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| A Very Magical Team |
I join groups in conferences
all of the time… when I teach at the college, I feel as if I am the leader of a
group of students… I was a member of many groups while in college… when I had
my son, I joined parenting groups… in Walden, I become a member of a discussion
group, which changes with each new course… when I was a preschool director, I
was a member of several groups… I am a member of the buddy readers group… I
think of myself, in many ways, as a gluten for punishment, because I do not
only join groups, I become involved.
In many ways, high-performing
groups really are the hardest for me to leave, probably because my involvement
is so intense. I do not know if having
clearly established norms would affect my feelings when I left the group,
because if I was not comfortable with norms, I would probably experience
limited involvement. However, without a doubt, the group that I never wanted to leave was my public speaking club at California State University (notice how I said "my" public speaking club!). I was a member of this group
for my last two years of college. The
main group objective was competing in speech competitions, so we shared a
common goal. We were together on campus,
in the evenings, and on weekends. When
we were not practicing, we were listening to music, talking, or just
laughing. We were not considered a “hip”
group at the college; we stayed away from bars and never drank. We shared birthdays and holidays; we went competed
together throughout Florida and elsewhere.
We were there for each other; we listened, and we cared about what
everyone in our group thought; we even disagreed, learning from these
disagreements. I remember the night of
graduation; although we still communicated for many years afterwards, we were
no longer a part of the speech team. Our
relationship was very different. We were
an outsider to the students competing.
Now, I find it difficult to
leave my 40-hour early childhood classes.
At my age, I find this attachment amazing. I see these students for six weeks, two
nights a week or six Saturday’s in a row.
We bond; we respect each other.
We become part of a group; a group of early childhood educators. I take my responsibility as their teacher
very seriously, and I have built some amazing relationships with my
students. When my mom passed away,
students came to my house, offering me support and kindness. During our last class, we shared a pot-luck
dinner together before class starts.
Students bring a bit of who they are into this dinner, and their culture
in evident in their offerings. It’s a
wonderful ritual to adjourn the group.
For me, adjourning the group in this way is essential for the completion
of the group’s purpose.
I’m certain I will feel a
similar feeling after this class. We
formed a team throughout the individual classes, but when we submit assignment
number 8, we need to move on, adjourn from this group, and join another
group. Without doing this, we would
never move on; we would never obtain our master’s degree. This class will be the most difficult,
because for the most part, we will be going down different paths. Abudi (2010) stated “adjourning provides the
team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as
they pursue their next endeavor.” I do
have some solace in knowing that I have made some friends that will remain a
part of my life forever, and I so look forward to meeting these individuals in
person. Others, I am thankful that they
were a part of my group; they have encouraged me, just like group members are
supposed to do. We have listened,
shared, disagreed, and grown with each other.
While I know we have to move on, sometimes I wish that we could remain a
group forever!
