Week 8 Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field

To my colleagues, it is amazing how fast time has passed by and the course Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field has reached its end. I am appreciative for the significant insights that all of you have shared and I am in awe of the vast amount of knowledge and experience the group holds and the fact that we were capable of sharing that knowledge and experience with each other.  

During this course, I gained crucial information that would enhance my ability to become a proficient communicator. At this time, I have focused on that awareness and it has helped me to communicate more effectively with others both personally and professionally. I understand that the beliefs, opinions, feelings, languages, and cultural backgrounds of others are an important part of communication. I now know that if I utilize my diverse knowledge astutely, I can relate to others on a higher level. Additionally, I accept as true that different awareness and skills will enhance team efficiency and open new pathways for us to develop our concepts and viewpoints. Thus, being in cultural terms, it is a necessity to be responsive in today’s ever growing diverse population.

Wishing each of you success and the best of luck in everything that you do and touch. Wishing you enough! Jan

Reach me here: janella607@gmail.com

Week 6

The adjourning stage makes me think of leaving one job to start a new career path. Relationships have been established and expectations have been proven and we have worked effectively as a team. The groups that have clearly established norms would be the toughest to part ways with because the beliefs are known and goals have been expressed. When leaving an established job, there is often a celebratory event and we enjoy each other’s company, we converse about individual plans and future goals.

The relationships that I have forged in my graduate program are priceless and exchanging information to maintain contact would be essential. My graduate school colleagues have been encouraging and supportive through their many comments during the course and I wish them the best in all of their future endeavors. I extend my gratitude to them for impacting the lives of children and families and encourage them to continue their work.

The adjourning stage is where we appraise what happens and capture the lessons we have gained insight about. This will give us an opportunity to say farewell to one another and wish each other good fortune on future accomplishments (Abudi, 2010).  

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

As a result of my last major conflict I had recently with a tenant, I think that without taking this class, I used some resourceful techniques to turn a clashing encounter into a more fruitful resolution. Instead of going broke with false promises to pay and threats to leave, I hired a management company to take on the responsibility of the dwelling that was causing me to have migraines and tension in my muscles. I referred the tenant to the new management company and provided the management company with the tenant’s information. The management company set the tenants account up for automated bill pay and required her to sign documents regarding late fees and bounce check fees at her lease renewal meeting. Prior to taking this course, I believe that by hiring the management company I unknowingly used the escapist strategy that is outlined by O’Hair and Wiemann (2009), “People try to avoid or prevent contact” (p. 236). Now that I have taken this course I can see that I have gained a lot more skills in dealing with communication, listening, and conflict management. Two strategies that I would love to share consist of a compromise such as asking the tenant to be more consistent with her payments, which I did and she agreed. Cooperation helps because it lets both sides openly discuss their views and to find some common ground. Furthermore, another strategy is to listen to the tenant allowing her to vent without interrupting in order to gain a better understanding. If you are not in a combative mode, then they have no one to argue with and instead of arguing with themselves after so long they stop and listen as you address their concerns.

O’Hair, D. & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.