One day my director came in late due to a dentist appointment. The preschool teacher and I got into an argument about something she assumed a parent did but wasn’t aware of the situation. While exchanging words, I tried to explain what happened, but she didn’t want to hear it. She kept repeating what she thought was going on, and I repeatedly told her I understood what she was come from. At that point, I realized she wanted to argue, so I told her I wasn’t about to argue with her. This was a conflict without a win, win situation. After reading NVC and the 3 R’s, I didn’t see any principles that I could have used to resolve the conflict.
On the other hand, she could have been empathetic and listen to what I was saying. I felt as if she was listening to respond, not to understand. Later that day, I talked to her about the situation and explained what had happened, and she acknowledged that she was wrong. O’Hair (2018) stated, “Forgiving is not condoning, excusing, or forgetting someone’s transgression but reducing the negative reactions to the transgression and engaging in compassion and kindness toward the other person.”
References
O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real communication: An introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Learning is Fun and Educational 