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 This Could Have Been an Email
Delivering professional development to teachers is an exciting oppor-
tunity to share strategies and ideas, but how do you ensure your audi-
ence will care what you have to say and find it worth their time? In
this helpful book, Marcus Stein shows how you can improve your
presentations by embracing your personality and relatability, knowing
your audience, becoming more flexible, and more.
Throughout the book, he offers actionable strategies for reaching
adult learners by catering to their motivations and expertise, using
a more flexible model rather than slide deck overkill, refining your
delivery style, translating your authentic presentation skills to virtual
environments, and revamping your professional growth plan. Each
chapter weaves together stories, expert insights, transferable tips, and
practical steps for putting what you’ve learned into action.
Stein’s warm tone and engaging anecdotes will leave you feeling
ready and inspired to polish your craft. Whether you’re an instruc-
tional coach leading professional learning for your school, an educator
looking to speak at conferences, or a consultant working as a Teacher
Trainer, you’ll find all the strategies and tips you need to deliver profes-
sional development that is meaningful and lasting to teachers.

Marcus Stein focuses on improving educational outcomes through

technology integration and professional development. He has 13 years
of experience in education, including as a classroom teacher. His current
role as the Head of Teacher Success at Kami and his previous position
as a Director of Professional Development demonstrate his strategic
approach to fostering educational innovation and collaboration.
 Also Available from Routledge Eye on
Education
(www.routledge.com/k-12)

The Freelance Educator: Practical Advice for Starting your

Educational Consulting Business
Tinashe Blanchet

Making an Impact Outside of the Classroom: A Complete

Guide to the Exciting Job Possibilities for Educators
Starr Sackstein

The Edupreneur’s Side Hustle Handbook: 10 Successful

Educators Share Their Top Tips
Edited By Lisa Dunnigan, Tosha Wright

Prepared Interviewing for Educators: A Guide for Seeking

Employment
Scott Lempka
This Could Have Been
an Email
A Teacher Trainer’s Guide to
Delivering More Meaningful PD

Marcus Stein
Designed cover image: Getty images
First published 2025
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2025 Marcus Stein
The right of Marcus Stein to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stein, Marcus, author.
Title: This could have been an email : a teacher trainer’s guide to
delivering more meaningful PD / Marcus Stein.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2024. | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2024014335 (print) | LCCN 2024014336 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032518411 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032518251 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003404163 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Teachers--Professional relationships. | Career
development. | Adult learning. | Mentoring in education. | Teacher-
student relationships.
Classification: LCC LB1775 .S668 2024 (print) | LCC LB1775 (ebook) |
DDC 371.102/3--dc23/eng/20240510
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024014335
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024014336
ISBN: 978-1-032-51841-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-51825-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-40416-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003404163
Typeset in Palatino
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
This book is dedicated to every teacher who
has sat through professional development
that could have been an email.
 Contents

Meet the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

1 Know Your Audience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Designing Presentations that Stick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Mastering Public Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4 Presenting Virtually with Confidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

5 Professional Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
 Meet the Author

Marcus Stein has had an impres-

sive career focused on improving
educational outcomes through
technology integration and
professional development. He
has a background in English
Education and a master’s degree
in Educational Technology
Leadership. Stein’s journey from
being a classroom teacher to
becoming a key figure in edu-
cational technology highlights
his dedication to enhancing
teaching and learning. With over
13 years of experience in education, including teaching English
Language Arts to various grade levels and leading professional
development initiatives, Stein has developed expertise in using
technology to enrich education. His current role as the Head of
Teacher Success at Kami and his previous position as the Director
of Professional Development at AXI Education Solutions demon-
strate his strategic approach to fostering educational innovation
and collaboration. Stein also co-created, hosted, and produced
an original education technology podcast called DAT Podcast,
which has helped to amplify the voices of educators around the
world. Stein has been actively involved in educational technology
conferences worldwide, demonstrating his role as a thought
leader in integrating technology with pedagogy to engage and
empower educators and students.
 Introduction

