A Note of Thanks

Dear Dr. Hampshire,

This course affected me in surprising ways! Unexpectedly, I gained self-confidence and self-esteem through learning how I communicate and uncovering what gets in my way of being an effective leader.

Thank you for your support and for pushing the boundaries of the mind!

Warmly,

MarieFrance

Farewell and Good Luck!

It has been a pleasure exchanging ideas with you, my colleagues. There is so much passion and love in your writings for children and your profession!

Thank you for sharing your professional experience! I am privileged to have been part of your study group and feel that your expertise has rubbed off on me.

I hope we stay in touch via blogs or emails.

Here is my personal email: mfmariefrance@yahoo.com

All the best!

Marie

As a personal closure to blogging on communication and collaboration, I chose to post a few highlights from my reflection paper. For me, it is important to finish the course and to observe how it affected me. 

In many regards, this class was challenging for me. Taking an honest look at the kind of communicator and leader I am, implied wrestling with the fear of discovering that self-inflicted negative judgments, i.e. not having the courage to speak up or come across as authoritarian rather than authoritative, are true. For the first three weeks, learning about my communication short comings was unsettling since I could run mental movies of past events when I was in uncomfortable communication situations and quickly wanted to think about something more pleasant. 
 

However, this exercise was necessary to raise my awareness on what I need to understand better about myself in order to better communicate. Learning how much schemas and self-perception influence the way one communicates was eye opening. Although I knew that one’s life circumstances impact behavior and emotional balance, further exploring the self was at times overwhelming but I came out of this introspection with greater self-confidence since I gained perspective on my communication skills.  

                                                 It is just perspective!

In the end, this class was more effective than psychotherapy. In a short amount of time, I had to take an emotional journey and dig out those stubborn emotions that want to stay in hiding. On my way back from this journey, I know what I need to do to continue improving my communication skills. In addition, the self-knowledge I gained has made me a happier teacher, able to communicate with children and their families with a lot more confidence, tolerance and compassion.

I would like to end this blog with a quote that Sha-Kevia, one of my classmates, posted on her discussion board (Laureate, Inc., 2013). I also looked up the quote online to find more information about Robbins.

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”

  -Anthony Robbins (Goodreads, Inc., 2013)

Reference

Robbins, A., 2013. “Anthony Robbins > Quotes > Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/152284-to-effectively-communicate-we-must-realize-that-we-are-all

Stage Five of Team Development - Adjourning

The first picture illustrates what the perfect adjourning phase looks like in my mind. Everyoneconcurs on a job well done, a job where everyone contributed to the best of their ability, where lasting relationships have been developed and could be reignited anytime. Everyone is saddened to part after such an exciting time spent together on the completion of a project. However, everyone feels fully satisfied with their job performance and the new deep connections in their lives (Abudi, 2010). Food and music punctuate a short last speech from the program director hailing everyone and no one in particular for having completed a difficult task and resolving all hurdles one at a time showing cohesion from the beginning to the end of the project (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012).

 

 

 

The second picture represents how the aforementioned meeting actually adjourns, with one knock of a gavel. According to the University of Idaho “the gavel is a sign of leadership that helps members to understand what is happening”, therefore it is up to the leader to call for the adjournment of the meeting in a clear tap of the gavel symbolically entrusting the earth with the powerful energy displayed in the completion of the project (uidaho.edu, n. d.). End of story! Make place for another one!

 

 

 

 

In my experience, groups that have been hardest to leave are clearly those where issues were still unresolved. One leaves wondering why the group dismantled when issues were still at hand, and does not clearly understand the motives of the leadership (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012). When a team reached its climax bringing a project to fruition, an organic feeling (to use a current expression) of completion helps the team separate with an understanding that the bonds created during the project are sustainable (Abudi, 2010).

 Regarding saying good-bye to the colleagues I have had the privilege to work with on the early childhood studies’ master program; I hope to be able to go to the graduation ceremony if there is one. Our adjourning will in fact be a first face to face meeting, almost as if the group were at its forming stage, except that past history will have bonded us through exchanges of true feelings, feelings that have not been corrupted by the illusion of eye sight too often influenced by cultural biases. In my mind, adjourning is only a ritual as far as it regularly occurs at the conclusion of projects.   

Adjourning is as necessary as saying good-bye in the sense that it provides closure. When team members have the opportunity to participate in a wrapping meeting, those team members have a chance to share what worked, what did not, bid farewell to their colleagues, and express last thoughts such as saying a few words of appreciation or apologizing for something that would otherwise be left hanging and provide a feeling of unfinished business.

