The 3 R's to Resolve Disagreements and Conflicts

   This week at my school was quite possibly one of the most challenging weeks of my teaching career.  I had a huge disagreement with the other math interventionist with whom I share a room with.  Here is a brief summary of what the disagreement was about:  a female student who does listen to women very well (issues with the mother), confided in me that she had been making poor choices with regards to her life.  She had been stealing gum from a local drugstore and was not eating.  The girl insisted that she had stopped stealing and she had been eating more often.  The girl is clean, fed, and dressed everyday for school and there are no signs of neglect.  I told the girl that I care for her and her brother and that I am glad she was making better choices but if I found out that she was stealing again that I would have to call her father.  The other math interventionist over heard this discussion and apparently discussed it with her husband that night.  She came in the following morning and informed me that if I did not discuss this with administration and call CPS, the police, and the drugstore that she would.  She felt I did not handle the situation well and that I needed to do more.  I felt as if I had been put into a corner and had no way of getting out.  After a discussion with my administration they felt the issue had been handled well and that I had done everything correctly.  At the school level there was nothing to be done because the children were not being neglected and the stealing was a police matter.  Needless to say  the other math interventionist was not pleased and still felt that the police and the drugstore needed to be called.  
   Based on the readings this week, I used the 3 R's to help resolve this conflict.  I will admit that I was very upset with the entire situation and felt that I had been backed into a corner.  I respectfully listened to her point of view, and then I expressed my concerns in a calm manner.  Even though I was quite angry I did not get aggressive or yell at my co-worker.  I also was honestly listening to the other side of this discussion and took all of her points into consideration.  I was responsive to the communicator in a calm manner and gave the same considerations in listening that I would have liked for myself.  I kept eye contact with the speaker and again, expressed my concerns and feelings in a strong yet calm manner.  

Perhaps to solve this conflict better  I could have suggested a compromise to the issue at hand.  I was clear on how I felt and what had happened, but she was strongly against any other options other than what she proposed.  I wish that she would have listened to other solutions that I could have been used to handle the situation.  However, she would not take any other options for a resolution other than her own.