Managing Conflict
The most current conflict that I have experienced has been
in the workplace.
Recently I have had a new teacher’s aide employed in my classroom and
I have had an issue with her using her cell phone
while in the classroom.
The first time I saw my aide standing in the corner with
her back turned towards the children I thought something was wrong as if she
was sick, or upset.
When I approached her to see if she was okay I noticed that
she was texting on her cell phone.
Right away I was surprise and shocked because staff is not
allowed to have any personal belongings including cell phones inside of the
classroom.
My first strategy was that I wanted to be mindful and
understanding. I thought maybe she has
an emergency situation or something important as she may needed her cell phone at
this time.
My second strategy was to calmly,
respectively, and politely listen to what her response was.
I first asked her if
everything was alright and did she need a minute outside of the classroom
because we cannot have our cell phones inside of the class.
She said no and put her phone in her pocket
and sat down with the children. I then
asked her if she knew the policy about personal belonging and cell phones
inside of the classroom. She replied “I
forgot to put my phone in my locker do you want me to go and put it in there
now”.
I said "yes I do and please do not bring
your cell phone in the classroom again or I will be forced to have to write you up as the
policy states”.
I know understand how my staff and our “communication
climate was uncertain, realizing that her and my expectations was unclear” O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, & Teven, 2015, p.221).
Reference:
O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.
(2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New
York: Bedford/St.
Martin's.
I think that you handled the conflict great. You gave her the benefit of the doubt by asking if something was wrong first. You then proceeded to remind her of the policy. The most important thing is the children you are watching. By having technological distractions, she is putting the children at risk for injury. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support Amanda I appreciate it! :) I believe that our number one priority is the children and we as professional caregivers should never jeopardize the children's safety by any means. I hope we all continue to have effective nonviolence communication in the future;)
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