Week 29 - Satisfaction Guaranteed?

"People need to see how much agreement is possible between seemingly intractable opponents" - Robert Redford

Janice sighed heavily as she hung up the phone. Mrs. Baxter, the mother of a student with special needs, wanted a conference - again.

It seemed that she couldn't please this mother. Although their meetings always ended on a positive note, Janice was beginning to wonder what she could do to avoid them altogether.

This year had definitely been one with unusual challenges in Janice's classroom, and to be truthful, Mrs. Baxter usually had valid concerns.

This conference began just as all the rest - Mrs. Baxter restating her son's needs; Janice restating her desire to meet his needs. But this time Mrs. Baxter had a new question ready. "What level of satisfaction should a parent expect from your class?"

What a loaded question! Janice was speechless. Mrs. Baxter continued, "We both know that 100 percent is not realistic. Nothing and no one is perfect."

Mrs. Baxter went on to explain that after some soul-searching she knew that her own unusually high expectations had created some of the frustrations she was feeling over her son's school year.

Mrs. Baxter's humility struck a chord with Janice. She turned her question around. What were her expectations of parents? Were they realistic? Janice knew she had some soul-searching of her own to do.

A willingness to put forth the effort to understand each other opened the door for a wonderful relationship between Janice and Mrs. Baxter.

Make understanding your priority before trying to be understood.

Prompt: I need to make understanding my priority in the following situations. . .