Since I have developed a relationship with each one of my classmates, ending a class is always difficult. Through their writings, I imagine who my classmates are and benefit from their courage, sensitivities, perseverance, and encouragement. When a colleague I have worked with in a previous class is enrolled in a new class, I know that colleague will support me and I can count on them. This is a feeling I was not expecting to have prior to taking online classes.

 

References

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
uidaho.edu. n. d. The Use of the Gavel. Retrieved from: http://www.uidaho.edu/exit//~/media/Files/orgs/CALS/Department/AEE/Curriculum/Curriculum%20guides/400%20and%20above/410/Unit%204/403%207%20Use%20of%20a%20Gavel.ashx
 

Magda Gerber's 3 R's and Nonviolent Communication To Teachers' Rescue



It was the beginning of the school year and at a new school. The teacher planned on using acquired experience and knowledge to figure out students’ skills, difficulties, and school culture. In addition to relying on past experience, teachers’ meetings would be an important venue to unravel students’ stories. In teachers’ meetings, our teacher was surprised to hear stories teachers would start but never finish them. Our teacher assumed that the hushed parts of stories needed to stay unspoken because nobody could do anything about it.

 

                                        Clear Communication

Our teacher created their own curriculum according to the teaching method they were hired to deliver.  Fairly soon, the teacher realized that levels in each were unmanageable. This could have been remedied by extracurricular activities such as meeting outside of class time or during recess, lunch time, or after school. Nothing of that was possible for reasons outside of the teacher’s control. 

Clearly, lack of communication left the teacher with growing anxiety. Starting to doubt their self-efficacy, the first observation went wrong (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012, p. 51). Strangely, events seemed as though to have been set before the observation. During following interactions with the administration, the teacher continued to see with more acuity and stepped to both sides (The Third Side, n. d.). However, miscommunication continued.
 

Obviously, the missing skill from the teacher’s strategy was speaking from the Thirdside and “transform conflicts into opportunities for collaboration” (The Thirdside, n., d.). Speaking from the Thirdside implies that one can “interrupt constructively, affirm interests of the whole, and support a triple win” (The Thirdside).

Moreover, the teacher would have greatly benefitted from the Conflict Resolution Network advising to use appropriate assertiveness to express needs and ideas, dispelling any wrong perceptions (CRN, n. d.). The Conflict Resolution Network recommends to:

“Use an "I" statement when you need to let the other person know you are feeling strongly about the issue. Others often underestimate how hurt or angry or put out you are, so it's useful to say exactly what's going on for you - making the situation appear neither better nor worse i.e. your "I" statement should be "clear" (CR Kit, n. d.).

All in all, it was up to the teacher to rebalance the power dynamics by speaking up and communicating assertively their observations and needs (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012). The Center for Nonviolent Communication offers “concrete skills for manifesting the purpose of creating connections of compassionate giving and receiving based in a consciousness of interdependence and power with others. These skills include:

1.     “Differentiating observation from evaluation, being able to carefully observe what is happening free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us;

2.     Differentiating feeling from thinking, being able to identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame/punishment;

3.     Connecting with the universal human needs/values (e.g. sustenance, trust, understanding) in us that are being met or not met in relation to what is happening and how we are feeling; and

4.     Requesting what we would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what we do want (rather than what we don’t want), and that is truly a request and not a demand (i.e. attempting to motivate, however subtly, out of fear, guilt, shame, obligation, etc. rather than out of willingness and compassionate giving)” (NVC, 2013).

Practice makes perfect!

References

CNVC. (2013). Training. foundations of NVC. Retrieved from: http://www.cnvc.org/learn/nvc-foundations
Conflict Resolution Network. n. d. Retrieved from:
http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3
O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St.Martin's.
The Third Side. n. d. Retrieved from:
http://www.thirdside.org/

Who Am I As a Communicator?

 

For this exercise, I asked my husband and a long time friend to answer the three questionnaires and to evaluate my level of anxiety, verbal aggressiveness, and listening when I communicate. The thought that their answers would be different than mine build up some anxiety since I knew I would interpret the results as reflecting the truth with more accuracy.  
Although I was a little concerned that my husband’s results would differ from mine and reflect recent disagreements, his results lined up with my friend’s and mine, to the exception of communication anxiety that my husband evaluated at a moderate level whereas my friend and I entered the mild category. The similarities of results surprised me the most since I have a tendency to doubt myself.

