Adjourning

I think high performing groups are the hardest to leave because of the success of the group, the team building skills that each member have brought into the group, and the friendship that have been formed among group members both personally and professional. Groups with clear establish norms have roles which each group member has been assigned for the success of the group. If a group has established norms, then each group member knows her/her role in the group to make the group successful. One of the hardest group that I had to leave was with the Special Education Department of a school where I was a substitute teacher and a para-pro.

I had formed relationships with the administration, teachers, staff, and students from elementary, middle, and high school of the Special Educational Department. I had formed professional relationships with my coworkers who were very supportive in working with the students. I was working with a middle school class of special education students with a musical recital. However the recital was for the whole special educational department for students K-12. I have been at this school system for three years so I knew most of the students and had formed friendships with them from k-12 grades.

The middle school students that I worked with for the recital did a great job in coming together to perform a song by Taylor Swift called Shake, Shake, Shake, Our team consisted of the teachers from the special educational department of the middle school and their teacher aids, a musical professor from a local university and her student teachers, and the students from the special educational department. We met every Friday for three months to practice for the recital. Each was assigned roles. I got to work with the students on the drums. The two university professor student's aids helped the students with the tambourines and the vocals, and the professor was the lead vocal and guitarist.

The recital was a success because all of the parents of the students with disabilities were their and their family members, After the recital there was a luncheon where all of the participants were fed, and the students were given awards. The recital was recorded, and pictures were taken of the event. I knew that I would not see some of the high school students because they would be leaving the program once the school year was complete, so I made sure to speak to them and to wish them well.

When I adjourn for my colleagues in this Master Program, I hope that we as a group will keep it contact with one another to share ideals and experiences as we grow in the Early Childhood Educational Field. Adjourning is an essential part of teambuilding because you can take what you have learned into your next group to help build a team that will work together for the betterment of the team.