One of the most difficult times for me to adjourn a group was when I
graduated from SUNY Cobleskill. I had many adjournments that occurred;
friendships, professors, co-workers, and employment that I had while attending
SUNY Cobleskill. All of these groups were high-performing groups because it
created a balance for me to learn and grow as an early childhood professional
and a person. These high-performing groups were very difficult for me to leave
as they became such a great support system that I could refer to and use in
many situations. Of the groups I listed I would say the friendships built were
the hardest to leave. No matter the situation we encountered we most likely all
went through it or were going to go through it and we were able to support one
another throughout this period of time in our lives. The closing ritual I
experienced in this instance was graduation. It was an opportunity to reflect
upon what we had learned over the years we spent at SUNY Cobleskill and give a
sense of closure to our experiences.
As I think about the colleagues I have formed
relationships with through this online experience I believe it will be most
difficult to not have that weekly opportunity to read colleagues posts and
experiences that are very similar to mine. Reading these posts have helped me
to realize that I am not alone in my learning experiences in the field of early
childhood. We come from all different parts of the world. This group has shown
me that no matter where one is similar experiences are occurring. I imagine
adjourning from this group of colleagues will be through our final blog posts,
sending special thank you notes to one another and appreciating what they have
had to offer to this online experience.
Adjourning in my
opinion is an essential stage of teamwork as it shows the mutual respect and
appreciation each person has had for one another in meeting a common goal. This
online learning experience has demonstrated the common goal of receiving our
Master’s Degree while expanding our knowledge and wisdom of the early childhood
field. Adjourning will give us a chance to celebrate what we have accomplished
and give closure to move onto the next phase of our never-ending journey. It is
a sense that this is not the end of the something, rather a building block to
our future endeavors.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteOur mutual communication has been key to building such a positive learning environment. There have been many time when sharing our mutual experiences and challenges has been useful and encouraging for me. It builds confidence just to know that even as a virtual community we are a team sharing similar aspirations and goals who have encouraged each other to move forward personally and professionally.
Carol
I agree with you that the friendships built through different group or team experiences are the hardest to leave. It doesn't always mean you are not going to get to see that person again or have their friendship but usually it means the friendship may be a little bit different. Even though I have a few really great friends from childhood and college our friendship has changed throughout the years because of different circumstances. These circumstances could be our careers, families, locations, etc. Sometimes these changes bring your friendships closer and other times these changes create more distance in a friendship. I think it is always fun when I get to see a friend who I have not seen for a long time and we just pick up right where we left off!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you pointed out that the "adjourning" stage doesn't necessarily mean the end, but rather a building block to future endeavors... I also agree that it is exciting to reflect on what we have accomplished as colleagues in this graduate program. Dr. Randi Wolfe said it best in the video segment this week "At the core of early care and education, we want children to learn, grow, and succeed." That's what the passion is about! "Giving children the right space-their BIRTHRIGHT." (Laureate Education,2011).
References
Laureate Education,(Producer). (2011). Team building strategies.Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu
Video:Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Team building strategies [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. This is so true, as an online community of learners, we have formed relationships and supported each other in our learning experience. We definitely have shared many things and this has allowed us to support one another, increase our self-esteem and motivated us to keep carry on. I agree adjourning will be hard for us all. However, adjourning is an essential stage as you rightly said it "will give us a chance to celebrate what we have accomplished and give closure to move onto the next phase of our never-ending journey". In addition, developing long-term relationship so as we can count on and assist one another professionally in our field in the future is I believe an important step of the adjourning stage.