shoulders, and the conversation turned into a fight. They threw their hands to the air, and both of the teens’ facial expressions seemed agitated. Based on how they fought, the touch, and how they teased each other, I assumed that they were siblings (Indeed). While the woman’s face looked annoyed by the interaction and the teens’ fight,...

  I have to admit that it took me some time to decide which three items will represent my culture’s best. I thought of the three attributes that describe my culture: Jewish and Sephardic descent, which means that I am part of a generation of people who originated in North Africa. The first item: I chose a small plate and a cup that is sentimental to me. The cup indicates a religious ritual of tasting wine after a blessing to honor the “Shabbat,” which is the Seventh Day of the Hebrew week.   The second item: Is a” Haggadah,” which is a book that describes the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and includes chants and blessings. The Hagadah was custom-made and had memorable personal pictures of my nuclear family that captured many special moments throughout the years. The last item: Is a crown made out of precious stones and is kept in my family for generations. The crown is worn by a bride to be in a traditional ceremony called the “Henna” ceremony, which ...

  I am delighted to embark on a new journey that will expand and enrich my cultural sensitivity competencies.  

As I think of someone that demonstrates competent communication skills, Christina came immediately to my mind. Christina was my professor in several child development classes about twenty-five years ago at the beginning of my educational journey. I was an ESL student who had recently relocated to California. Our classroom was diverse and included several students from all over the world, with various expressive communication skills in English. As an attentive student, I remember observing Christina’s communication skills, as she articulated with her students very carefully. For instance, she used some gestures and props to highlight an object, body language to illustrate and support the thought that she planned to convey, and changed her tone of voice to refrain from becoming monotonic. As I monitored her skills carefully, I remember how she used to look directly at her student’s eyes, reassuring our comprehension. Besides, when a student asked a question, Christina started her answer ...