Teaching can be a lonely occupation. I know that sounds strange because of course students provide wonderful interaction. But no one else, unless we are lucky enough to have a classroom assistant, is playing the same role that we are in the classroom. For some teachers, working solo is a plus. Some of us might feel that "too many cooks spoil the broth," and as with any creative endeavor, teaching is something better done alone. As a fiction writer, even though I write alone, I depend a lot on feedback from other writer. I have come to appreciate that the same is true of teaching: I appreciate the feedback my colleagues have to offer.

Feedback Through Peer Observation
I participated in a peer teaching observation process twice. Both times the feedback I got from the other teacher was invaluable. I was all geared up for criticism, and happily surprised when what I got were helpful suggestions. Usually, the teacher focused on what I had pointed out as my "issues" in our pre-teacher meeting, in some cases giving me pointers on how to do what I was doing a little more effectively. In some cases the teacher told me I was fine and to keep on keeping on without worry. One of the most stunning pieces of feedback was when my observer gave suggestions to something I hadn't even been thinking of as an issue, my reading lesson. I learned that sometimes the thing you're most self-conscious about is the least of your problems because you're giving it attention.

Observing Others
Equally instructive to me were the times when I was the person doing the observing. When the staff first started talking about the peer observation process, teachers were excited, but there were a lot of concerns. How would teachers who have completely different styles, or teach entirely different levels, understand what each other is doing? Both times when I was the observer, these issues came up. I came to see how they could be dealt with, and indeed, actually enhance the process.

The first year, for example, I observed a teacher whose approach was more "meat and potatoes" than mine. I gave her suggestions about doing more interactive and expressive activities; she was a bit defensive (and rightfully so) as she was a much more experienced teacher than I. But over the next year, she'd try out different things, get excited about it, and tell me about it. Meanwhile, in my own class, I was realizing the importance of the nuts and bolts of ESOL and had the luxury to incorporate methods that I had seen her use. Over time, we moved towards each other, not to some bland middle ground, but to a multidimensional place that incorporated a diversity of approaches.

The next year, I observed the literacy class, knowing little about teaching that level. I found that by just listening to the teacher during the pre-observation meeting, I could help her unearth her concerns and come up with some of her own conclusions. And after sitting in on the class I was able to come up with some helpful suggestions. She described her class as the same every day, always starting over, with no apparent memory of yesterday, a bit like the movie "Groundhog Day." So for me to get a slice of one day's worth was really out of context. It was like entering a way slow downed world, and I found it fascinating; I was honored to have the chance to enter it for a day.

Susan Chernilo is an intermediate level ESOL teacher as well as coordinator of the volunteer tutoring program at the Adult Learning Program of Jamaica Plain Community Centers. She writes fiction in her "spare" time has worked in Adult Basic Education for five years. She can be reached at: s.chernilo@jpccalp.org