   

According to O’Hair, & Wiemann (2012) “We all have a unique way of perceiving ourselves, others, and the world around us, and we communicate with others based on those perceptions” (p. 36). This little bit of information explains a lot about the hardships of this world. Whenever my sisters and I speak about our childhood, we always chuckle because it seems that we have had three different mothers and three different fathers. Today, we are able to speak about our childhood peacefully when unnamed/unknown emotions, feelings, and sensitivities prevent us from talking about our different points of view. 

With the goal of communicating more fairly and accurately, I must make sure that my personal schema or “mental structures” that are used “to connect bits of information together” does not get in the way of truly investigating who people truly are (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012, p. 37). I, as educator, must be aware of my how I assess the world and sift through personal schemas that prevent me from developing a meaningful relationship with families (O’Hair, & Wiemann).

 

 

In the end, self-monitoring or “watching our environment and others in it for cues as to how to present ourselves in particular situations” appears the best strategy to follow to establish positive relationships (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012, p. 55)

 Reference

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

 

How we communicate differently with different groups of people

Chameleons 

 

 

Definitions according to the (edited) Urban Dictionary

1.      A person who adjusts themselves to fit into whatever happens to be cool at the moment. Includes their appearance, their interests, their opinions, their personalities, often referred to as 'scenesters' 'try-too-hards' or 'idiots'.

2.      (v.) to take on the personality of the person you're with at the moment. This is either done subconsciously, or as a sad attempt to make people like you
(n.) a person who chameleons on a regular basis (i.e. they act different for every person they hang out with)

3.      A person who tries to blend in with a certain crowd, usually preps, just to get the satisfaction of being cool. Of course, they are just fooling themselves that they have a life and are at all interesting.

4.      A chameleon is a middle-sized reptile that can change colors.
They are rather bizarre-looking, because their eyes can point in different directions.
They are famous for their ability to change their color to match their surroundings, hence the nickname, "Chameleon" given to anyone who changes with what's "Popular".

5.      (v.) to take on the personality of the person you're with at the moment. this is either done subconsciously, or as a sad attempt to make people like you
(n.) a person who chameleons on a regular basis (i.e. they act different for every person they hang out with).

When I first read the question for this week’s blog “Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups of cultures?” the picture of a chameleon came to mind because I know that I behave differently with different groups of people.

       Similarly to the aforementioned definitions of the word chameleon, I can talk about people’s favorite subjects to look cool and/or try to match someone’s personality to feel I am one of them. Making efforts to fit in would be fine if I were able to communicate my true feelings and ideas. Whenever I am caught in one of these strategies, I feel uncomfortable with my surroundings; therefore I am unable to be true to myself because what I communicate is not an accurate picture of who I am and what I am capable of.

        It seems fair to think that families from diverse backgrounds may potentially feel uncomfortable when meeting their children’s teachers and may communicate differently than if they were in a more natural environment. Educators must keep in mind that families need to feel safe and at ease in order to become effective collaborators in their children’s school life.       

Although what I have described above seems extreme, this is how it feels and negative feelings take a long longer to change. Since practicing awareness and re-directing of those feelings provides relief, the Platinum Rule is the first strategy I will use to communicate with families, colleagues, and administration and government agencies (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011). The Platinum Rule is the passport that provides needed tool to become an effective communicator in diverse groups.  

With this strategy, I do not need to hide behind superfluous language. I can actively listen to speakers and learn from them the best way to communicate with them (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012). If my goal is to actively listen to people, the thought of matching those people’s personalities will not manifest for lack of opportunity. Once those two feelings of discomfort have receded, I will have access to my own cultural myopia.

Interestingly, the chameleon qualities have changed since there is no more the need to “change color to match the surroundings” (Urban Dictionary, 2013). Rather, I need to peel off layers of negative feelings of discomfort because they prevent me from having access to my own cultural myopia. Thus, developing an ongoing awareness of my cultural myopia is the third strategy I would use to communicate more effectively with those groups of people (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012). The phrase “cultural myopia” clearly expresses nearsightedness that may increase if not treated in an ever changing society. If the myopia is treated, new lenses help one see the richness in other cultures (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012).

Reference

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication:

            Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

 O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real Communication:  An Introduction. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

 

 

 

 

Nonverbal Communication – A “Real Housewives of Orange County” Investigation

 

 

 

The Protagonists

 

 

As I was surfing the TV this morning in search of a show I am not familiar with, I stopped on Bravo where the show “Real Housewives of Orange County” had just started. Since I had tried to watch an episode a couple of years ago and could not stand more than a few minutes, I thought I would try again and see what I could understand from only looking at the women’s body language. After the second commercial break, the topic of the episode became clear and the bachelorette party started. Obviously, this episode presents some inappropriateness that I will omit in the narrative since they do not add meaning.

