Thursday, October 2, 2014
A Conflict - What to do?
I had a disagreement with the Spanish bilingual teacher about how to read to children She was ok the first year with the way I dialogued with children when I read stories, but after about a month my second year, she said I should just read the books straight through. I was not ok with this at all. It was hard to keep there attention to books I read in English because they didn't understand that much English. I talked with them to help them understand the story. If they weren't listening to the story, I would draw them in by asking questions about the story or pictures. I was already very stressed at the time so I didn't deal with it at all. There were other problems like my children were at daycare and school for 11 hours when I had bus duty, but the final reason I gave my two week notice was that the teacher was asking me to do something that I didn't really know how to do and I had always felt my way of reading books was very beneficial. Our text said that the answer is not to ignore the issue. The first strategy I should have used would have been to bring up the issue. The second strategy would have been to tell her what I needed in that situation like I needed her to trust my judgment in how I taught English. The third strategy would have been to compromise. For example, I could have only read books that repeat simple sentences or I could have had one toddler type book and then had singing time because the children really seemed to learn English better by singing.
I would love to hear some more suggestions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI would first listen to her point of view then I would tell her thank you for her input and I would like to discuss this at a later time. I would then go and research articles to back or discredit my way and then revisit the subject after I was calm collected and prepared. You may even find articles that say the opposite of what you believe to be educated in what her beliefs are. I find that knowledge always benefits our beliefs. I think that there could be a compromise. You could read once through without discussion and ask questions at the end. Reread the book later and read it through your way. Hope that helps.
I like the idea of bringing articles because when it is time to discuss I forget everything I know or believe. The children were Spanish speakers. I was to read the books in English. Later, I thought of the idea of getting toddler books and making them work. I also thought that I could quickly read a short book and then teach songs because I found that they learned the English songs before anything else. I am open to many ideas from others while I am not emotional because I may get in a similar situation again, so please keep the ideas coming everyone! This is the first time I got this few responses, so I am wondering if I offended someone.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI think you should have listened to her and took her suggestions into consideration. I would have requested a private meeting at a later date to discuss this matter. A compromise should have been considered instead of ignoring the issue. Sometimes ignoring the issue will cause a person to build up tension and frustration about the issue; then the person will do something drastic. Only if you knew the half of what I go through on a daily basis at my job. I run into conflict all the time, but I do not ignore or allow it to push me away. I face it head on even if the results are not in my favor. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and do what is required of us or find another job. I know it is hard but sometimes we have to conform to what management says.
Erica