Communication and Conflict Management

Currently I have a student who has many development and physical delays. While my co-teacher and I identified these early in the year and even made the suggestion of him being more comfortable in a younger classroom, the parents insisted he remain in our class. We have pulled as many resources as well as educated ourselves all year long to support him the best we can but he is still not at the level of being fully ready for kindergarten like some of his peers. When conferences occurred a few weeks ago, we made the recommendation that he enter a developmental pre-kindergarten program that can offer all of the full supports he needs to thrive and grow in an education setting but the parents do not feel the same way and wish for him to remain in our program for another year. As we are a small private setting, we simply do not have the assets to provide him with the full supports he needs and so the determination has been made amongst staff to seek alternatives settings to provide the family. 

Thinking of this instance and the best way to ensure conflict does not arise, my co-teacher and I have have been very empathetic with our listening to ensure we are listening to the needs and also requests from the family (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.). We understand the hesitation of the family when it comes to placing the child in the public school system as they have not had good experiences thus far trying to coordinate screenings and other appointments when their home district. In the fall during our initial conference of explaining how a younger class could benefit their son better, this opened up the opportunity to form a relationship with the family that opened the lines of communication to not only be positive but also open about the child and any services or needs he has. Understanding the importance this relationship plays as explained by Cherise (2007) that "not only does the well-prepared teacher need to develop a relationship with each child, but the teacher must also form a relationship with the family"(p. 38). We took the time to establish and foster this since getting to know the full aspect of needs of this child. Had we not taken the time to do this, communication could have easily broken down and not been positive this school year. While we are still looking for solutions for the child, we are able to have respectful and meaningful conversations with the family about the future placement of their child.

Reference

Chesire, N. (2007). The 3 R's: Gaeway to Infant Toddler Learning. Dimensions of Early Childhood. Volume 35, No. 3. 

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