Although I am not familiar with this TV series, I know that the protagonists are neighbors (I think) who have become friends or somewhat involved in each other’s lives. When I switched to Bravo, I knew that the two women conversing on the beach were friends or at least close acquaintances. As one woman was talking and sobbing at times, the other woman would show her empathy and comfort her by patting her friend’s hand, face and hair. However, not much warmth radiated from this friendship touch which made me think that they operated from a formal dimension perspective (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012).  The crying woman was wearing a sash across her shoulder exhibiting the word Bachelorette. Had she broken up with her fiancé?

After the first commercial break, the scene opens in a restaurant where a man and a woman are having dinner (I could not tell you if the woman was the bachelorette). The man was the more expressive of the two, rolling his eyes (disagreement), shaking his head (denial), smirking (contempt), laughing (affiliation), and sighing (hopelessness). Could it be that the situational context of their conversation prevented the man from exploding (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012)? On the other side of the table, the woman is doing the talking, speaking fast and at one point reinforcing her message by raising her hands in sign of resignation (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012).

When the episode resumed after the second commercial, six women had gathered around a well-dressed table. Right after the chef served the first course, one of the women left the table and returned with a present that she gave the bachelorette who readily opened it. What followed was a series of gaping mouths expressing disbelief at each new gift, hands covering the eyes, laughter, and hands clapping.  

Then, I turned on the sound and watched from the beginning. To my surprise, what made the woman cry was the story of a friend who had committed suicide. This is the only time in the short while I watched that the nonverbal communication felt genuine and expressed “spontaneous feelings” (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012).

            If I were watching that TV series on a regular basis, I would probably have made another assumptions since I would have been familiar with the plot and the story of each of the characters. Had I been watching one of my favorite shows, my assumptions would have been more correct since I would be much more familiar with each character’s personality, M. O.s, modus operandi, and nonverbal communication behaviors such as body language and facial expressions.

This interesting exercise shattered my belief that body language and facial expressions add meaning to a conversation. Watching less than 15 minutes of “Real Housewives of Orange County” made it clear that the characters’ facial expressions and hand gestures were emphasizing feelings that they were trying hard to experience such as surprise and happiness. In O’Hair and Wiemann’s Real Communication (2012), students learned that nonverbal communication is often spontaneous and unintentional. When I watched the silent show, affect displays appeared fake, intentional, and not spontaneous. However, in “Real Housewives of OC” the affect displays are intentional and not spontaneous, almost looking like masking or “expression that shows an appropriate feeling for a given interaction (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2012).  

References

Dunlop, S. (Program Creator).  (2006). Dirty Dancing in Mexico [Real Housewives of Orange County series episode]. In Ross, D., Stewart, G., French, K., Lee, K., Dunlop, S. (Executive Producers), Real Housewives of Orange County. California: Bravo, Original Channel.

O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Best Communicator

   Do you get me?

Truly! Who else can catch adults' attention better than babies? They make cooing sounds, they gesture, and imitate. They tell us how they feel and want to please us, and be our friends. In other words, babies love us and trust the communicator in front of them will take care of them. Babies make incredible efforts to communicate with their world and learn exponentially fast the language they hear people talk. Considering how prosperous societies throughout the world have been, it is easy to say that babies have made through the worst circumstances and have prevailed to make today's society.
There is still so much to learn from babies.

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Kofi Annan selected former President Bill Clinton to be the United Nations’ point man for tsunami reconstruction Tuesday, saying no one could better ensure that the world did not forget the needs of the countries devastated by the disaster the day after Christmas (Associated, updated 2/1/2005). 
 

