Last Sunday

The prospective of the law firm in the negotiation was informative. I was surprised how often he said "I would not recommend that in a contract" yet it was in the contract. It made me wonder how many times the school board do not listen to the lawyers within this process. I think that the budget research that Mr. Greening did was very important. But I do not know how a small school could afford to pay a law firm to do this work and it seemed like it would be time consuming for a superintendent to complete this budget research each year.
I liked the different presentations from all of the students. I was very impressed by the unique focus some of my peers came up with for these topics. For example: Tim and partner had the same subject as my partner and I, yet they put the poker focus with it and this made a great angle and connection to background knowledge that many peers share. I also loved the bag of tricks presentation. All of the presentations were excellent and informative. I liked when Larry and his group talked about setting the salary by the market. It was nice to hear specifics about how their districts did this. How some districts waited for all other surrounding districts to settle and others wanted to settle first. The use of actual examples from their districts were great.
As for the negotiation process, I am glad to say that we settled. I will reflect to a greater extent in my reflection paper, but here are a few immediate thoughts. The note-taker is a very very important job. It appeared that John had so much to keep up with in this process. I still think that with todays' technology it would be better to tape the meeting, but I understand that closes down the communication process. The handling of the offers, counter-offers and all of the paperwork was more overwhelming than I had ever imagined. But the biggest reflection regarding the table prcess is that I am not good at this. I try to be good at everything. I think effort and practice can improve performance in any situation. But how do you practice table behavior and negotiations? I am glad I participated in this simulation, but I would be hesitant to participate in real life negotiations. The other team told me that I was the easiest read body image wise. I gave everything away. I could not keep my mouth shut and let only the speaker talk. The only way that I would feel comfortable at the table would be as the speaker because I am a leader who tends to take control. But who wants a speaker who gives everything away with their body image and hates silence? I play poker every Friday night with a group of friends and they all tell me I am full of "tells". I have been playing cards for over two years and I have not yet practiced my way out of "tells", so how will I change my body language at the table? This class has ignited my interest in negotiations and I would love to observe the process. But the only way that I could be part of this process currently would be to be a union teacher rep. Could I keep my mouth closed and my "tells" quiet? I doubt it. Yet I need to grow these skills so that I can be successful at the table as a potential superintendent. This is such an important process, but how can I participate and practice? I am glad for the table simulation in this class as it provided some useful practice for me.