Week 5 Blog - Conflict Resolution

This week the subject has been on conflict resolution and non-violent communications. The weekly resources has shared many strategies to assist individuals with resolving conflicts and communicating in a more positive way.

For the past month I have been experience conflict with one of my 3 year old students named Karla. Karla is 3 years old and has had the hardest time adjusting to attending school. From the beginning of the school year Karla seemed to be a little different from the other students. She has never participated in small groups, she is not able to sit during story time, she has unpredictable outburst at any given time during her school day, and she also has screaming tantrums. During the beginning of the year when I first recognized that Karla was having a hard time adjusting to school, I spoke with both of her parents and asked if they had any concerns about Karla's behaviors. Both parents did not see a concern but felt that Karla was simply just spoiled. As the school year has progre3ssed, Karla's behavior has worsened. Karla walks away from the class when the class is walking to the restrooms, she throw her lunch if certain foods are placed onto her tray, Karla throws toys and turns over chairs when she is upset.

The past two weeks have been very difficult for me as the educator. Karla's behaviors are definitely disturbing the entire class. When she yells and screams, the other children plug their ears and are annoyed with Karla. I try to explain to the children that Karla is young but they do not understand. A few months ago I referred Karla to the school nurse for evaluation and the nurse recognized an immediate concern regarding Karla. The nurse contacted Karla's parents and notified them of her evaluation and Karla's parents refused services or a referral for outside assessments. I even spoke with Karla's mother about having Karla attend social skills groups to assist Karla with socializing in an appropriate way and mom denied the social skills group.

Last week Karla had another hard day. Once mom left the school, Karla screamed and yelled for at least 20 minutes. I tried to contact mom and dad but I was unable to reach them. Karla refused to leave the classroom for the restroom break which left me out of ratio while I took the children to the restroom, my aide stayed in the classroom with Karla. When mom arrived to pick up Karla I explained Karla's day in details and explained to mom that I needed more help with Karla. I shared with her that Karla needs one-on-one care and I did not have the staffing to provide one-on-one care for Karla. Mom seemed frustrated and asked if she should drop Karla from the program. I told mom that her and Karla's dad know more so than I if Karla is ready for school. Mom stated that she would speak with Dad first. Well....Karla did not show up to school for the past 2 days. Karla's parents have not contacted me either.

Two strategies that I believe would help me to resolve this conflict would be to cooperatively strategies ways to help Karla with her interactions while at school. I would again ask Karla's parents if they could assist Karla while at school at least one day per week to positively guide her interactions and behaviors while at school. Another strategy would be to ask the parents to reconsider having Karla participate in the social skills groups. In the past, the social skills groups have proven to help children of all ages and different developmental levels socialize in a more positive way.

My last strategy to use is to personally suggest that Karla may not be ready for such a large group at school. My classroom is structured and has 24 children between the ages of 3-5 enrolled. This type of class setting may be overwhelming for Karla which triggers her to scream, yell, throw her foods, and leave the class when walking outdoors. My ultimate goal for Karla is to receive the services and care that she needs. Whether it is social skills groups, one-on-one care, developmental assessments, or new placement, Karla needs special attention right away.