Hope's Blog: October 2012

Collaborative Learning Community

I have really enjoyed this course and learning more about my communication style. I have learned a lot about myself and how I communicate with others that will be beneficial for all the children, families and staff that I have contact with every day. I truly appreciate all my colleagues and the information that they have shared that contributed to my understanding and learning as well. I wish everyone luck in their future endeavors and if I can ever offer any support or guidance please contact me at hopeemanuel@gmail.com

Adjourning

I think that the groups that I have found it hardest to leave are the ones that I got to know really well. I have found my most successful groups to be people that I met with often and became somewhat of a support group as well. We learned a lot about each other and in return we figured out how to effectively communicate with one another as well. In most of my group situations I have had a final project to present with them and then we celebrate with by going to lunch. As far as the group of colleagues I have formed in my masters program, I think that it is difficult to adjourn from them, but not as hard because we haven’t met personally and then each new class brings a few more new people to the group. Knowing that we have built relationships with people who are passionate for the same things and able to be a resource when needed helps the adjourning process and is essential to teamwork.

Conflict Resolution

My recent conflict that I have been dealing with involves my son’s preschool director. She continues to place a note on my sign in/out page stating that I owe money. I disagree and don’t understand why she thinks I owe money. I pay on time regularly and I couldn’t understand why she thinks I owe money. I first decided to avoid the situation and wait to see if the director approached me. However nothing changed. I then decided to try and speak with her, but every time I dropped my son off, the director walked the other way and never addressed the situation with me. This happened multiple times so I was pretty upset and finally ready to discuss the issue with her. I remember that I needed to remain calm and respectful and listen to her side as well. I listened to her side of the story and I explained mine and she didn’t seem to care what I was saying. Finally, I asked her to provide me with a statement so we can compare her records with mine. We finally determined that she credited the wrong account with one of my payments. I was frustrated because I felt it was her job to communicate with me better and discuss the situation with me in person instead of writing a note every day. I am curious how my colleagues would have handled the situation if they were the director and how they would handle it if they were me.

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Personal Childhood Web

Five people who nurtured and cared about me as a child:

1. My Mother & Father-
My parents always made me feel special and still do. I admire this because my parents have 5 children and were able to make each one of us feel important and loved. My mother made me feel special by baking and doing crafts with me and my dad made me feel special by teaching me to play baseball and encouraging me to p lay sports. These little moments meant a lot to me because they involved time spent with just my parents and doing activities that my other sibilings did not. I remember my parents discussing these moments with their friends and family and I felt so proud. My parents have been married for 42 years and have raised 5 children. I have seen them go through many challenges, but they have stuck together and worked through them together and that inspires me.

2. My Siblings-
I honestly can say that my sibilings are my best friends. I have 2 older sisters and 1 older brother and 1 younger brother. There is a 15 year age difference from my younger brother to my older sister, so growing up my older sibilings helped nuture and influnce me to be who I am today. Growing up I could count on my sibilings to help care and nuture me, to support me when needed, to listen to me, to stick up for me and to be honest with me even if I didnt want to hear what they had to say. We continue to provide all this for each other even now.

3. Mrs. Hewko-
In fourth grade I transferred from a small private school to a public school and was quickly overwhelmed and lost. However, I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Hewko for a teacher. I was 1 of 25 kids, but she made me feel like I was the only one in the room. Mrs. Hewko made sure to get to know me and really make a connection with me. This influnenced me to do the same with my children.

4. Ms. Czarnecki-
She was my middle school math teacher, which was definitely a difficult task. Math is not my strongest subject and until 7th grade I managed to squeak through each math class without really understanding what I was doing. Ms. Czarnecki however, was different then my other teachers. She took time to really know her students and reallized I was struggling. Mrs. Czarnecki made sure she called on me to answer questions in class and when I didnt know the answer she worked through it with me instead of moving on. She made me stay after class and assigned me more work. She walked by my desk and made sure I was on task. Although I was not too fond with her at first, I realized she really cared for me and was helping me. I was very lucky to have her again in 8th grade. Then when I went to highschool and tried out for softball, she became my coach. She was there for me during a really difficult time and worked to continue to build a reationship with me and make sure I was doing okay in and out of school. She even gave me shoes to wear and a new glove to use. I realized that sometimes the ones who really care for you are the hardest on you because they know your potential.

5. Mr. Price-
Mr. Price or better known as Phil, was my high school math teacher and is also my brother-in-law. He spent lots of time and effort teaching me math as well. We spent long nights working on assignments and he was always willing to help. He was also a big part of my life during a really difficult time, he listened and supported me. Phil and my sister were like my second parents. When I was struggling to get along with my parents during my teen years, they allowed me to stay with them and took me on trips with them.

Baby Heart

This is a picture of me with my older brother. I love this picture because it brings back so many great memories of time I cherished with my brother and how much I wish he was still here today. My mother shared a story with me that really portrays what an amazing older brother I had. When I was about 2 years old, my brother was 4, we werer at the grocery store and someone came up to my mother to tell her how cute she thought I was and my brother said, "step away from my baby heart please." My mother said he was very protective of me.