Saturday, August 22, 2020

Collaborative Learning Community Word of Thanks

 Thank You Notes for Colleagues: Quotes and Messages | Inspirerende woorden,  Teksten, Spreuken


"Communication is the process by which we use symbols, signs, and behaviors to transfer information"  (O’Hair, Weimann, Mullin, & Teven, 2018, p. 4).

 

Over the past 8 weeks I have learned more about myself and how my communication affects both my personal as well as my professional relationships. I have taken away a tremendous amount of knowledge from every individual that has taken part in Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field. I would most definitely like to be of support to others as well as receive support from the relationship that were built through this course, my personal email address is ssagi1213@yahoo.com. I am not a big social media fan with that said my email is the best way to reach me and I will get it right away. I wish everyone the best in all your future endeavors. I sincerely hope we all have a productive school year. Be a good listener, don't take anything personal, be open to learn more, and take time for yourselves -


Reference

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real Communication: An Introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Quote: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/392235448777186189/


Saturday, August 8, 2020

Connections, Colleagues and Good-Byes

Love this quote about team building … | Best teamwork quotes, Inspirational  teamwork quotes, Team quotes

Over the years I have had the pleasure of being a part of some phenomenal teams and some that were not so stellar however I can genuinely say there was something to be learned from all of them. The one aspect of the best team that I was a part of in saying good-bye was the feeling of loss. Although I have remained in contact with those of the meaningful teams I have been a part of, not being able to see them everyday, and our daily interactions was a big adjust. In my opinion high-performing groups are hardest to leave due to having and achieving a common goal in addition to creating and building a bond makes reaching a goal much more enjoyable. "Members of a group usually identify with one another because they have one or more goals in common"  (O’Hair, Weimann, Mullin, & Teven, 2018, p. 238). 

The group that was without a doubt hardest for me to leave was when I was an Admission Rep at a local college. Everyone there worked as one unit and the leadership was heavily involved however, there was no micro managing. Everyone worked to make sure our students were on track for their higher level learning. "When leaders are able to adapt their style to the needs of the groups they guide, they can enhance the productivity and satisfaction of group member in their day-to-day activities"  (O’Hair, Weimann, Mullin, & Teven, 2018, p. 270). It was hard to leave the team because we worked extremely well together, there was a mutual respect, everyone was in full support of each other, and the best interest of the students was always the priority. 

If there was a ritual that I had to begin or be a part of would probably be a final gathering and photo to have a visual of everyone from the team. Unfortunately for this program we can do neither of those to conclude this part of our journey. I think that as a result of the discussions with the colleagues in this program, I have added new knowledge, connections, and resources to leave this course feeling nothing less than elated. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it is the point that the goal that brought the team together has been achieved. I think reaching a goal in most cases is generally a joyful time for everyone involved. The main goal of the adjourning stage are to achieve closure and conclude on a good note. According to Stein "team members may feel a variety of concerns about the team’s impending dissolution. They may be feeling some anxiety because of uncertainty about their individual role or future responsibilities. They may feel sadness or a sense of loss about the changes coming to their team relationships" (2020). 

References 

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real Communication: An Introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Stein, J. (n.d.). Using the Stages of Team Development. Retrieved from https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development

Quote: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/469641067385961773/

 

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Conflict Strategies

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
Maya Angelou
Recently, my two oldest daughters had a siblings conflict. I was not aware that something had transpired between them after the dinner plans had been made. I do not usually have to check to see if everyone is on the same page in order to make dinner plans or any plans for that matter, I just send the message or make the call. I was in the kitchen when things fell apart between the two of them. I walked in the living room and they were both extremely emotional and behaving unlike themselves. I was at complete lose as to what was going and basically stood in disbelief until I told both of them to squash it resulting in one of the girls leaving. When I found out what was going on between the two of them I spoke to them individually and then together. I listened to what they each had to say, I asked both individually how they could have approached the situation differently or avoided things from getting so out of hand, and told them what I expected moving forward. "When conflict is mismanaged, it can cause great harm to a relationship, but when handled in a respectful, positive way, conflict provides an opportunity to strengthen the bond between two people" (Smith, 2019). After listening to both of my daughters perspectives I was able to see that they both were guilty of not hearing but not listening to one another and had lost respect for each other in that moment of disagreement with the yelling and hurtful things being said. I think had I known what was going on I would have stressed the importance of respecting each others opinion and space. 

The strategies that I felt that help me the most and that I learned more about where 1) avoiding 2)compromising and 3) apologizing. I did not allow the girls to walk away or avoid their conflict, "when avoiding, you do not express your own needs and goals, even if you have a grievance" (O'Hair, 2018, p.225). I needed the girls to hear each other out without the tension but also to let them know how their behavior was unacceptable. This is were compromise came into play because neither of them were right nor wrong in how they felt however there was a better way they could have handled things. "The advantage of compromise us that it lets you and the other person both resolve conflicts by achieving some aspects of their goals" (O'Hair, 2018, p.228). In my opinion to hear someone apologize breaks some or all the harsh emotions that surface during a conflict. Although for some, conflicts are not as easily resolved however, my daughters were able to get some other things off their chest that had been bothering them and it warmed my heart to see and feel the genuineness between the two. "It can be difficult to apologize because it means swallowing your pride and confessing that you did something wrong. The apology may or may not be accepted, but when we hurt others, acknowledging it and expressing our regret and remorse can go a long way toward repairing the damage" (O'Hair, 2018, p.231). Soon after the apology the girls were back to their respectful, loving, supportive and goofy selves and all was well again. 

As this was truly a personal matter, I opted not to share this with a colleague but with my grandmother who I share everything with and talk to daily. First, she jokingly said I should have took both of them over my lap and spanked them for their foolishness. We laughed a bit before she told me that I handled it well and that she was proud of me but I can honestly say that she is without a doubt biased. 


References 
Maya Angelou Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/maya_angelou_634520?src=t_inspirational

Smith, M., Segal, J., Ph.D., & Robinson, L. (2019, June). Conflict Resolution Skills. Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/conflict-resolution-skills.htm

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real Communication: An Introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.




Personal Childhood Web

I have such a long list of people who have made a great impact on my life as a child. My mother is 1 of 10 children and my father is 1 of 12. However, the five people I must name are my mom, my father, my granny, my little brother Kelvin and my English teacher Mrs. Wells. For my mothers' family I am the oldest grandchild. That is a interesting role to have. Everyone looks to you for your first everything. Everyone wants to show you so much and it has all been useful at some point in my life. My aunts and uncles on both sides taught me a great deal. If I were to sum it up I would say that it equated to love and happiness. I was given so much love and support and as I got older I got better with being able to demonstrate the same love and support. My happiness was genuinely their happiness. From cooking to fishing to picking cotton I got to experience the things I encountered in my life by my choice.
My granny was and is my nurse, my ear, my box of all things good.
My brother was my first responsibility and confidant. I value the bond that was created between he and I.
I can say that every teacher that I had growing up had a positive impact on my life as well. My English teacher Mrs. Wells more so as she had been around to teach a few of my aunts and uncles. From the moment she discovered who my family was it became an automatic expectation of hers that I set an example with the others around me in how to speak and carry oneself. This is still something I feel I carry with me today.