We are continuing our monthly blog post series, Ramblings from the Road," where one of our staff trainers (AKA Carmen C. Virginia) shares her thoughts and insights as she travels around the country spreading the good news about the CLASS. This time, Carmen notices something interesting about her training participants.
Hi Folks,
I just returned from a CLASS training gig in rainy California...I know they need the rain, but did it have to be during the few days I was there? Enough about that, to be honest, after pan dulce and hot coffee in the morning I hardly noticed the dreary setting just outside the window...But I did notice something about this training group.
In some ways this group was unique and in other ways quite like every other group I have trained. One of the participants had already attended a Pre-K CLASS training and failed all 3 reliability attempts, another had been reliable in the past but let her certification expire. Other participants had been observed using the CLASS tool, but had no idea why they were in a training for observers and were shocked when they realized what they were there to learn. One participant had been hired only a few days before and didn’t even have a work email address yet. Most participants fell somewhere in between. That wasn’t the interesting part. I usually see this kind of variation in my trainings. What was interesting was the way the participants related to and worked with each other.
On the first day of the training one participant brought the screen for the PowerPoint, a few minutes later another brought a backpack with the projector and speakers. A third participant brought the training materials from their office, and someone from the childcare center we were attached to brought over an urn of coffee and the above-mentioned pan dulce. A little while later a bowl of fruit and a chunk of cheese appeared on the counter next to the bread. One participant, who arrived early to help out in the childcare center, set up the tables and chairs with me. I found out later that she left her house at 6:30AM to be there by 7:30 because she didn’t want to be late, and the training didn’t even start until 8:30. The last participant came in a few minutes late, after struggling to find parking, with a big pad of chart paper (the good kind with the sticky tab at the top) and a handful of markers.
The training continued along the same lines—everyone contributed a little bit. Of course, some added more than others, as is always the case with groups. Some contributed by asking questions or offering observations or differing points of view; others were quick to offer to read aloud, or talk about their previous experiences with testing.
At the very end of day 2, after we had collapsed the screen, packed up the projector, taken down the charts stuck on the walls, stacked the chairs, and folded up the tables, one of the participants found a broom and swept up all of our crumbs and scraps and bits into a neat, although embarrassingly large pile in the center of the room. We stood around talking for a bit while someone went looking for a dustpan, which was never found. We said our thank yous and goodbyes and dispersed.
On the flight home and over the next few days I continued to think about the almost-tangible sense of community I felt between the participants I had just left. It made me think me that perhaps the phrase, “it takes a village,” isn’t just about raising children.
In what ways do you experience—and cultivate—sense of communities in the trainings you provide?
