I really enjoyed reading the article, and wish I had a copy prior to attending my last meeting.
As a teacher, I am mandated to attend a certain number of Professional Development meetings per year. Rather than choosing one particular topic per year and learn it well so we can apply it in the classroom, our division hires "professionals" to teach us new skills. It is almost pointless and a waste of our time since these people try to cover everything in one day, and we end up leaving with very little knowledge.
For example, last months topic was great because it was about supporting Preschool English Language Learners in the classroom. The presenters used PowerPoint, gave us handouts as well as a copy of the book. They rushed us through the entire presentation, covered all eight chapters in the book, and hardly gave us time to breathe or ask questions at all. They said that it is a semester class and were beaming as they reached the last chapter.
I am sure they had good intentions, however we could have learn more by focusing on less chapters, and be allowed to ask questions and give examples.
I am planning to send a copy of this article to the director and speak on behalf of my colleagues. They all agreed it was rushed but no one wants to take their time to change our situations.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
ch. 11 Style and Efffectiveness in Negotiation
Life is full of surprises, and it is a good idea to reflect and learn about the way we deal with daily conflicts.
This week has been the most demanding, challenging, yet the best learning experience for me. I had to deal with conflicts on the job, meet deadlines, and still managed to have a good attitude towards it all.
I am a cooperative negotiator style, and try to negotiate effectively by trying to meet the needs of all parties involved. Unfortunately, it is impossible to please everyone since we have different opinions on the definition of effective negotiation. According to author Gerald R. Williams, effective negotiation can either be the ones who gets the most money for their clients, the one whose clients are most satisfied, the ones where both sides are the most satisfied, or the ones who came closest to totally destroying the other side.(p 155)
The bottom line is that humans interpret conflicts resolutions as either positive or negative. In my opinion, conflict resolutions are great opportunities to learn more about each other. Our attitudes does play a big role on what is effective negotiation. Are we optimistic or pessimistic? Do we see a glass as half empty or half full?
This week has been the most demanding, challenging, yet the best learning experience for me. I had to deal with conflicts on the job, meet deadlines, and still managed to have a good attitude towards it all.
I am a cooperative negotiator style, and try to negotiate effectively by trying to meet the needs of all parties involved. Unfortunately, it is impossible to please everyone since we have different opinions on the definition of effective negotiation. According to author Gerald R. Williams, effective negotiation can either be the ones who gets the most money for their clients, the one whose clients are most satisfied, the ones where both sides are the most satisfied, or the ones who came closest to totally destroying the other side.(p 155)
The bottom line is that humans interpret conflicts resolutions as either positive or negative. In my opinion, conflict resolutions are great opportunities to learn more about each other. Our attitudes does play a big role on what is effective negotiation. Are we optimistic or pessimistic? Do we see a glass as half empty or half full?
Demanding Babysitters
I am glad I took this class, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to deal with a demanding babysitter this week. I was very calm, and although she was very intimidating, it did not affect my ability to reason with her at all.
Since we were unable to open a second class this month, one of the babysitter's was very upset and demanded I make room for one of the children under her care. I apologized for any inconvenience this may have caused her, and calmy explained to her that our classroom is licenced for 24 students and we are at full capacity. I also explained to her that there were 20 other families in the same situation.
She said she knew all about licensing, yet insisted I make accomodations for this particular child. I tried to reason with her, but it was useless. She was angry, accused me of discriminating against the child and her family, and stormed off. I mentioned the incident to the principal so she is aware of it and isn't caught off guard when being approached. The next day, this same person walked in the main office, and demanded my supervisor's number because she said we were discriminating against her.
My lesson for the week: When dealing with demanding people, do your best to clarify any misunderstandings. If it doesn't work, give them your supervisor's number and let them deal with it. Always communicate with your supervisor so they are aware of the incident.
Since we were unable to open a second class this month, one of the babysitter's was very upset and demanded I make room for one of the children under her care. I apologized for any inconvenience this may have caused her, and calmy explained to her that our classroom is licenced for 24 students and we are at full capacity. I also explained to her that there were 20 other families in the same situation.
She said she knew all about licensing, yet insisted I make accomodations for this particular child. I tried to reason with her, but it was useless. She was angry, accused me of discriminating against the child and her family, and stormed off. I mentioned the incident to the principal so she is aware of it and isn't caught off guard when being approached. The next day, this same person walked in the main office, and demanded my supervisor's number because she said we were discriminating against her.
My lesson for the week: When dealing with demanding people, do your best to clarify any misunderstandings. If it doesn't work, give them your supervisor's number and let them deal with it. Always communicate with your supervisor so they are aware of the incident.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
iLinc Virgins
There is always a first time for everything. First friend, first kiss, first car, first online class, and Monday night was my first iLinc experience with Christine and Matt.
Since I am not familiar with iLinc, I decided to login 15 minutes early. When I encountered some difficulties, I had an agent guiding me step by step. He suddenly got disconnected because they were experiencing technical difficulties and I was all on my own. After digging through my email, I found the link from Dr. D. and followed her link. When I entered the discussion, I saw Matt and Dr. D's name and panicked because I was 10 minutes late. I typed "Hi guys" and Matt said "She is here" thinking I was Dr. D. We finally introduced ourselves, cleared up the confusion and started talking with each other. A second Matt entered the discussion, and that's when I thought it was some kind of joke.
The rest of our group members did not joined us, so we pretty much agreed to review our presentation by email. Although I couldn't hear neither Matt or Christine, I know we all had a good laugh. It was a hilarious experience for me. I am still laughing out loud as I am typing it and it is past midnight.
Since I am not familiar with iLinc, I decided to login 15 minutes early. When I encountered some difficulties, I had an agent guiding me step by step. He suddenly got disconnected because they were experiencing technical difficulties and I was all on my own. After digging through my email, I found the link from Dr. D. and followed her link. When I entered the discussion, I saw Matt and Dr. D's name and panicked because I was 10 minutes late. I typed "Hi guys" and Matt said "She is here" thinking I was Dr. D. We finally introduced ourselves, cleared up the confusion and started talking with each other. A second Matt entered the discussion, and that's when I thought it was some kind of joke.
The rest of our group members did not joined us, so we pretty much agreed to review our presentation by email. Although I couldn't hear neither Matt or Christine, I know we all had a good laugh. It was a hilarious experience for me. I am still laughing out loud as I am typing it and it is past midnight.
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