Excerpts from Re-Ignition Before Burn-out

The Bill Cumming Phenomenon

Dr. David L. Nichols

University of Maine at Orono

My acquaintanceship with Bill Cumming is not yet a year old, but months of watching him work with teachers, and talking with teachers with whom he has worked convince me that here indeed is something new in education. What that “something new” is, put simply, a process that rejuvenates experienced classroom teachers; halts and reverses an almost universal drift toward “burn-out;” puts teachers back in touch with the well-springs of idealism and hope that propelled them originally; builds or rebuilds a positive, “can-do” attitude toward everyday problems, and enormous professional challenges as well. There is no question at all that Bill can perform these miracles with large groups of jaded, more or less cynical, certainly tired teachers. It takes him about twelve three-hour sessions to do it, but by the end of the series he has reached and changed almost everyone present. They leave the experience energized, elated, with a feeling of having been somehow empowered to do those things that they intended to do when they began teaching, with a conviction that they have been irrevocably changed. And through many of their final evaluations runs a tone of sincere gratitude for having been somehow restored. Almost without exception they believe that the children in their classes will benefit greatly in both the short and long run.

During those several months of watching the Bill Cumming phenomenon in action and attempting to evaluate it, or at least to understand what was happening, I found myself coming up with as many more questions than answers. Is the phenomenon a single effect, or is it the sum of many effects? To what extent is it a group effect? (Could he do it as well one-on-one?) Could anyone else do it? Bill Cumming is a charismatic individual with unusual powers of persuasion. Are his results another example of the Billy Sunday (or Billy Graham) effect? What is the immediate impact on teacher’s classroom behavior? How long do these effects (if any) last? And in screaming headlines in the back of my mind throughout were these questions: What are the implications of this phenomenon for my major interest, teacher education? What ingredients in what Bill does are transferable (to me, to whole battalions of in-service educators)? Can enough of these real effects be isolated, verified, validated through research to provide a base for training supervisors and teacher educators to do what Bill does?

Teachers were observed on 1/28/82, shortly after the sessions with Bill Cumming began, and again 4/14/82, just prior to the final session. The running commentary section provided some things to think about. Praise and encouragement seemed to be qualitatively different in about half of the classrooms on the second visit. Although the quantity of reinforcement was the same, as reflected in the Flanders segment, its nature shifted to a stronger and more personal mode in two classrooms, and in two others a dimension of very heavy private one-on-one reinforcement appears to have been added. In almost all classrooms, two of Bill’s own heaviest reinforcers, “Great” and “Terrific” had appeared by April. In addition, in three or four of the April commentaries there is reference to more attention to or comfort with feelings, whatever that may indicated. Clearly, this particular effort was altogether too “quick and dirty” to be useful for collecting “objective” data. Subjective data, on the other hand, was easier to come by.

A different kind of effort, attempting to get at the perceptions of students in Bill’s class, their subjective reactions to what had been happening, was successful beyond my wildest imaginings. Like the proverbial mill that ground salt, students once “turned on” wrote volumes of sincere, almost passionate conviction and feeling. All thirty-five students did self-evaluations periodically and a final evaluation of the course as well. These are fascinating to read, and they provide all sorts of most interesting insights. But they are open-ended and unfocused, answering any number of unasked questions. In order to get a better sample, I picked out seven active graduate students from the group, students who presumably would be among the most perceptive and the most articulate, and asked them to respond to the following:

• You are all experienced teachers, and more important than that for our purpose, advanced students of the educational process. You should be more able than most to analyze and to articulate what has been happening to you in Mr. Cumming’s class, in educational terms. For example, it looks to me as if many of you have had your self-concept altered in one or more ways. It also looks as if you have learned how to do some things that you couldn’t do before, at least on a regular basis. And it is clear that you have undergone a number of attitude changes, for better or worse.

• You should be able to list at least a few of these and think back to how it came about over these twelve sessions. The format may be as simple as you can make it. All that is really necessary is to describe the skill or the change in a sentence or two, and describe how you did it or how Mr. Cumming brought it about, caused you to discover it, stimulated you to think about it. Be specific. Try for ten of these, if you can without straining. (I’ll be satisfied with less if there really are less).

• After you have completed the above, think about the role of the group in all of this. Could you have learned as much without the help of the group? How did Mr. Cumming use the group to make these happen? How do you feel about the group?

Two representative responses are reproduced in their entirety below.

Response # 1

Bill Cumming’s course has influenced me in several positive ways. I have always had a positive outlook on life as well as a self-starter-kind of personality; I have, in fact, basically lived Bill Cumming’s philosophy (is it one?) without actually having put it into conscious thought. The fact that it is now very much part of my consciousness really helps in using it as a tool for not only modifying students’ behavior but overcoming some of my own limitations as well.

1.The idea of choice is the one that I now use, not only with regard to myself, but also in my dealings with those students who need to feel that they do indeed – no matter what their backgrounds – have a choice in whether or not to have their lives turn out. It is too soon to know if my case study, Scott, has owned the fact that he is responsible for having his life turn out, but there is no doubt that our conversations and his being involved in illustrating our Creative Writing Magazine has given him a feeling of mattering in the school setting.

