In this situation, one of the strategies I would use is to observe without evaluating. I feel like I have already judged her and may not give her a fair shake when it comes to the observation. I need to just observe her open-mindedly and take in everything that happens as it is and not think about it or judge it too much.
I think another good strategy to use would be one of the NVC concepts that says, "state what we want, not what we don't want" (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d). I've kind of molded this to my own situation and I know this particular staff member has a hard time with rules and understanding why they are important to follow. I have been giving her a lot of "don't do this and don't do that" and maybe she needs to hear more about what we can and should do. Maybe going on the more positive side of things would help her see why things are important and why we follow the regulations that we do.
The last helpful strategy I thought of is to just go ahead and print out the article on the 3R's that I found and give it to her to read over. It gives a great outline of what makes early childhood teachers great: respect, responsiveness and relationships. I think the article also has great guidelines to think about when a new teacher first starts because it gives them something to strive for when working with young children and their families.
Hopefully through these three things, my interactions with this staff member will go more smoothly next week and I won't feel so frustrated and annoyed after I work with her.
References
Cheshire, N. (2007). The 3 R’s: Gateway to infant and toddler learning. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 35(3),
36-38.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is well written, and clearly you have utilized our resources for this week well. In regard to the new hire at your center, two things stand out to me: As a new hire without infant experience, this person may be feeling a bit under-qualified and as a consequence quite vulnerable. Feeling vulnerable, is not a comfortable situation in which to be. Given whatever her past experiences are, she may be exercising her established M.O. for situations of vulnerability. Seems like there is a lot of information she needs to assimilate quickly and she may feel a bit overwhelmed. What would happen if you talk with the mentor about specifics the new hire needs to know and understand, and let the mentor take the responsibility of communicating it to her? Just a thought.
Hello Amber. I have been the new flex girl and it is hard and like Dot said it is a position on intense vulnerability. So i'm glad that you recognize that you need to evaluate without judgement -isn't weird how fast judgement happen in our minds - anyways....You hint at it in the post try explaining to her the why behind the rules. Because when I was new People would constantly tell me the rules and I wouldn't understand them so i would say negative things. but once people started explaining the rules to me - my whole thought process changed. maybe that will help her too.
ReplyDeleteI'll tag in to what the others said - you have already taken a big step by realizing that your previous judgements may be clouding your opinion of her and her abilities and that the list of "don'ts" is a lot less productive than the "do's" with support!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have set your sights for success and will be helping this teacher grow from her experience instead of getting frustrated and quiting because "everyone hates me". Just think of the foundation that you are helping her develop and how much of a positive impact you are making by modeling these behaviors!
:)
You did an excellent job with your blog and it sound like you are using our resources very well in order to handle the situation. I hope that your positive communication works with this individual and she can become a better person and role model at your work.
ReplyDeleteHi Amber,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the best place to use when completing communication assignments is the workplace. I, too, have had an ongoing issue at work with a member of my department. This issue has persisted and it seems to get worse and worse each day, but because I have already chosen to use that incident as an example in previous assignments, I didn't defer to it for this one. I agree that one of your best methods to use right now is to observe without evaluating. It sounds like a simple task, but the reality is that as humans, we tend to evaluate and judge without even realizing it. For someone such as the coworker you're describing, working with kids has to evoke a passion within the person. If you do not enjoy working with children and helping them to learn, then it is not the type of job where you can just "wing it". I wish you luck in helping her out.
Amber,
ReplyDeleteYou are on the right path of looking at the problem and finding a positive solution. As you mentioned, based on what she has already done and said, this has made a negative impression on you. However, when observing, we have to set that all aside and observe without judging as you mentioned. I like how you mentioned about providing the printout to her. Do she have a print out of the regualtions as well? Have you thought about showing her, if you can, oberservations from visitors who may evaluate your program so she see that there are reasons why these standards and rules must be followed?Do she have a copy of her job description, which includes what her responsibilites are, including these guidlines are? After the observation and if there is anything that needs to be addressed, I would remind her of her job description and expectations of the Company overall.
I hope everything works out.
Also, sit together and collaborate common goals for her to acheive overall success.
DeleteAmber,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog I like your statement that you had been giving the new teacher a lot of don't do this and don't do that. Just the fact that you made this statement let's me know that you are trying to do what is right in regards to this new employee. Stay open minded and continue to strive to do what is right towards the person in the end hopefully everything will work out alright.