Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/growing-organizational-culture-the-power-of-stories/5018149/
Erica’s story:“When I first came here as an assistant teacher, I loved being with children �" parents not so much. I liked the children’s smiles and hugs, all their learning, and that I could make a difference; they loved me and listened to me. Parents? I guess they were necessary �" children needed them, but I didn’t; except when I was waiting for them to finally pick up their kids. Most were okay, some were great, and some were a real pain in the ‘you know what.’ I was intimidated when they asked why I did something, or worse, didn’t do something (teach letters to two year olds!). Some parents I avoided and I dreaded conferences.
“So it’s now 8 years later and I have moved from Assistant Teacher to Teacher to Program Coordinator. I’m older, maybe wiser, and have had lots of kids and parents pass through my life. Still love kids and I think I have grown a lot in understanding how they learn and what they need. But more than anything, I have learned about parents. Whoever knew parents would be so important to my job? I wanted to work with kids!
“What did I learn? That parents ...