2.The concept of alive- and non-aliveness (pea soup) has not often been a problem in my life. 95% of the time I operate out of aliveness. It is a choice, however, to present to people (students) who choose artificial means to feel alive. I have not had the opportunity to use this in a counseling situation but intend to when the occasion presents itself.

3.Energy level is especially helpful when things seem to grow out of control and I feel pulled to too many directions. I am involved in many things – many would say too many, but I find with a grip on the idea of energy level that I can get more done – with more energy and enthusiasm. This, of course, has transferred to the students in the classroom. More about this when I discuss Bill’s own energy level and how it affected our group.

4.Coming from solution is the idea that “hope” and “try” do not produce solutions and results. My behavior modification has been that I carefully watch my use of those words and substitute them with “intend” and “resolve.” I have caught myself and friends of mine from the class in using “try” and have found that once you substitute that with “intend,” you produce results. I have used this effectively (as for as I can judge at this time) with a term paper writing class I have; this is the first year, I believe, when I am not going to have to correct tarpapers turned in after the quarter is over.

5.Emphasizing success rather than failure: if out of five goals you achieve three, I have learned to focus on the three achievements rather than the two failures. This is very applicable to the classroom where so much greater success on the part of the students is based on positive reinforcement of what they did correctly, rather than focusing on their mistakes.

6.Following right on the heels of # 5 is “if self-worth is grounded in performance in quantity, you can program yourself to failure.” If your self-worth is grounded in your total commitment to keep on working for your goals, your ownership of the problems and their solutions, there are no limits to your eventual achievements. This is harder to communicate to a high school student but does work in dealing with him effectively; you focus on what you do achieve and keep working on those areas which still need attention.

7.Pushing button – we all have (or used to have) certain things that set off strong, negative emotions. Owning the fact that we have a CHOICE in whether or not to let our button be pushed makes it easy not to react to those stimuli. Students in a classroom very early become aware of which “buttons” they can push for an interesting teacher reaction. Being aware ends that game.

8.And that leads to seeing through people’s act, their game. Most students, especially problem ones, have an act. Seeing – and talking – through that act, speaking and listening to the person behind that act, letting them know that you are aware it is a game, allows for real communication and is the first step toward problem solving. I experienced this in a very satisfactory way with my case study, Scott. Scott had this big I-don’t-give-a-damn-about-school-or-anything-else act. However, a poignant picture drawn on the back of an English assignment – a graveyard cross with a soldier’s helmet perched on it –

◦was the crack in the mask, and I was able to talk through his game to the real Scott.

1.Problem solving steps:

A.Where are we? – exact description

B.Where do we want to be? – exactly

C.How are we going to get there? – in specific measurable terms

D.Who needs to do what to whom in order for that to happen? – starting with me.

◦I have a hard time with this. My mind does not work in such an orderly fashion – rather it impulsively jumps from one thing to another with lightning speed. To be able to sit down and go through a problem using these steps for me would be a goal in itself. I intend to do it in my further dealings with Scott.

1.The most important – and at the same time infinitely complex and incredibly simple – is the idea of ownership. This is “the biggie.” This is the life spring of all the previous items. Grasping the fact that you – and only you – are responsible for having your life turn out, to apply this to everyday life is to make every second count, to operate from solutions, aliveness, choice – all of them. I could write a book about this, but it would be redundant. Ownership is “where it’s at.”

Bill Cumming is an incredibly dynamic instructor. Every Thursday evening’s energy level was close to 100%, and only a glass of wine in front of the fire that night allowed for relaxation and sleep!!! He is a master at manipulating the group to achieve his goals. The sharing of successes (and a few failures) stimulated the rest to greater efforts and allowed them to cope with mistakes. His questioning techniques kept us all on our toes – energy level constantly on a level almost electric. The group has been molded together to the point where we want to meet occasionally in the future. The atmosphere of give-and-take in that classroom was inspiring, enthusiastic, appreciated and often touching, all orchestrated by the master teacher of the master teachers – Bill Cumming.

P.S. Thank you for forcing me to do this assignment. Having put all these ideas down on paper has been invaluable in helping me focus on what I learned, how I changed, what I can use on myself and in the classroom.

Response #2

When I enrolled in this course, I hoped to gain skill in motivating my students to do their work efficiently and well. I had tried behavior modification techniques as well as the usual reward and punishment tactics. Both were successful at times, but I usually felt either manipulative or dissatisfied with the atmosphere I was creating.

I was amazed to hear the dictum that I couldn’t really motivate anyone. I was further amazed to realize that it was true! I was relieved to find that there was, however, a great deal I could do to help my students help themselves.

The remainder of this paper will discuss the attitudes changed, skills acquired and ideas clarified as a result of my coming to the following conclusions during this course: 1. Life can be affirmative, 2. Persons are powerful, 3. One can and must take ownership of one’s own life, 4. Teachers have the responsibility to communicate the above as often as necessary until their students get the message – (I know this is possible because I experienced it in this class.).

