A Note of Thanks

The journey toward my Master's degree has not been an easy one.  Through many personal changes and challenges it has been difficult to stay on task and remain confident in myself.  The help of my classmates, their experiences, their knowledge and their willingness to share their personal experiences has been an immense motivating factor.  I realize through each posting that I am not up to the challenge alone.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their specializations and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for continuing to climb your path in early childhood education!

Week 6: Team Building and Collaboration

The hardest group for me to leave was a school in Las Vegas.  Out of all of the groups I have ever worked with, this group of teachers had the best of all worlds!  They had well established and kept, norms and they were very high functioning.  As a result, when leaving this group, I felt as though I was leaving part of my own family.

As far as closing rituals, the above group had a wonderful going away for me when I left that, again, made me feel loved and respected as part of their team.  There was also a systematic goodbye that I completed by going to each persons classroom for a hug and for follow up contact information for us to keep in touch.

Adjourning is essential because it provides people from any group a type of closure.  It is a significant way to end a project and make people at peace with all the ups and downs that the project most likely entailed - which of course is also a final time for forgiveness and acceptance.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

I am currently working in a new program that is starting from the ground up.  As a result of this there is, of course, a ton of frustration, stepping on toes, problem solving and conflict.  In a most recent negotiation, we were in deep discussion over space; desks, offices, etc.  I found during this discussion that a continual reflection, from myself, to think of the principle form the NVC helped a great deal.  That principle was "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."  Continual reflection on this principle in the discussion of space truly helped me to remember that everyone has needs and those needs must be respected.

I think that utilizing this reflection allowed for a quicker solution to that situation.  The other individual responded with more calmness and less nervousness towards me than usual.  That made me feel great!  I believe that she felt more empowered than ever before and truly strengthened our relationship.

Unfortunately, due to confidentiality reasons and the fact that I am a supervisor for the other person I was unable to confidently ask for her input in regards to this situation.  However, the conversation went much better than others have between the two of us and I truly feel that a great bond is beginning to be created!

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