The Challenge of Professional Interactions
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Friend & Bursuck, 2001 Chapter Three: Handout 3
The Challenge of Professional Interactions
As you work with other general education teachers, special education teachers, related services personnel, administrators, paraprofessionals, and parents, you will learn how critical effective interactions are for today’s teachers in inclusive schools. Although most of your interactions will be pleasant and constructive, you will probably encounter some difficult ones, too. Using information included in Chapter 3 as a basis, how would you respond to each of the following situations if you were Ms. Verglas? _
Ms. Verglas is concerned. She just attended a team meeting at which she wanted to discuss the problems she was experiencing with Kurt. However, she had the sense at the meeting that there wasn’t enough time for the discussion and that other team members were in such a hurry to finish the meeting that they devalued Ms. Verglas’ concerns and made suggestions that had little value. What should Ms. Verglas do next? _
The vision consultant just left Ms. Verglas’ classroom. He spent some time working with Chris and showing him a new type of magnifier to use when reading his textbook. That part was fine. However, when he entered the room, he disrupted the lesson and drew attention to Chris. In addition, he practically insisted that Ms. Verglas’ stop to talk to him before he left. She wants to talk to him by phone. How might she approach this conversation? _
Ms. Verglas co-teaches with Mr. Harmonsson. She has noticed that when he writes on the board, he makes a number of errors in spelling and grammar. She is a stickler on this and truly dislikes the model for written communication he presents to students. How could she discuss this matter with Mr. Harmonsson? _
Ms. Verglas is preparing for fall parent conferences. She is particularly concerned about the conference with Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, Marguerite’s parents. They have a reputation for making many demands on teachers and becoming increasingly angry during the course of the school year as Marguerite continues to struggle to learn. They also have a habit of talking negatively about other teachers when they are not present. How should Ms. Verglas prepare for this conference? What should she do during the conference to make it as successful as possible? _
Ms. Verglas has become aware that Mr. Peixe, the paraprofessional working in her classroom for 45 minutes every day, is being very protective of George, a student with a moderate cognitive disability. In fact, it seems that George is regressing, not making progress, with Mr. Peixe’s assistance. How should Ms. Verglas raise her concern with Mr. Peixe? What should she do if he disagrees with her perception?