End of Another Class

Farewell for Now

I appreciate every one of my colleagues.  I enjoy all the delightful feedback and input about classroom topics.  I especially appreciate those who challenge me to think and validate something that I have stated.  We are all different with different points of views.  Different concepts and views is what challenges us to even stand stronger with our stance, or see it another way.

Of course our professors play a huge role in our development.  They usually set the tone of the classroom and our discussions.  I always like their mini bios at the beginning of the class; especially when they talk about their family and pets.  It’s always great to read about what someone loves the most.

It always delights me to see some of the familiar names in my new classes that I may have had in my previous classes.  This makes me feel like we are all in this together.  Due to the scope of our studies we cannot forge huge bonds.  However the bond that we do have is of a mutual respect.  I will continue to encourage and support my classroom colleagues as we work towards the next step in our journey.  Here’s to big things happening!

Sherry Middleton

zherry99@yahoo.com

716 812 49040

It's A Wrap...Adjourned

Adjourning

I was a part of this radio blog show.  I absolutely loved it.  We had to come up with our own program.  This consisted of the content of the show.  We had map out when we would go to a commercial and introduce new speakers.  The main host who paid for the radio blog spot ended up relocating and chose to discontinue her show.  It was sad to see her go and our team of personalities go their separate ways.  We celebrated with pizza and snacks and a very “racy” last show.  Our intentions were to keep and touch, but that didn’t happen.  A couple of us are still Facebook friends but we do not really interact.

The adjourning stage to my current master’s program and my colleagues will be bitter sweet.  I will be happy to have completed another mile stone in my life.  However I will not be able to interact with my colleagues.  Due to the nature of our interactions being online there is not a huge personal bond.  We are not in the position to share jokes or be in funny situations with one another.  It is refreshing to see familiar names from course to course but that and our post is all we really have. Although there is a professional bond.  There is also the curiosity about everyone’s future.  I wonder who will achieve their professional goals, how these courses will shape us as educational professionals.  Best of all what will be each our great contribution to the field of early education.

3 R's and Nonviolent Communication

3 R's at there best!!!

I try to make it a common practice to avoid confrontational situations at work.  This is not always possible.  My manager and I seem to constantly bump heads at work.  My co-workers and I all agree when we say he is a great guy but a horrible manager.  One of the things that he lacks is good communication skills.

He sent me an email the other day questioning my activities and productivity for the day.  I vaguely explained to him what I was doing.  I did it in a vague manner because I did not think that I had to list every single activity that I was doing at the moment.  I had never had to answer a question like that in the 8 years that I have been working for the company. 

I thought that that was the end of the correspondence.  I finished up my day and started my weekend.  I found an email waiting for me Monday morning questioning the response that I had given my manager.  I was a little thrown back.  I then answered my manager in more detail and explained to him that I did not think that it was necessary for me to go into great detail in my previous email. 

He then called a short meeting with me.  He told me that he did not mean to come off as if he was questioning me or mean to offend me.  I then told him that is exactly how I felt.  I had originally felt disrespected by the emails. I am happy that he thought he enough of me to even address the matter and not let there be bad blood between us.  Originally I felt that my manager came at me in a confrontational manner and my response was confrontational.  When he communicated to me in a nonviolent manner, it then made me respond in a nonviolent manner.  We both felt accomplished after talking and realizing what the other felt, needed, and wanted.