Deep listening is miraculous for both the listener and speaker.  When someone received us with open -hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.

                                                ~Sue Patton Thoele

To all my Colleagues,

When I first started the on-line community I was worried about not seeing people face to face in a brick and mortar building.  How would we build trust and respect? How would we share and learn from each other? are just a few questions I had.  But now as I come around the bend to the last semester of this program I have realized how great this community of professionals has been to work with.  We have struggled through some tough courses challenging our inner beings.  This course is no different, reflecting on myself as a communicator learning about my weaknesses and my strengths so that I might move forward as a stronger partner with all the people I work with now and in the future.

YOU have made that possible ….. you have shared your thoughts, struggles, experiences and willingness to open my mind to other possibilities.  There is never only one way, but many when seeking to understand.  The foundation to good communication I have learned is to listen with an open mind, and be willing to be influenced by a better idea or solution.  To speak with clarity and never assume you know what others are feeling or thinking, and never assume they know what you are thinking or feeling.

Some of us will be parting ways to our specializations, I wish you great learning experiences and a growth that will transform your understanding and give you the tools to become better than when you started.  

I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST, MAY GOD BLESS YOU ENDEAVORS!

Chris

Adjourning -  Coming to an end of a process and saying good- bye. 





In the past two years I have been working very closely with a co-worker, we are both teacher mentors and have been assigned to provide trainings in and around our area.  The last day in May was the end to our teaming.  She is going back to a classroom as a lead teacher and I have stayed in the main office in a coordinators position.  Saying good - bye to her and our hard efforts was a sad day for me.  We have had struggles agreeing on some issues, and excepting that ours ideas or plans were not the best  then  learning tocompromise, yet always keeping the focus on the goal and the vision to provide a quality training that was tailored to the group. I have been professionally stretched, and taught the importance of letting things go that would not compromise the integrety of the plan.  I will truely miss our commaradory and bouncing ideas off each other.  I know I will be in contact with her even if it is for lunch.  So for now I bid her good luck, and wish her well, for child and family that get her for a teacher will be thrilled beyond expectation.

 I realized for whatever reason when I printed out this assignment the last two questions where not there. To add to this I think adjourning is just as important as the beginning, we need to close the process out even if it has not been positive, we need to evaluate what we have learned and move forward using that information to make our next experience better. To adjourn from Waldens will be the same I imagine, to say thank you to all the colleagues who have responded on the discussion boards and helped me see issues and topics in a new light. I would wish everyone a farewell and best wishes on their future endeavors.

Nonviolence Communication

In order to do this I had to go back in time, because currently I have no conflicts or disagreements with anyone.  But I do recall a disagreement I had with colleagues that has often come to my mind throughout this past week, mainly because I felt I could have handled myself in a better way.  I have mentioned that I often care so much about another person’s feelings that I will allow them to attack me and not respond because I do not like confrontation and I don’t want to treat others in a way that I do not want to be treated

Now I have decided  when these types of disagreements come up I will take a step back, take a deep breath, count  (if I need to), and then respond by asking questions to clarify what they are truly saying and why they feel the way they do (Nonviolence communication, n.d.; The third Side, n.d.).  I will also be clear as to how I feel and what I need to help the discussion move forward. Another skill I am bound and determined to work on is helping everyone stay to the issue and attack the issue not the people.  Helping everyone remain focused on the issue will hopefully eliminate the need for feeling defensive and use blame.

References

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from www.cnvc.org

The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/