The Triangle...

After doing the scenarios that were provided in the textbook, it really made me think about how I would handle these situations. I have been in situations like this, where the teachers did not like one teacher. Also, when the staff started to turn from the director because they did not like the way she approached us. I have felt like I was being attacked all the time when the director was talking to me, that was the reason why I have left after being there for 1.5 years, it was tough letting go of the children and the staff, but because I felt like I was always being targeted, it was really not healthy for me to be there.

When I was working on the scenarios, I had a hard time differentiating which issue belonged in which category. Mostly because I felt that all the issues somehow applied to each of the categories. The main issues that I saw were that Mary Beth and Katrina did not like me as a director because they are used to doing what they usually do. This leads me back to the taking risks assignments that we have done. Because I am a new director, they felt that I would change everything and they are resistant to change. This could be why they did not want to listen to me and ignore me, also why they voiced out to Doreen about not liking me and telling the other staff to go about doing what they usually do. I think that the main thing that Mary Beth and Katrina have a hard time with is accepting change. They are used to doing the same curriculum every year, where they do not see that the children learn nothing from the activities that they are providing them because it does not interest them at all. As much as it is great to have a curriculum in the classroom and have things planned for everyday, with a focus on what the children will be learning, the children's interests should also be hugely considered in the planning situation. Although it may be hard to find something that all the children are interested in, the children learn more when it is something that they want to know or want to learn more about. A strategy that I thought would be good would be to have a meeting with the staff about what their goals are for the children and the program. Maybe have evaluations and ask questions about why they wanted to become a caregiver. I also think that it is a good idea to let the staff know that I am there to make the program the best it can be, and that I am open to suggestions and know that I make mistakes too. I want to be able to let the staff know that I support them in any way possible rather than them feeling like they need to be reserved with what they do.

With the issue with Michael, I think that it is a safety violation because the food that is in the cubbies, it causes roaches which would leave droppings and the children would be touching it. I maybe suggest that, yes his philosophy is great, but the way that he is approaching it needs work because the children are just putting things into the cubbies. I would suggest that he have different areas for the children to put different things. For example, art boxes for the art that they do, cubbies for their clothes and personal belongings, and for the toys, if they are not done playing with them, he could have a "Save Tray" with their names on it, where they put the toys that they are not done playing with on the tray for later on. Even though Michael is resistant, I will have to put my foot down on the topic because it is a safety hazard for the parents and the children because it is the main walkway where the parents and children are being dropped off and picked up.