Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/who-owns-this-problem-anyway-changing-the-way-we-communicate/5009693/
The director slumped in her chair, tired after stepping in to take over a threes class. She gave one deep sigh, hoping to muster the energy to face the pile of paper work on her desk, answer three phone calls (one from a prospective client, one from an irate parent, and one from a vendor), and prepare for the in-service she was scheduled to give on discipline. She took another breath and prepared to plunge ahead. Then, in popped a teacher."Ms. Director," she said, "you just gotta do something about the way Mary slurps her food during lunch."
Tattling or playing nanny-nanny-boo-boo is as difficult to deal with in adults as it is in children. Because we are swamped with other matters that demand our time and attention, we may deal with our staff in a way that encourages or enables inappropriate behavior. Too often, when faced by the complaint about Mary's food slurping, we will accept the problem that the teacher is trying to dump on us. Burdened by more pressing tasks, we will offer some sort of band-aid solution or mutter some excuse like "Oh, you know how she is."
Those of us who started ...