Communicating with my own children versus my students:
I find that when I am communicating with my own children, I revert to mindlessness when they are talking to me. I am not sure if it is the exhaustion at the end of the day, or just that they tell me the same story many times over, but I do not give them the same attention that I give my students. When my students are talking to me, I am more likely to give them my full attention. With both my students and my own children, I speak authoritatively and firmly which helps to manage behaviors in both arenas. My strategy for these groups is to make sure to pay much closer attention to my own children as they deserve the same attention that my students get.
Communicating with my colleagues versus parents of my students:
When communicating with my colleagues, I am able to use terminology and quirky teacher jokes that they will understand. However, when I communicate with parents, I find myself using some of the same terminology without thinking that they may not understand. My strategy for these groups is to make sure that when I use teacher or student terminology, that I am explaining what I mean or using different words that parents can relate to. I need to keep in mind that many of my parents are not as educated as my colleagues and this can sometimes be a barrier to communication if I assume they understand things that they are not schooled in.
Communicating with my Bible study gals versus my MOPS moms:
When communicating with my Bible study gals, I am able to share personal stories, successes, and struggles with them as we know each other intimately and have been studying together for two years. With the MOPS moms, I communicate on a very social basis and do not share personal stories that I would share with my Bible study gals. These two groups of women are both moms groups, but I am more closely connected to the Bible study gals. My strategy with these two groups is to make sure that I am taking the opportunity to share stories relevant to our experiences with the MOPS moms so that I can begin to grow closer to them.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteI love your comparisons in communication this week! I can really relate to sharing quirky jokes and common terminology with colleagues that I can with professionals that come to our agency for training. While I use humor during training, I do have to maintain a sense of professionalism and typically build a common language with them.
Great post!
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that when you have talked with your students all day you are tired and just want to relax. Being a parent and a teacher is a hard job and we play many roles but we have to make time to talk with our children and forget that we are tired.