Together
By Maren Schmidt
In
my chiropractor's examining room, there is a poster of two hands reaching for a
handshake with the title "Together".
The poster says:
OUR JOB
See you as an individual
Respect your privacy and
your time
Provide a comfortable
office
Explain procedures
Monitor and report
progress
Show you ways to get and
stay well
Offer state of the art
chiropractic
Refer to specialists if
needed
Charge a fair fee for our
services
Honor individual health
goals
YOUR JOB
Want better health
Get involved
Keep appointments
Follow advice
Ask questions
Seek answers
Expect results
Stay optimistic
Pay your bill
Tell others
For
me this poster clearly communicates the roles of doctor and patient. Upon further reflection, I see that
this message is valid for any professional relationship or organization. An organization, as Stephen Covey
defines it, is any group of two or more people working for a common goal.
Excited
about how this poster states clear roles and expectations, I revised it to
reflect the relationships between school and home, or teacher and parents.
OUR JOB
See you and your child as
individuals
Respect your privacy and
your time
Provide comfortable
facilities
Explain procedures
Monitor and report your
child's progress
Show you ways to aid your
child's development
Offer state of the art
education
Refer to specialists if
needed
Charge a fair fee for our
services
Honor individual
educational needs
YOUR JOB
Want a better school
community for all
Get involved
Be on time
Follow advice
Ask questions
Seek answers
Expect results
Stay optimistic
Pay your tuition and/or taxes
Tell others
Having
played many roles in education-student, teacher, parent, school administrator,
principal, school owner, tuition check writer and taxpayer-I realize that when
I missed one of the jobs on this list, problems followed. When someone didn't do their part
within the organization, trust and satisfaction in the relationship was damaged
or destroyed.
In the roles we play in our educational organizations, as either
service providers or consumers, let's encourage the development of clear and
concise expectations for the tasks that need to be addressed to assure our
group's success.
Our Job. Your Job. It's
easy to look at these lists and for everyone to know if expectations are being
met. When there are rough spots in
a relationship, (remember, if we're human there will be problems) each party
can look at the lists to help define the problem, discern contributing factors
to the situation, and create possible solutions.
Roles
and expectations clearly stated from the beginning can help us make our
organizations successful for all our students, our families, our school staff
and our communities.
A
successful doctor needs cooperative patients. Patients need an understanding doctor. Successful schools need collaborative
families. Families need effective
schools. Together, we can do it.
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About Maren Schmidt: Maren founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland. She has over twenty-five years experience working with children. Maren writes the weekly syndicated newspaper column, Kids Talk. She is author of two books, Understanding Montessori: A Guide for Parents and Building Cathedrals Not Walls. Maren currently serves as an OMA board member.
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Reprinted by permission of the author.
Oregon Montessori Association
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