I recently had a disagreement with my co-teacher. She and I had a different way of dealing with a situation and there was great miscommunication. A child in our classroom who is struggling with some emotional regulation and has a bit of a stronger relationship with me that with my co-teacher. In a moment of upset the child screamed at my co-teacher and ran from her. I stopped the child and had her walk back to my co-teacher who then proceeded to help the child. The child calmed down and moved on to the next step in her day. She was on her cot getting ready for rest time and yelled at me that she wanted to get her rest toy. I asked her to calm her body and ask me rather than yell at me. She did and I told her she could go get it. My co-teacher then said, "You didn't know that I told her that when we were settled, I would go get it for her." I felt frustrated because as soon as my co-teacher said that, the child got upset again and began to run around the classroom. I let my co-teacher handle the upset and eventually, the child went to sleep and all was well. Later that afternoon, I approached my co-teacher and said, "It made me feel frustrated that when the child was calm and moving on, you triggered her again when you said she couldn't go get her rest toy." This child has some rage issues and struggles to self-regulate. I wanted to celebrate the regulation and did not see the point in upsetting her once again. My co-teacher relayed to me that the child told her "You will let me, just like my mom lets me when I yell at her". I did not have this information nor did I have the information that my co-teacher had told her she would need to wait to get the rest toy. If I had had this information, I would not have even suggested that the child ask me rather than yell at me. It was a miscommunication between the two adults and we talked about it and came up with a plan to communicate better in the times of this child's upset. It is vital that we present a united front and remain consistent with her. We had to use the 3 R's to settle this minor conflict. My co-teacher and I have a reciprocal respectful relationship and because of that we were able to have this conversation in a calm manner. Another strategy that I used is looking from my co-teacher's point of view. This particular child does not respond to her the same way she responds to me. I have had this child in my class for the last three years. We have a strong bond and I could not let that bond interfere with what my co-teacher was trying to do. We had to compromise in agreeing to communicate more efficiently and in sharing the load so to speak when this child is upset.
While this was a minor conflict, it was a learning experience for me and my co-teacher and for that I am grateful.
Rachael,
ReplyDeleteWow! I think we live in the same world. I also have a child who has some strong emotional issues, and I believe might be autistic as well but we are still waiting for the test results. In my circumstance the child is more attached to the other child then with me but will still listen to me and come to me when the other teacher isn't around. One day we had a substitute come in who didn't know the situation and thought I was just "spoiling" the child. She grumbled all day about it. At the end of the day I had a talk with her about the situation and she still felt I was spoiling the child. I'm glad everything worked out for you.
Rachael,
ReplyDeleteI can see how miscommunication can happen when there's more than one teacher in the classroom. It is hard to always know who said what to the children. It sounds like you and your co-worker handled the situation with maturity and were able to come up with a new plan. I hope the rest of your year goes smoothly with this child.
Thanks for sharing,
Sarah
Good morning Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that you and your co-worker were able to work the situation out. Kudos to you. Nice post and hank you for sharing.
Thanks ladies! Miscommunication can happen so quickly and I am so glad that we were able to resolve it and move forward!
ReplyDeleteRachael
Rachael,
ReplyDeleteMy co-teacher and I have a great relationship when it comes to conflict resolution. Especially when it comes to a childs behavior. We will observe the child, take note and share the information with the parents and administration. By doing this we try to avoid any conflict with the parents and making them aware of their child's development. Even with the teachers who have children that are transitioning into our class, we take notice in their behavior and we communicate with the teachers on what is their take on it and what is it that they are doing and what we can continue to do or make better. Communication is SO VITAL!!!