Relationship Reflection

     Relationships and partnerships are very important to me. I believe that relationships are what make the world complete. With this being said, relationships whether personal or professional shape a person, their thoughts and their experiences. I believe that without some type of relationship or human contact people would be devoid of feelings such as compassion, understanding and empathy.

There are several people who I have positive relationships with. 

The first person that I have a positive relationship with is my daughter. I try to maintain a positive relationship with her and be a good female role model to her because I grew up without a mother. I strive to show my daughter what it means to be understanding, fair , and compassionate. I also try to instill morals in her at an early age so that she will be able to identify with people's feelings and with ideals that are right and wrong. 

Another person that I try to maintain a positive relationship and partnership with is my daughter's father. I try to maintain a positive relationship with him, for the well-being of myself,  my daughter, and for him as well. We try to effectively parent our daughter so that she will be able to identify with the idea of having a family and so that she will know what it is liked to feel loved and protected.

                   My Daughter and her Father

Other people that I have positive partnerships with are my coworkers. I work in a Head start setting, so it is imperative that my coworkers and myself maintain an amicable environment so that we can ultimately serve the children that we teach each day.

Insights that I have learned regarding challenges to developing and maintaining relationships have been many. I have learned that not everyone is receptive to creating new relationships. I have learned that you have to accept people for who they are and not to be judgmental, but to be open-minded and compassionate. I have also learned that just because you may be used to doing things that a certain way that , it doesn't mean that it is the right way, or even that the way that you do things is acceptable in every situation. . I have also Iearned that every relationship or partnership that you try to forge should be individualized and treated on a case by case basis. There is no cookie cutter way that one can build partnerships because each one may be different.

 I do not think that there are nay special characteristics  that make relationships partnerships except respect. I believe that both sides of a partnership must have respect and understanding  to move forward.

My work as an early childhood professional may be impacted by my experiences with relationships because my experiences reflect how I will approach a situation. If I am responsive to the needs of families and children then I will be more willingly to assist them when they need it. In addition, If I put my biases aside and focus on what needs to be done, and do this with compassion and understanding, then everyone will benefit form the relationships.