Thank you

"Your support and the knowledge throughout this semester, that we have done the RIGHTthing deciding to pursue our education. Thank you very much for your kind words, love and care you give to me through out the process. You are all incredibly important to me and I appreciate you!"



There is no perfect teacher and no teacher can ever say that he/she has reached their full potential ever. There is always room for growth and to learn new things.

Through this semester I can truly say that I have picked up some good ideas from other teachers. In our field of education, this is not called copying, but modeling. All of you have been eager to share  your experiences with me, and for that I'm truly grateful. Much success, Rachel

Saying Good Bye

A couple of years ago, I belonged to a group for people who were unemployed. The group offered support and up to date information needed to re-enter the market place. Though I was self-employed as a freelance writer, I enjoyed the cutting edge speakers and information about the business world.

I made a special connection with the leader and we visited from time to time. I had missed a few meetings because of other commitments and one day when I came, he was gone. I was shocked and disappointed that I did not get a chance to say goodbye and to thank him for his positive impact on my life.

In another situation I belong to an online Facebook group and felt bonded to the members who had been in it for a year. Suddenly one of the members was no longer there. Again, I was shocked and disappointed. I felt a sense of loss about her absence.

Later I received an email from her that said,”I had no clue it would be so difficult to leave the group. I feel like I have lost my best friend(s) in the world. I never thought about grieving in the sense of leaving a group, but that sure is what happens.”

In the end  I  wrote the people on the group an email expressing my sentiment.

My advice is  :Do take time though to process your thoughts and feelings and to seek closure for yourself whether it’s you are the one left behind or you are the one choosing to leave. You will be emotionally healthier and you will keep your relationships strong.

Non Violent Communicaion

Non violent communication  is a system designed to help one apply these principles in daily life.  It consists of four basic steps that one can use when attempting to communicate with others, particularly in a difficult situation.

The basic four-step process is: 

1) making a pure observation without judging,

2) identifying a feeling within yourself,   3) finding the human need behind the feeling, and 

4) formulating a request (not a demand).  I will add a fifth step as well, which is to ask for feedback.

  I find that if one actually follows these steps, it will drastically improve your communication skill with everyone.  You will find you will be far more effective and will not “turn off” people nearly as much.

Verbal Aggression

Verbal aggressiveness is a method in communication, when one is verbally attacking another in order to  express oneself or to win an argument. When using verbal aggressiveness in communication, the communicator wants to intimidate others. Most of the time one uses verbal aggressiveness when one feels that they are being attacked. After feeling attacked verbal agressors begin to attack others. This method of communication is toxic, and it is not effective.

Often times when I communicate I’m not aware, of how effectively I’m communicating. For example, there have been times when my voice gets louder, and I’m not aware. Usually the person I’m communicating with will point this out for me. As communicator we are not always  conscious of our tone and body language during conversation. There have been many times when I’m upset, and try to cover it by acting professional, and not upset. People are able to still tell by my demeanor that I’m upset. From experience my verbal aggression has led to many relationships ending, because people feel disrespected by the way I communicate. Without communication a relationship is dead.

When asking my fiancé to take the communication test with me, his answers resemble the answers that I gave.  I’m really close with my fiancé so I feel like he knows me very well. He is able to rate me the same as I rate myself. I have a tendency to be slightly biased with how I rate myself. My fiancé answers to some of the questions were slightly stronger than my answer. Since most of our relationship is rated based upon our communication , he s able to rate me stronger than the average  person.

My personal goal is to try to be less aggressive when I’m communicating. If I feel triggered by the conversation, I can walk away, or communicate non-aggressively that I feel attacked. Various times that I have become verbally aggressive have been when I personally felt like I was being attacked.  If I happened to feel attacked I can respond by  expressing my self in a healthy manner. I know personally this works with my fiance. When I tell him I getting angry we both agree to talk at another time, once emotions aren’t as high.