Throughout the course, the outstanding atmosphere has been one of caring, strength and positiveness. I have felt euphoria, an almost religious fervor, both during and after class, which resulted from the strong sense of rightness and devotion to Truth and Life that was being experienced.

Mr. Cumming established this climate at the beginning by his obvious high regard for each of us and by his willingness to publicly acknowledge us in all goodness. He encouraged us to do the same for each other.

Conversely, I became more aware of the insidious effects of participating in negativeness both in my own mind and in the company of others. This was brought about by such exercises as monitoring energy levels, monitoring “take-aways” and listing things that bring me joy as well as things I find distasteful. Consequently, I find that I am looking at events in my life more positively and acknowledging my students far more often.

The idea that adults can be powerful was not foreign to me, but the idea that small children could be, was startling. Through my efforts with my case study, I realized that a child can make important decisions and have control over events in his own life.

I gained a workable method of letting a person own his own life which includes the setting of goals and solving problems. In this case, Mr. Cumming directly gave three steps for problem solving and suggested the way in which a person could be confronted with his choices and led to set goals.

Mr. Cumming assigned this method to be used in the case studies which gave me the opportunity to see how it works.

Finally, I clarified my ideas about what constitutes an excellent teacher. Mr. Cumming brought this about in the best possible way: by being a model of an excellent teacher himself.

He created a positive learning atmosphere by being enthusiastic about the subject himself, by making it relevant to my needs and by displaying a genuine in the group as individuals. He imparted material himself and guided the students to other sources of information – in this case, ourselves. He guided the learning process by helping me clarify problems, examine feelings about these problems, set goals and determine realistic and specific means to carry out those goals. He was also ready to repeat those steps as often as necessary to effect success.

Mr. Cumming is such a dynamic person that it is possible that I could have been convinced as to the validity of his ideas without the use of the group. He is very good at presenting a situation so vividly that it touches the emotions as well as the intellect. However, I feel sure that the testimonials, week after week, by fellow “ordinary teachers, did more to re-enforce the truth of the Cumming Method than his presentations alone could have.

From a practical viewpoint, I was able to experience vicariously many, many cases and participate in the problems and successes almost as if they were my own. The group served as a pool from which we could draw information, suggestions and emotional support.

Mr. Cumming also used the group to formulate commonly held conceptions (or mis-conceptions) about teachers, school systems, the state of the world and how events “should” affect us. Then he challenged the same group to examine those conceptions critically. Consequently, we were able to revise our beliefs ourselves – not because he said we were wrong. This method of “self-discovery” was important to the success of this course.

In conclusion, I have really enjoyed being a part of this group. I have made some friends and am becoming involved in projects with them. I feel that I am a more effective teacher and a more enthusiastic, energetic person. Mr. Cumming certainly “made a difference” in my life!

Over a period of three months, as a result of sitting in on every other class session and conferring with Bill immediately following, we agreed that the following eight objectives are among the more important that he holds.

•The student will be able to utilize a case study approach (successfully refined) in problem-solving.

•The student will become more self-confident, as a person, as a problem-solver, as a communicator.

•The student will become more skillful at analysis of complex problems, synthesis of responses, evaluation of alternative responses.

•The student will be willing to look at his own behavior objectively.

•The student will be more open with himself and others.

•The student will be more skillful/confident at introspection.

•The student will be able and be prepared to communicate differences “without making someone wrong.”

•The student will acquire language and concepts needed to communicate about common problems. Choice, “ownership,” “tuning out,” “responsible” are examples.

Following are additional objectives that Bill is working toward – some more important than others in his mind, but all recognized by him immediately.

1.Shift from negative world view to positive world view.

2.Change in self-concept from one who cannot to one who can. One who acts, rather than one who is acted upon.

3.Change in perception of locus of control in situations.

4.Increased flexibility of closure.

5.Heightened self-awareness.

6.Heightened self-respect, self-acceptance.

7.Ability to clearly separate persons from behaviors.

8.Can formulate goals in clear achievable terms.

9.Change in perception from looking for the error, the missing, the undone, to looking for the correct, the complete.

10.Change in attitude toward teaching, attitude toward children.

11.Change in definition of education from acquisition of knowledge and skills to “how people’s lives turn out.”

12.Lessened anxiety level (generalized) both caused by stress of misperception, goals, feeling of not being “in charge.”

13.Lessened tunnel vision.

14.Heightened sensitivity to feelings.

15.Shift from self-centered to other centered, point of reference in interaction.

16.More decisive, self-confidence.

17.More able to deal with individuals, as against classes.

18.Heightened groups, personal security level. Willing to take risks.

We were pleased that so many of these appear in some form in scores of student

self-evaluations. Many are articulated quite eloquently in the graduate student responses above.

All of the major questions asked in the second paragraph of this paper remain to be answered. It is in the interest of education, of teacher education, possibly of the world, that they be answered – as soon as possible. We just might be approaching one of those “nodes” in history when irrevocable change can occur in our self-perception as human beings. I’d like for us to be ready.