TheBanyanTree: changes in me....

[Sachet]

I've been working on school projects at home today since the center is 
closed for us to recuperate from the Summer Program. I should be 
relaxing, but I am just so psyched about my teaching position! I got the 
PIC (Preschool Inclusion Class) position I wanted! And my PIC Team is 
going to be awesome! Katie and Alicia and I get along so well...we love 
and respect each other and bring valuable insights, experience and a 
willingness to work together to the team. To make a long story short, it 
took a lot of work, careful wording of some letters, a few polite but 
emphatic meetings with the director - to get it worked out so that I 
don't have to teach with the one troublesome teacher this school year. I 
would have done it if I had to in order to be in PIC, but I was NOT 
looking forward to it again.

It is just so darn cool how it has worked out! I am beside myself with 
excitement and enthusiasm!!!!!!!!!!

I get to be with the kids I was with last year, plus some new students. 
They are a fascinating mixture with a few having some language skills, a 
few not, some with behavioral issues, etc. It will be a great year for 
teaching them and learning from them, too!

Tomorrow, I get to do a PowerPoint presentation on utilizing CALM in the 
workplace. Management stuck a poster up on the wall and said use the 
acronym:
Cool down
Access the situation
Listen to the other person
Mediate (aka ask for mediation, if needed.)

No training, no explanation, nada. And they wonder why people are not 
using it or if they do, are using it incorrectly. <sigh> It's been 
driving me crazy! So I discovered a like-minded soul named Mike and he 
agreed to work with me on the presentation. He brought in his knowledge 
of utilizing NVC (Non-violent Communication) skills and we have had the 
best time refining our presentation! We are both so excited about the 
opportunity to provide important communication skills and a method to 
handle conflicts effectively in a respectful and encouraging manner. 
Tomorrow we are doing the short version since several people are out on 
vacation for the Staff Workday. Then we will do a more in-depth 
presentation for a Staff Workday when everyone is present. We are 
pleased to have managed to organize it that way, because that way some 
people get to hear it twice and everyone gets to experience it once. I 
work with some incredibly wonderfully awesome people. But it's a 
demanding field and there are stressful days. If you have people who 
come from dysfunctional families or have never been taught how to 
communicate their feelings and needs in a professional manner, needless 
misunderstandings can occur. Management included! Knowing ABA, RDI, etc. 
inside out, does not make anyone an effective manager. So these are the 
baby steps towards my mission of making sure that we all communicate and 
interact well together even on those really stressful days. Work is like 
a giant live chess board to me some days. <wry grin>

Also tomorrow we are organizing some fun Team Building activities. Along 
with getting the center ready for the new school year, it should be a 
busy, but great day!


Used to be shy, but somehow got over it.... 


...Sachet