Kicking the Bucket: How I do training

I was walking by our local middle school a few weeks ago and noticed the sign out front.  It said: "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."  I guess they mean that school is less about obtaining knowledge and more about inspiring minds to learn.  At first I really thought that sounded great.  Then I decided I did not fully agree: certainly when I send my child to school I want him to have some energy and spirit about him--but I also really hope he learns how to multiply numbers, the history and heroes of the civil rights movement, and what makes the earth go around and around. 

Part of my job as a consultant is to provide training to staff and volunteers who work in the field of human services.  When people attend a workshop that I do, I want three things to happen.  And seeing that sign at my old middle school just gave me some fun ways of talking about it:

Fill the bucket:  No one should pay me money or attention if they attend one of my workshops and walk away knowing nothing more or different than before.  Generally people come into a particular training thinking of a set of concepts or skills they want to know (the bucket) and hoping that when they leave, they'll know them (fill it).  How do I create a strengths-based service plan for a family in this much trouble?  How can I help a family identify their own informal resources when they've burned so many bridges?  How do I supervise my staff in a way that supports the systems of care principles?  What does a good outcome report look like? 

Light the fire:  This is sometimes difficult to do when the participants are tired, under-appreciated social workers who, after the training, will return to a mile-high pile of paperwork on their desk that includes some of the worst stories of  child abuse and neglect you'll ever hear.  But doing that work better means having the energy and the spark to go back and think differently about it.  I have been to many a training where I was inspired while I was in the room and then all the steam ran out as soon as I got back to my car.  Which brings me to my third goal...

Stock up on tools:  This is an over-used figure of speech, this filling of the toolbox.  It makes sense, though.  I can know how to plant a garden, be inspired and motivated to plant a garden, but if I don't have a shovel, tiller, gloves and some seeds, then I won't get very far.  I want to give people the tools they need to sustain what they learn (the bucket) and their interest (the fire), helping them actually do what they're hearing about in the lecture hall or conference room.  I want to go with them after the training and work alongside them to help make it real every day.  I want the full bucket and the lit fire to linger in real life. 

 A bucket, a fire, a set of tools.  Training, anyone?