Week: 3 Observing Communication

This week I notice a conversation between my co-teacher and one of our students in our classroom. The teacher overheard one of the children say to another child, “you are not my friend anymore”. The child was on her way over to tell the teacher what the other child had said when I observed the other child running over in the house area to hide. The child then began telling the teacher that the other child said she was not her friend anymore because she would not let her use the broom, and dustpan to sweep the floor in the house area. The teacher told the little girl, let’s go over and try to talk with her to see if we can all stay friends. When the teacher walked over the other child was kind of hiding behind a shelf. The teacher asked if she would like to come and talk with her and the other child to work things out. As the child was coming out from behind the shelf she began saying, I told her it was my turn to sweep and she said no! The teacher asked them both what are some of the things we talk about in trying not to hurt each other feelings even if they do something you do not like. The little girl that wanted the broom, and dustpan said, we should not say things to hurt people feelings because it could make them cry, and hurt inside. The teacher then said, were you trying to make her cry. The little girl then said no because she is my friend. And as she said this the other little girl said, here you can sweep now as she gave her the broom and dustpan.  

What I notice through this situation was that the co-teacher did not run over and insist on making the child apologize. She calmly talked with the two girls, not at them which I believe helped the girls solve their own problem. Also what I learned from this situation was that as teachers we can be the mediator for children in helping them come to their own decisions of what is right or wrong. I also believe if the teacher had talked more about sharing, and turn taking this could have been more effective as well in helping the girls understand that there are only limited toys within our classroom therefore we must understand that other children want to use them as well. In addition I would have touch on how words do hurt our feelings, emotionally. Because as teachers we know the littlest words can stick with a child and make them feel bad. Furthermore in watching the co-teachers communicating with the girls I have to say that we have similar communication styles, and we both learn effective communication skills from each other when different situations occur with the children. Likewise I believe she did take more time out directing the children to solve their own problem, while on the other hand I myself would have probably asked the other little girl to apologize for saying she is not the other little girl’s friend. And the reason for this is because I know how little words sometimes hurt more than a child hitting another child.

Finally in reading through this week’s resources I appreciated how Stephenson stated, “I also learned that it was only ever possible to see a tiny part of life in a center. Even after five months of observations, I knew that I was seeing only a few hours each day. Adults and children were often spread out, so there was always much that I missed. But most significantly, I learned about the importance of listening to children. Stepping back became a strategy that helped me listen with an openness that allowed me to hear unexpected meanings in what children shared with me” Stephenson, 2009, p. 6). Moreover as teachers we too can understand that when we are communicating with other children within the classroom we too are missing out on other effective communication that the children are having between themselves that could also be effective tools in helping us as teachers, and adults when communicating with children when situations or problems arise. This is why I believe we should always take out time to just sit back, if possible, and listen to children while they communicate.

 

Reference

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site