President Clinton with a government more to the right of his party was able to negotiate and get laws passed. Although exercising his communicator’s talents in a growing economy, the competent communicator, Bill Clinton, masterfully used verbal and non-verbal behavior communication to articulate social, relational, and cultural contexts into speeches, conferences, debates, etc., and create support. Here is an extract of the article written by Richard S. Conley (2001), emphasizing Clinton's skills at bringing dissenting people together: 

“This article argues for a more refined conceptualization of presidential success relative to the veto power by incorporating the political dimensions of “blame-game” politics (Groseclose and McCarty 2001) between the branches. The objective is to demonstrate Clinton’s ability to manipulate “strategic disagreement” (Gilmour 1995) with the GOP majority in Congress from 1995-96 and address the implications for formal models of inter-branch bargaining. The “coordination” model, with a focus on spatial analysis of policy positions between the branches, yields an incomplete understanding of veto politics and executive-legislative conflict from 1995- 2000. While Cameron (2000) makes the case that blame-game politics are anomalous for the period he studies,1 such a contention does not fit the context of presidential-congressional relations in the 104th Congress particularly well. While neither the GOP congressional majority nor Clinton necessarily set out to engage in high-stakes, blame-game politics, political considerations— particularly electoral motivations— pushed both sides toward such a strategy when budget negotiations produced stalemate. The unique context of executive-legislative conflict from 1995-96, I argue, laid the groundwork for a return to “normal” modes of bargaining in Clinton’s second term which comport better with the assumptions of the coordination model” (2001).

Although Clinton breached the NAC communication principle “Truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication” when he lied about his affair with Lewinski, one can wonder how they would have reacted if they knew the whole world would learn about their trivial behavior. However, was the lie necessary?

Clearly, I would love to have some of President Clinton’s communication skills: ever regenerating passion and trust for people and justice, knowledge of his time and society.

Reference

Conley, R., S., (2001). President Clinton and the Republican Congress, 1995-2000:

Political and Policy Dimensions of Veto Politics in Divided Government. Department of Political Science. University of Florida. Retrieved from:

http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rconley/Clintonvetoespaper.pdf

A Special Note of Thanks

Dear Dr. Snider,
The class on Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice has exponentially broaden my understanding of diversity and equity, and I am in disbelief on how narrow minded I was before taking this course!
I am also very grateful for being a lot more prepared to welcome 21st century children and their families.
Thank you for your class and words of encouragements!
MarieFrance 

Professionals Goals and Hopes

 

 DIVERSITY

One of my hopes is to welcome children and families from all diverse backgrounds in a way that feels comfortable and true to them. In that light, I need to trust that my vision for a 21^st century school guides my passion, showing in the family reception, and marks the start of a productive and warm relationship for the benefit of the child.

I hope that parents and educators teamwork strive to offer children the most successful school experience and a future that will have also be shaped by children with a voice.

 

EQUITY 

 

In order to promote social justice and equity, schools must be accessible to all children from birth. With a universal school system, children from underprivileged families can be exposed to literature and receive similar intellectual and physical stimulation than their affluent peers whose parents give them access to books, music, movies, social  and physical activities.  

 

                                 SOCIAL CHANGE - UNIVERSAL SCHOOL  

 

To my wonderful colleagues Briana, Deanna, Janet, Mahitab, Michelle, and Pearlyn,

Thanks to you, my sense of collegiality has strengthened! Now, I feel empowered by the support you provided me throughout these eight weeks and by the incredible insights you shared on early childhood education. Your love and advocacy for our young population make me hopeful that from our joint efforts a more just tomorrow for children is possible. Week 6 was introduced with a quote by Robert Kennedy:

Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.—Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator and Attorney General (1968).

I hope we stay in touch via our blogs or personal email addresses. Here is my email address:

mfmariefrance@yahoo.com                                      

We are too involved in our master’s program at this point but when we graduate, I hope we can continue and develop our relationships for children’s benefit, our own, and again children’s benefit.

Good luck on your next class!

Collegially,

MarieFrance

 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

 

YEMEN

(www.worldatlas.com) 

 

 

 

North and South Yemen united as a country in 1990 to avoid fighting over oil that had been discovered along their borders. Yemen’s capital is Sana’a (North Yemen) with the economic capital referred to as Aden (South Yemen). Yemenis are ethnically Arabs and they speak Arabic (Countries and their Cultures, 2013). People are mostly farmers or herders. Then industry employs only 5% of the work force. Yemen has a very young population with more than 50% under the age of 15.

Being a little savvier about Yemen’s economic resources, I would ask the family from which of the 6 zones they come from and what jobs they held. Did the mother work in education or in health care as I read those were women’s jobs. Also, knowing from which cultural and economic zone they family originates would give clues on the type of house they lived in, their potential dialect, and cultural habits. When the family comes in, I (a woman may initiate a handshake) would greet the family with a light handshake and offer the choice to sit on the cushions along the wall or at the table.

