Document Type
Issue Area Five
Abstract
Consensus building is a strength of mine. Allow me to share a few of my experiences to show how consensus building became a strength for me. I was raised on a farm in Southeast Iowa as the fourth in a family of eight children. I learned as a youth that life would be much smoother if I could help work out the differences between my older and younger siblings. In most families, the middle child learns to be the mediator as part of the survival skills of growing up, and I found that helping our family come to consensus was valuable. I went on to college at the University of Northern Iowa and became a high school English teacher. Consensus building is a very useful skill in the classroom, so I expanded my abilities in this area. I went on to become a parent of three children and found out again that sibling rivalry is a reality. Keeping three young toddlers healthy and happy certainly tested my consensus building skills. Now that all three are adolescents, I continue to discover new ways to build consensus daily. Finally, in my eighth year as a local school board member, I realize that consensus building is a key in creating the best schools possible. From the ongoing debate about school lunches, to contract negotiations, to the community-wide efforts in strategic school planning, consensus building is a necessity.
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
5
Issue
2
First Page
210
Last Page
213
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1994 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Fulton, Charlene
(1994)
"Coming to Consensus,"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 5:
No.
2, Article 50.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol5/iss2/50
