Best Wishes to you All


Over the past eight weeks, I have gained so much new information that will improve the way I communicate with others. I want to especially thank my colleagues for always giving me encouraging words and suggestions that will assist in this matter. When I was struggling with ways to improve the communication between myself and my co- teacher. I am glad to announce that since I sat down to talk things over with her the flow of the classroom has become more manageable.   

I hope that in our weekly collaborations that I have supported any if not all the best of my ability.I love how collaborative the Early childhood field is and the support we get and give to one another. One wish i have for my fellow colleagues is that all that you learn through your master's journey is beneficial to the support that you will give to new up and coming child care professionals

Adjourning Phase of Teamwork

When I think of the adjourning phases of the groups I have been involved,  think back to my team I worked with at the Early Head Start program I use to work at. My first years there were really tough. I worked with the group everyone even the supervisor called the trouble makers. It was really hard trying to build a team when these individuals were used to doing what they wanted to do, especially when management was out. It wasn't until we made some program-wide changes and I was paired up with co- workers who I have never worked with closely.

I was nervous at first because it is never easy building relationships with others especially if they were used to doing things a certain way. Unfortunately, I did not have this problem with these individuals. We worked together as a unit it was seen by others. In fact, this was one of the hardest groups to leave. Although my co- workers were pushing me to accept another position because they believed in me, it was still very hard to leave them.

It was hard to leave them because the women were very inspiring to each other, supportive and creative. They were never a moment that I didn't want to be at work because daily I was reminded of what I was capable of achieving in my career as well my life.

The only thing I wish was done prior to my leaving, is an exit interview. Here i would have been able to share with administration the things that work best with the team and the things that could use improvement. I think sharing this information is the best way to improve the adjourning phase of teamwork throughout the program. 

Real Life Situations

I am currently in a situation with my co- teacher and her ability to support and fulfill the duties of the assistant. Although she is not a full-time employee of the company, she is looked upon as being one. It bothers me that she doesn't share the same passion that I have for implementing a smooth running classroom. At times I feel as I'm working alone. So to my surprise to have read this week's resources, I have found some strategies that will allow me to address the issue at hand.

The first strategy I will implement is the nonviolent approach.This approach to communication emphasizes compassion as the motivation for action rather than fear, guilt, shame, blame, coercion,threat or justification for punishment (The Center for Nonviolence, n.d). I believe this will allow me to communicate constructive criticism without feeling as if I out to take her job from her. 

The second strategy I would implement would be to allow opportunities for her to lead the classroom. In doing so It will give her more insight on what Lead Teachers role consist of and how important the role of Co- Teacher is to the lead role. For this strategy, the Three R's will be the best fit to resolve the issue. As I Respect her approach to teaching, I will be able to respond to the needs of her as well the children. In the end, the result will be a well-oiled teaching team.

Again, I am grateful for this week's resources for the insight on how to address the issue. I know feel more confident in addressing the issue and a professional manner. Unfortunately, I was not able to gain advice from other teacher teams because they all were trying to get rid of the teacher. I did not want to do that but make her more aware of the support needed in the class environment.

References

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

Evaluation as a Communicator

For this week's blog assignment, I had my daughter and co-worker complete the three assessments on my communication skills. It was funny to find the similarities that we shared as I reviewed the results with the both of them. The test was conducted individually but the results were similar to each other. As I conducted my own evaluation, I tried to recall any opportunities where I portrayed the actions of the question. Then if I had not I would choose an option that was closely related to what I would do. When I asked my daughter how she conducted the evaluation, she expressed to me that she too tried to recall situations that she may have seen me to any of the actions the questions may have asked.  I then asked my co-worker for the reason she responded to the question and she bluntly replied: "I just answered the questions to the best of my ability". Afterward, we laugh so hard because she is not a detailed person, yet be able to explain her reasoning to well.

What surprised me the most is that I am perceived by my family and co-workers in a way that I also see myself. This was not the outcome that I was expecting to have. It feels good to know that people close to me know the type of communicator that I am and that it shows through my interaction with them. One new insight that I gained this week, Is how easy people are perceived by others without actually knowing them. Just as the professor shared her story on how the doctor was looked upon before she shared who he was,  let me know that our society is really bias and ignorant to things that are not of their normal life. In the near future, I would like to expand my knowledge on the variety of things, lifestyles, cultures, and events that occur in the world I live in today.