Take Responsibility

On the wall of all the rooms at my preschool there is a sign that says "Take responsibility for the energy you bring into the room."
A passage we discussed in our small groups this week was about the way we think about IEP meetings. The passage basically asserted that IEP meetings are often full of conflict and that we need to be realistic about that fact. We started talking about this and decided that if we let parents know from the beginning that conflict in an IEP meeting is not an indication of failure, that they might run more smoothly.
I started thinking about this, and ended up at the quote that I read on the wall five days a week. I think this idea is really applicable to IEP meetings. It may sound a little counterintuitive that acknowledging conflict is a way to take responsibility for the energy you bring into the room, but conflict does not have to mean that there will be a big dramatic fight. In the case of an IEP meeting, preparing for a conflict would also mean being prepared to resolve that conflict in a manner other than fighting. Coming in with the expectation that everything should run smoothly because you both have the student's best interest in mind and clearly have the exact same plan is a really good way to be disappointed.
Maybe if we acknowledge that there are going to be conflicts, but keep in mind that we both want what is best for the student, we can take responsibility for our energy. If we are confident about facing conflicts with respect and maturity and let the parents know that is our mindset, we will only bring the best energy into the room. We can only hope that others also take responsibility for the energy they bring into the room.