Some thoughts I have been having are regarding a support group I am trying to establish in my school. I am attending an Autism Training in Charlotte in October, and after this conference we will share strategies to teachers and parents with Autistic children. This will also be an opportunity for teachers and parents to collaborate based on what works best for their child. I think that it will be a great opportunity for students to share their insights, but also ask questions about best practices, IEPs and other goals they have for their child! I am excited to start this but realize how we will need to work as a team to implement this program successfully!
I do enjoy having parent teacher conferences, but I can find them intimidating, IF I do not have the material to back up what I am saying. But then it’s like, what can I send home, if I have to keep everything at school to keep as a record!?! Or sometimes, I send something home because I am so proud of them, and I won’t have that resource to share at conferences. Where do you draw the line of what to keep and what to send home!?!
When reading Crucial Conversations this week, I was a bit scared! After taking the test I discovered that I avoid or withdraw myself from crucial conversations. I wonder if I am negatively contributing to groups or conversations but I am also someone who tries to avoid confrontation. Actually the recap of page 55 sounded just like me it was scary! I feel like I to need to work on my conversation skills when talking to especially my boyfriend. Luckily, I think he is the opposite and handles most conversations so well! He knows how to direct me so I won’t get mad and always offers good advice! I definitely need to step back and look at my OWN reactions to situations. I need to self reflect upon my own actions in order to hear how I am handling situations.
I think being prepared is the key to an effective, meaningful conference. I totally agree with your comment about having the materials to back up what I am saying. I often run copies of student work and send the originals home. Noticeable preparation helps the teacher communicate to the parents that the time set aside to discuss their child is important enough to warrant prior planning and forethought. Those impromptu meetings when parents stop me and want to discuss something in the hall or raise a topic out of the blue that are most disquieting. I may leave such a meeting thinking, "I wish I had remembered to communicate this or that in a better way." I agree that the readings were invaluable for the self-reflection they prompted in me. This self- reflection will help prepare me for the impromptu meetings with parents as well as colleagues as I consider my dialogue skills or my style under stress, and the effectiveness of both of these.
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