Adjourning

Adjourning is when a project is coming to the end and team members are moving on.  After thinking about this phase, I believe that when the members of a group are close, it is harder to say goodbye.  I have been part of groups that have gone through the adjourning phase and some that have not.  In the groups that have not experienced it, you accomplish the task, and you are left hanging.  How was the task completed?  What changes would you make if the group was to do it again.  I think this phase is important because it helps create closure.

A week ago, my company transferred me to another center, and I had to leave the center I had directed for three years.  So many emotions came over me.  I am a little nervous, but I am looking forward to creating a new strong, connected team that will create a welcoming and educational center that meets the needs of all the children and families.  However, I was sad to be leaving my teaching staff.  I know and trust them completely.  We all had the same passion.  My final day was filled with recollections of our experiences together, tears and food.  My old team will be fine and continue with their passions, and I will become a pro at using the five stages of team development.

Even though I may not know my colleagues in the master's program personally, I feel a strong connection with them.  We are all focused on accomplishing the same goals, and because of this we are learning from one and other and sharing our life experiences.  I have gained so much over the past year.  It is my hope that once the program is complete, I will continue to share and look for knowledge from my colleagues.

Communication Conflict

During the past couple of weeks I have noticed one of the classrooms in my center having more incident/boo-boo reports than other rooms.  I went in and did a classroom observation.  I observed the children continually having free choice time (Center time).  The teacher and I then met to see if we could make a plan for her classroom.  I told her I noticed she was stressed out from the behaviors occurring in her class.  I asked if there was anything I could do to help.  She said no it was just the children.  I explained what I had seen during my observation.  I told her that I believed the more activities planned throughout the course of the day would help get rid of any challenging behaviors she was experiencing.  I could see by her body language how resistant to my ideas she was.  I then explained the benefits of actually planning her week ahead of time, being prepared ahead of time,  not having the children sitting and waiting, and planning several activities during the day.  I asked for her thoughts.  She told me she believed that children learn through exploration of the environment and should be free to make their own choices.  I agreed with her, however, I did explain that it was ok for us to enhance our room so the children would have even more choices.  She was a bit hesitant, but she agreed to try it for 2 weeks and then sit down with me to reevaluate.  We have just finished week 1.  There have been less reports.  I hope she realizes this is working.  I look forward to hearing her thoughts after the two week period is up. 

I think that expressing why I felt a certain way is important.  Would anyone have done anything differently?  Thoughts?

Communication Evaluation

I chose my fiancé Scott and a fellow Director Debbi to evaluate me.  Their evaluation concerning communication anxiety and listening were the same.  They both knew that I get extremely nervous with new people and public speaking.  I do much better one-on-one.  They also had the same results as I did with the listening assessment.  When listening to others, I am always concerned with their emotions and how they feel.  It is easy to build relationships.  The one draw back with this is that it can interfere with judgment and I am way to trusting.   However, I feel that I interrupt people way to often.  I get impatient during some conversations.  Scott and Debbi both saw me as respectful and believe that I try to influence others by using kindness.  I think that I use a good balance between respect for others while being able to debate information.

Considering the different types of relationships I have with Scott and Debbi, I was surprised at how closely the results were.  I thought one would have me as completely argumentative while the other would have me being overly nice.  Another thing that surprised me was that I thought that I was more aggressive than the assessment said.

I did gain some insights about communication this week.  The insights will affect communication in my professional and personal life.  First as educators, we will always have to participate in public speaking.  I need to develop strategies to eliminate the anxiety I feel every time I speak to adults.  Second, I think I need to improve my listening skills.  I need to slow down and let who I am speaking with finish their message before I respond.  I found this assignment very interesting.