6 NSRF® Connections • April 2018

What are the best combinations for CFG teams and in CFG trainings? “Shuffling the Deck” in CFG terms By Luci Englert McKean, NSRF Assistant Director and National Facilitator. [email protected] Imagine your school staff repre- number, various classrooms: several all the time. In contrast, coming to a sented by a stack of playing cards. middle school math teachers of rela- CFG coaches’ training, especially an There are a variety of metaphors you tively equal power working together “open” training with educators of all might choose here, but for instance, on shared curricula, for example. sorts, is the perfect opportunity to let’s have the number cards represent Since most of us are familiar with get vastly different perspectives on grade levels, the suits (hearts, spades, this sort of working group, I have a one’s problems that pushes each one’s clubs, diamonds) represent subject question for you. How many times thinking beyond the silo of their usual matter, and the face cards (king, have you sat in a committee meeting interactions. queen, jack) represent administrators. and, when a problem is introduced, For the sake of discussion, let’s You might even identify a “joker” or you have a pretty good idea of who will stay temporarily with our imaginary two. Depending on the context of the speak first, who may not speak at all, cohort of 15 literacy coaches from the “game,” you might even find a few and approximately what every speaker same district. In that training, when “wild cards” among your colleagues. will say before they say it? someone presents a chunk of student Every card game begins with the NSRF protocols, of course, are work, everyone’s thinking primar- dealer shuffling the cards thoroughly, designed to structure conversations ily about their shared experience as then dealing each player a “hand” of to achieve a desired outcome. Within literacy coaches, and maybe their random cards. In poker or any other a protocol led by a trained coach, own experience coaching this familiar card game, there are specific hands there is no room for idle conversation, student. But imagine for a moment the that you’re trying to achieve in order ranting about something beyond our perspective that that student’s math to win the game. control, or content that isn’t focused teacher or baseball coach might add to I was thinking about common ways on the problem at hand. So convert- that group -- wild card, right? Not all that schools set up working groups of ing committee meetings into Critical wild cards are helpful, but others have colleagues, and some “poker hands” Friends Group meetings can help the potential to generate a plethora of work better than others in particular participants be more effective by us- brand-new ideas. instances … but the most “winning ing protocols to encourage equality of When you’re forming a training hands” for CFG work may surprise voice, reflection, critical thinking, and cohort, you don’t want to have just you. (I’ll start by addressing the com- creative solutions. one wild card in a sea of “same suit” position of CFG communities, but also others. But for coaches’ trainings... describe specifics regarding ideal com- You want all the participants to position of on-site CFG trainings. Open However, if you’re planning a new have some attributes and perspectives Trainingsare always a “shuffled deck,” CFG Coaches’ Training, then “not unique to them but also some attri- beneficial to all who participate.) shuffling” is less-than-ideal, if not butes and perspectives shared with at downright problematic. Straight flushes in least a few other people in the room--a cards and meetings Putting together a training group shuffled deck that’s not all one suit. consisting of 15 literacy coaches from One powerful poker hand is a your district, or only central opera- Especially important when there “straight flush”—any five-card se- tions staff, for instance, means that are power imbalances quence in the same suit (e.g.: 2, 3, 4, you’re limiting the world-view of the Picture what happens when you 5, and 6 of diamonds). When you open whole group. Remember, in coaches’ have a group of relatively equal col- a brand-new deck of cards, this is the training, all participants bring in their leagues and one “boss” (or colleague order the cards appear: Ace to King of own dilemmas and pieces of work, and who isn’t a boss but has close ties one suit, then another, a third suit, and we run protocols to help them address to that office). Even with the best of the fourth, til you have 52 cards, with those things within the trainings. A bosses, there will be some dilemmas a couple of jokers thrown in at the too-similar cohort might benefit from that people will not feel comfortable end. Most schools build committees using protocols, but may not think in addressing when the boss is in the in this orderly way. Consider the suit drastically different ways. And they’re room. Additionally, conversations will representing subject matter and the probably already in meetings together be skewed. Even groups that have NSRF® Connections • April 2018 7 used our Setting Agreements activity also a perfect option when a school or are surrounded by people