Saturday, October 6, 2012

Conflict Manangement

I recently had a disagreement with a colleague on a child’s potty training skills. The colleague felt that the child who was three should still be in pull-ups, but the parent was not putting the child in pull-ups at home. I told the colleague that this process was hurting the child and that the child needed consistency in his potty training. Therefore, we came up with a strategy that benefitted the child and caused less tension in the classroom. We sit down with the parent and came up with a solution that allowed the child to wear pull-ups at school and we would take the child to the restroom. We were open and listened to the reasons of how the child was confused from wearing underwear at home and pull-ups at school. In the situation, I could have used the cooperative strategies, but escapist strategy would only have been the second option. We were responsive, respectful, and reciprocal to each other, but more important to the well-being of the child.



I asked my colleague about how she deals with conflict and effective communication; she stated that she listens to the cons and pros of the conflict. She stated that she knows that the parent is always right, but she believes that her job is to provide nurture and safety that meets the developmental needs of the child. She also stated that you have to talk through a problem when a conflict arises. She does not believe in violence, therefore she always believes in respectful means of communication. She stated that when communication is equal, then it will be effective if an issue of conflict arises within an educational setting.

2 comments:

  1. Tamieka,

    I really think you handled this situation in a mature manner. Calling a meeting is a great way to talk with people and get all of there thoughts and idea with a problem you were all facing. Good job!

    Anna

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  2. Hi Tamieka,

    I agree with Anna. You followed correct resolution by talking it over, meeting with the parent and doing what was best for the child and respecting the parent's wishes.

    Sally

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