I am sorry to hear that you and your colleague are going through a rocky time in your work together.
You mention that expectations were made clear, but are not being fulfilled. Can you give an example? What type of disagreements are you having? Does your colleague see that there are problems, too?
The source of the conflict will impact the steps you take to address it of course, but like most relationships, sharing a classroom with an assistant teacher (or a co-teacher) comes down to holding a shared vision for your work with children and strong communication.
It might be helpful to ask a trusted administrator to help facilitate a conversation between you and the other teacher where, together, you name and define the issues and make a plan for steps you can both take to move forward. There will need to be routine follow up conversations to check in about progress and adjust course as necessary.
Hang in there and good luck in your efforts to re-build the partnership! Sharing a classroom is not always an easy experience, and the relationship requires honesty, clear communication, and mutual trust.
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Karen Watson
Karen Watson
Bloomfield Hills MI
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-21-2019 04:21 PM
From: Kayla Sigmon
Subject: Assistants
It seems that my assistant and I are clashing again this year. We have had discussions of expectations in the past. These expectations were agreed upon, but have yet to be followed up on. However, it seems that administration makes excuses for actions, or lack there of. Our personalities are very different and any constructive criticism is twisted into something hateful. I am completely at a loss as to what to do, any help would be greatly appreciated.
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K.S.
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