Educators Can Receive Training to Start Critical Friends Groups In Their Schools


By Beverly Carroll
June 28, 2004
Chattanooga Times Free Press

Teachers are surrounded by people all day, but they often are alone when they might wish to share ideas and tips with other professionals on how to do their jobs better. 'Teaching is very isolated,' education consultant Marcy O’Neill said. 'You stand in a room all day teaching, and you have little time to interact with other teachers.'

To help teachers bridge that gap and come together to hone their skills, the Public Education Foundation of Chattanooga trains educators in how to create Critical Friends Groups at their schools, Ms. O’Neill said.

'It provides teachers with a focus for their work and lets them give and receive feedback in a nonjudgmental learning community,' she said. 'Anytime you can collaborate with your colleagues, it makes your work stronger.'

Ms. O’Neill has led Critical Friends Group training for five years. The program, which was part of a reform effort called Schools of Excellence, started out with about a dozen participants, and this summer more than 40 educators are going through the training, including 30 Hamilton County teachers. Teachers have come from Williamson County, Tenn.; Buncombe County, N.C.; several North Georgia counties; and as far away as Cleveland, Ohio, to train.

The PEF provides scholarships for Hamilton County teachers, but other teachers pay fees to take the training. The PEF also provides $500 a year to group facilitators, who may use the money to buy books or other materials.

The groups meet once a month during the school year. Each person brings a lesson plan or an area, such as communicating with parents, for the group to discuss. A person presents her or his information and then remains silent while the group discusses the issue. The person answers questions from the group but cannot defend or explain. A facilitator runs the process, which has an informal structure. 'The idea is to listen critically and reflect on what you hear,' Ms. O’Neill said. 'You get specific feedback, which is more helpful than, ‘That sounds good.’'

More than 30 of Hamilton County’s 80 schools have Critical Friends Groups, Ms. O’Neill said.

Veteran teacher Craig Parrott said he hopes to start a group at Ridgeland High School, where he teaches economics. Mr. Parrott said he was doubtful about the benefits of the group before he completed training last week.

'I signed up in the spring, and as the time got closer, I starting thinking maybe I had made a mistake,' the 25-year teacher said. 'I’ve been to a lot of staff development programs before that I didn’t get much out of. But this has been great. I like the idea of taking problems and sharing them with colleagues. It’s a way to get input in a positive environment.'

Mr. Parrott said some people don’t understand why teachers want or need to keep training. Other professions require people to keep learning and stay up to date on new methods, skills and knowledge, he said.

'We never know it all,' he said. 'Once you close your mind to learning more and new ways of doing things, you probably just need to get out of (teaching) altogether.'