of relatively will struggle with this sort of imbal- district would like to train their admin- equal-to-them power, with the same ance, and frankly, it’s not a good envi- istrators separately from their faculty sorts of dilemmas and relatively simi- ronment for the boss to get support, training happening on-site. Schools lar work to bring to the group for im- either. and districts often find that this cre- provement. It’s vitally important (one Similarly, having a group with ates “the best of both worlds”—col- might say “critical”) that administra- just one person of color can be quite leagues working together in a training tors can have trusted places to work difficult for that person. The group at a less expensive price-point, and a out these dilemmas, without having to may consciously (or unconsciously) few admins attending a training else- break confidences or alarm teachers expect them to represent “the voice of where, where they’ll have the joy and who work for them. all Teachers of Color” or worse, “the satisfaction of being “not the boss” but a peer among peers. A few words if you’re voice of all People of Color.” Clearly, considering training this expectation isn’t remotely fair to The specific time when If you don’t have control over the that teacher and likely will cause more you want a “royal flush” friction than it removes. That said, “game” or the “deck,” but you’re hop- groups of ONLY Teachers of Color can In poker, the very best hand that ing to pitch the idea of getting trained be enormously helpful, allowing a safe wins every time is called a “royal as a CFG coach and starting CFG work container where they may support flush.” This is the Ace, King, Queen, in your school, here are some choices each other without concern for observ- Jack, and ten, all of one suit (Clubs for to consider: ers who are not part of the group. example). Because these are the most • Visit our website to select a powerful cards in a deck, the royal good Open Training for you. When “shuffling” is best flush represents school or district ad- • Consider bringing a colleague What we’ve learned in 20+ years ministrators. to the training: some of our open of Critical Friends Group work is that Not long ago I led a training which trainings offer discounts for bringing talking to people who are NOT your included heads of school, operations- another person. It’s always wonderful “just like you” gives you the broadest level managers and directors, (special- to have a trained partner in continu- context to reconsider your problem or ty) coaches, and classroom teachers: ing the work when you’re back at your next steps. Teachers who work with a a grouping that we specifically do not desk! very different age group, for example, recommend for on-site trainings be- have a perspective about tactics that cause of the power imbalance. As we • Get some info from NSRF dem- work brilliantly with younger stu- were discussing dilemmas that could onstrating the power of CFG work, and dents. You may have never heard of be brought to the training group for present it to your administrators with those ideas and thus could not have our practice session, one of the heads, the specifics and dates of the open considered the way they might posi- looking at some of the teachers from training you want to attend. tively impact the situation. Educators his school, said, “You have NO IDEA • And if you ARE the adminis- from an entirely different environment the dilemmas I know about but can’t trator, revisit bullet #1 above. Then (teachers from rural public schools discuss with you!” His frustration was in bullet #2, think of someone who learning alongside teachers from elite palpable and appropriate. might be hesitant to adopt CFG work, private schools, for example) bring NSRF always suggests that, and bring them to training. Then you fresh skill sets and considerations to a whenever possible, administrators achieve the double-benefit of not only discussion. be trained in a separate cohort (their having the colleague to collaborate Obviously in your school-based own “royal flush”) rather than mixing with, but also you’ve already “won CFG work, you’re not going to bring them in with teachers for this reason, over” a challenger to the wonder- in teachers from other schools. How- and because the opposite is also true: ful process of Critical Friends Group ever, when you’re first beginning to people would rather their bosses not work! consider CFG work, you may want to know about problems until after they Luci Englert McKean is consider sending a few of your team to have tried to solve the problem them- the Assistant Director an “open” training with NSRF. Attend- selves. of the NSRF, Managing ees at open trainings are “shuffled” Similarly, administrators should Editor of Connections, randomly—because individuals can an NSRF International not expect to attend CFG communities attend from any organization, open Facilitator, and CFG alongside their staff but instead should trainings tend to have VERY diverse Coach. She’s also the curator and have their own administrative CFG speaker coach for TEDxBloomington. types of people in the room. They’re community. In an admin group, they Email her at [email protected]