With the goal of preparing to welcome a family from Yemen, I would feverishly uncover Yemen’s surface culture, an easy way to start peeling off the different layers of what constitutes a country’s culture. Music, food, and spirituality come to mind right away. Then, I would learn what the custom is regarding greeting and good-byes, and inquire on the education system in Yemen.

 

                                                             Sana'a

 

Song of Sana'a

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdHbypelaJQ

"The "Song of Sana’a" was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the Director-General on 7 November 2003. A preparatoryassistance of US$ 20,000 was granted to the Permanent Delegation of Yemen by theUNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage in view of establishing a candidature file and an action plan (UNESCO,  2011)

Reference

UNESCO. (2011). Key Facts and Figures on Yemen/UNESCO Cooperation. Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/eri/cp/factsheets/YEM_facts_figures.pdf

Yemenite Sacred Chants

http://www.allmusic.com/album/les-chantres-yemenites-sacred-songs-from-sanaa-mw0000588342

Yemenite Songs by Ofra Haza
Sample her songs on the following website
http://www.allmusic.com/album/yemenite-songs-mw0000196994
"Ofra Haza's death on February 23, 2000, at the age of 41 deprived the world of a lovely woman, a great vocalist, and a fearless cultural advocate. Fifty Gates of Wisdom, her 1985 album of boldly reimagined traditional Yemenite songs, brought her international fame, and decades later, it retains its ability to delight and inspire. The set list consists of secular tunes plus examples of a festive devotional style called diwan, which is common to all Oriental Jewish communities and can be sung in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Arabic. Each group has specific traditions, but the Yemeni variant is especially remarkable for its poetry, much of which was written by rabbis as far back as the 17th century. Most diwan consist of three separate sections: the a cappella nashid (prelude), the shira (singing), during which celebrants bang on copper trays, empty gasoline cans, or whatever else is handy, and a postlude called the hallel, or song of praise. The unusual percussion accompaniment came into use following the destruction of the Temple, when Jews were forbidden to play conventional musical instruments, and also as a result of periodic oppression by Muslim fundamentalists. In Haza's hands, these sinuous tunes are further spiced up by drum machines and synthesizers, pumping out the hypnotic dance beats that catapulted the album onto dancefloors throughout the world. It important to remember that this recording long predated the flood of world/techno fusions that have since overwhelmed the marketplace. Transglobal Underground, Afro-Celt Sound System, and Scandinavian groups like Garmarna all owe Haza a debt of gratitude. But despite the historic electronic flourishes, it is the siren-like charm of the singer's voice that creates the most indelible impression" (allmusic, 2013).
Reference
allmusic. (2013). Ofra Haza. Yemenite Songs. Overview. Retrieved from: http://www.allmusic.com/album/yemenite-songs-mw0000196994

Continuing with food, the following blog written by Dr. Lamya Almas was a lot of fun perusing because it offers an amazing array of Yemeni recipes mostly inspired by the blogger’s mother:  http://yemeniyah.com/about/. Since I love Middle Eastern food, I may even scout out for a local Yemenite restaurant and try out my newly acquired knowledge about Yemeni food and ask for a Mutabaqiah Yemeni which is a sort of egg calzone. Lentils, peas, and rice are staple foods. Since generosity and hospitality are shown by making and serving coffee, I will make sure to have coffee and learn how to make it in a satisfactory traditional way.

After learning about music and food, I learned that Yemen’s main religion is Islam. There are two main groups of Muslims namely Sunni and Shi’a. I expect that the new family is Muslim, although they could also belong to one of the smaller Jewish, Christian, or Hindu groups.

Developing more familiarity with the country of Yemen will help me show the family that I am ready to work collaboratively so their children succeed in school. Since their children will bring their home culture to class and go home with the newly created class culture, it is important that parents and educators support children in their “creative transformation of culture” (Smidt, 2006). In the initial contact with the family, carefully listening to the family’s story will bring invaluable information on how to best serve the child. After the initial conversation, learning about the family’s cultural approach on education, asking them if they know about the U.S. educational system, what they like or what simply would not be appropriate for their children. As the educator, knowing how I can best support children in their learning and acknowledge students’ accomplishments even if they differ from the school dominant culture (Smidt, 2006).  In other words, I will inquire about the “physical and social settings of children, the culturally regulated customs and practices, and beliefs or ethno-theories of parents” (Smidt, 2006). Finally, children’s cultures define my curriculum.
References
Countries and Their Cultures. (2013).Yemen. Retrieved from: http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Yemen.html
Smidt, S., (2006). The Developing Child in the 21 st. Century: A Global Perspective on Child Development. Routledge.