Most groups except one, I was not sad to see them go but
with all my classes that we had to do group work we always had some type of end
of the year celebration relating to what the group was working on. I can think of a group of classmates that I
was involved in during the last few classes to finish our Bachelor degree, that
we did not say good-bye, we said see you around. We did adjourn the group but we still meat up
today for lunch or dinner to talk about old times, what is going on in everyone’s
life now, and talk about all the changes that keep going on for preschool
education.
Understanding what adjourning means to a group and why it is
part of team development, allowed me to understand that it is an essential
stage of teamwork. Moving on from a
group and saying good-bye is a great thing because you may never want to work
with those in your group again. At the
same time you may not want to say good-bye because you may in the future have
to work with the same group again. With
any group that is a great group you may want to stay in contact because you
built a friendship with that group and later down the road you may want to stay
in touch to get new ideas for your work.
One person can come up with several ideas and every year especially a
teacher wants to have new fresh ideas instead of using the same ones. Therefore, developing a friendship out of
your groups is a great way to brainstorm new ideas to teach.
Nina- I would have loved to have a celebration with some of the ladies I worked with but other than them, I was not sorry to say good-bye. I wish we were closer or at least in the same time zone, but I do speak with them every once in a while. You are right, it is great having other teachers to discuss ideas with and obtain different perspectives for early childhood. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNina,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Nina, I didn't have a hard time saying good-bye either. I don't see groups as opportunities to make friends, I am more focused on the project. I believe when you take the focus off of the project, that's when things happen within the group. Of course there is always going to be a type of celebration after a project. Yes, ending a group of good terms, especially if it's a group where there was tension. Thank you for sharing.
Nina,
ReplyDeleteI've actually experienced a hard time saying good bye to different groups. Perhaps I just get more emotionally involved and attached than others do (this has always been an ongoing issue with me since I was little). Your post made me realize that my own personal feelings can impact the group dynamics. It appears that you have learned from your group situations, both from your team members and from gaining the experience of working in a group. Great post!
Erin
Hi Nina,
ReplyDeleteIt has been bittersweet adjourning from a few groups I have been a part of as I suspect it will be when it's time to adjourn from our group of colleagues who we have collaborated with for quite some time. I also agree that if a group has worked well together and successfully achieved their goal, it's nice to be able to keep in touch and support each other. That happened with a chorus group I was a part of at the Maryland Center of the Arts many, many years ago. Several of us developed friendships and continue to stay in touch, and still visit with each other 38 years later.
I like the concept of saying see you around instead of good bye. That really shows how strong of a connection that you were able to develop with these group members. It seems as if it was a great way for you to develop closure within the group with out an official termination of the realtionships that had developed.
ReplyDelete