Professional Thank You's EDUC 6165 Communication and Collaboration in Early Childhood

Thank You!!

As we complete our coursework in EDUC-6165 (Communication and Collaboration in Early Childhood) I would like to thank my classmates for the interesting and engaging discussions. I have
made contacts with people that I hope I'll be able to keep in contact with on both a personal and professional level. If you're ever in Baltimore, Maryland please feel free to contact me. Good luck to everyone as we begin our specializations. Have a great school year! 

Thesha's Contact information
thesha817@yahoo.com
 

Meeting Adjourned!

 

This week we were asked to think of a meeting that we have been a part of that has been hard to leave. I can think of a time when I was on a committee in my sorority. The purpose of the committee was to salute outstanding young women in the community. Most of the young ladies were high school and college aged students. The committee was in charge of finding young women and then hosting a luncheon where the young ladies would respond to a question that was posed by the chapter. At the end of the luncheon the young ladies were given a gift by our chapter. It sounds like just a girls day out for lunch but much more went into the event.

I have to say that this was one of the most efficient groups of women that I have ever worked with. Soror Jan Carter did a fantastic job and the chairperson of our group. From the beginning to the end of the planning went very well. It was almost as if she knew about group development. She had us introduce ourselves, she told us the purpose of the group, she formed sub-committees within the group so that everyone had a role. Most importantly, she made sure that each group understood their roles. The group functioned very well and I was sad when our chapter decided to end this luncheon. This group in my opinion was like a well-oiled machine. The Adjournment was hard for me because It really felt good to be in a productive group where people felt safe to give their opinions and where a group of women worked without the bickering that can sometimes occur with women. After the last luncheon the committee met and the chairperson provided lunch for us and thanked us for the work that we had done. We also looked at the goals that we had established at the beginning of our planning and talked about how we were able to meet those goals. Those goals were met by good leadership and effective teamwork.  I  participated in three of the luncheons that my chapter gave but there were women who had been on the committee for several years. It felt good to be appreciated and that last meeting was a little sad.

As we come closer to completing the program here at Walden I think that I will think about some of the ideas that my colleagues have shared. I think I have a wider perspective of early childhood education based on the discussions that I've had.

Nonviolent Communication

 Confrontation...

This week we were asked to think of a disagreement or conflict that we have experienced at work. This made me think of a disagreement that I had with a co-worker. After a meeting, she approached me and asked why I was able to freely express my concerns at the meetings we had but when she expressed her ideas she felt that she was chastised for the sharing her ideas and thoughts. I was really taken back when she approached me because until that point, I thought we really had a good working relationship. I think the way she approached me and what she said caught me off-guard. I felt like she was confronting me and it caused me to become verbally aggressive. Simply put, we got into an argument!

After reading the course resources this week, I learned some new techniques that I can use if something like this occurs again. After reading information from The Third Side I learned that "the Third Side has the power to transform violent conflicts into opportunities for collaboration” (The Third Side. (n.d.). I think that instead of continuing the conversation with my coworker I could have listened to what she was saying with a more empathetic ear but because I felt attacked, I was unable to do that. I welcome any suggestions anyone has on what I have shared. Thanks!

Reference
The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/