I’m trying a different approach to preparing for and initiating an RC fundamentals class.
At a recent RC Area workshop, our main topic was Community building, especially as it relates to bringing Global Majority, Native and Indigenous, young adult, raised-poor, and working-class people into our currently mostly white and middle-class Community. The discussion settled on teaching fundamentals. We each thought aloud about what part we would want to play in launching [starting] a new fundamentals class for the Area.
Interestingly, those who had taught or assisted a fundamentals class in the past all showed their discouragement. They said things like, “Not me. I love the idea, but I don’t want to have anything to do with teaching or leading fundamentals.”
I understood. I’ve taken it personally when people I loved didn’t decide to do fundamentals or came once and ran away. Sometimes you recruit people to take a class, doing all the screenings and introductions to RC, only to have all or most students drop out after a few weeks or months. It’s difficult to avoid heavy restimulation when these things happen.
Fortunately, four Co-Counselors raised their hands and said they would like to try leading a new fundamentals class! They were all younger RCers who hadn’t yet taught fundamentals. They were excited about it and interested in it.
SUPPORTING AND PREPARING THE LEADERS
As their Regional Reference Person (RRP), I decided that I would fully support this group of four. We would together prepare and launch a new fundamentals class.
This “fundamentals leaders’ class” began in August 2024 with me teaching the group of four. I was assisted by an experienced former Area Reference Person who had led many fundamentals classes. The six of us have met weekly.
We started by breaking through isolation by telling our stories, working early, laughing a lot, and playing. Every week we explored important aspects of teaching fundamentals. We built relationships with each other at the same time.
About half-way through, it was decided who would be the actual teacher of the new class. The other three leaders agreed to support her efforts in every way possible. This meant not just bringing the tissues or collecting the money. It meant giving each other real support, especially the teacher—for example, when a fundamentals student that the teacher falls in love with leaves the class, comes in drunk, or launches an attack.
We wanted the fundamentals leaders to understand that this experience was as much for themselves as it would be for their students. They would use this effort to understand more about their leadership, sharpen their counseling skills, break through their own chronic patterns, and deepen their understanding of RC tools for their own use.
CHALLENGES
We got to work on many things, but there was not enough time to deeply explore all aspects of teaching RC. Hopefully they will get to work on these things with their students over the next year or so. We spent time on some key things that could potentially destabilize a fundamentals class; at the top of the list were class background, race, psychiatric drugs, and no socializing.
Like most systems in society, RC has been largely led by white middle- and owning-class people. This is gradually changing in RC, but white middle-class patterns still operate to a large degree. We worked on where classism and racism might seep out [show subtly]. This discussion and discharge must be ongoing.
LEADING WITHOUT ISOLATION
My support was helpful to those taking up the challenge. They could more easily see themselves and their work as important and valuable. They could feel my support and encouragement. They could know that they would be thought about and not left out there on their own [alone]. They would be completely connected to me, my assistant, and their team. We were determined to break through isolation with everything we could think of.
I spoke to my Community about not launching a fundamentals class with fewer than one teacher and three assistants. Isolation creeps in unannounced. The more connection, support, Co-Counseling sessions, love, and arms to fall into when times get hard, the better it will be for a new teacher and her team.
Our fundamentals leaders’ class is coming to an end. Next, we will have the first introduction to RC for the actual fundamentals class. We are planning for eight to ten new students. I’m now taking a step back and letting our four leaders take the lead. As an experienced leader and RRP, I learned a lot from teaching that class.