The purpose of this book is to provide tips and strategies to

Teacher Professional Development Facilitators. In an effort to
improve the quality of your trainings, this practical guide will
suggest enhancing the only factor you directly influence, your-
self. Instead of emphasizing on ways to bulldoze widespread
issues like lack of time and teacher fatigue, this book is designed
to focus on and celebrate you – the person who chooses to lead
teacher trainings to an audience of peers who often feel like your
“training could have been an email.”
It has many names: Professional Development (PD),
Professional Learning (PL), Teacher Training, Teacher In-Service,
Teacher Institute, Teacher Workshop, and Teacher Upskilling.
These are all synonymous terms to describe an essential compo-
nent of the education industry – the continued education of the
classroom teacher.
The facilitator leading these continuing education experiences
is the focus of this book. For the sake of consistency, the term
Teacher Trainer will be used.
Indeed.com describes a Teacher Trainer as a professional
whose “duties include observing and assessing teachers, pro-
viding input and advice and creating training workshops”
(Indeed.com, 2023). We, “teachers behind the teachers,” are
required to carry the pedagogical skills to lead both audiences of
adult teachers and the children they teach. And the imperative-
ness of the Teacher Trainer parallels that of the Classroom Teacher.
In the United States of America, the Department of Education’s
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education prioritizes
Teacher Trainers by rewarding over $2 billion dollars in grants
to states to “improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers,
principals, and other school leaders” (Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education, 2019). So as long as teachers exist, so will
Teacher Trainers.
x ◆ Introduction

Yet even with the necessity of the Teacher Trainer, very few
teachers are truly satisfied with PD offerings. In 2014, The Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation contracted with the Boston Consulting
Group to survey and interview over 1,300 professionals in the
education sector. When asked what the ideal PD experience
should be like, several themes surfaced. Teachers want to be
treated like professionals, and they want their PD to be:

♦♦ Relevant
♦♦ Interactive
♦♦ Sustained Over Time
♦♦ Delivered by Someone Who Understands Their Experience

Unfortunately, only 29% of the teachers reported being satis-

fied with PD offerings (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2014).
The good news, though, is that most of the factors that teachers
see as ideal can be directly impacted by you, the Teacher Trainer.
This book is designed for you to hone in on those factors that
teachers want and that you can control.

Why This Book?

First, this book will NOT be a “how-to” on teaching teachers.
What this book will be, however, is a resource that will compel
you to improve your craft by providing you with real-world
narratives, genuine advice, and actionable strategies that you
can perform with very little to no red tape involved. The things
you’ll experience in this book are designed for you to absorb and
apply quickly because they all pertain to things you can directly
control.
In my 11 years as a Professional Development Facilitator
and Consultant, I have trained thousands of teachers around
the world mostly with an emphasis on instructional technology
best practices. In this time, I have researched, experimented,
and reflected on ways to consistently deliver effective PD. In
that time, I have learned about the formats, topics, and models
that work best for PD. However, after collecting thousands of
 Introduction ◆ xi

attendee feedback responses over the years, I noticed that very

few of the positive feedback reviews mentioned the training
format, the topic, or the model I used in the session. Instead,
a resounding majority of teachers responded positively and
commented on how much they enjoyed my fun personality
and relatable delivery style. I also noticed that the teachers who
found me likable were the ones who were more keen to attend
follow-up PD sessions. That’s when I realized what the field of
teacher PD was missing: A resource to help elevate the presenter
with practical ideas that embrace personality and relatability. So,
that’s what this book will share – teacher trainer best practices
with less emphasis on the PD itself and more emphasis on you,
the presenter.

The Design of the Book

This book is divided into five sections. If you prefer a linear,
guided approach to learning, read the book chronologically.
However, if one section interests you more than another, you can
hop around sections based on your own interests and needs.
The five chapters of this book are listed below, along with
their summaries

Chapter 1 – Know Your Audience Learn how to better adapt your PD

delivery by catering more to the
motivators of the adult learner.
Chapter 2 – Designing Presentations Understand how to shift existing and
that Stick future PD plans to a more flexible
model that caters to the professional
expertise of attendees.
Chapter 3 – Mastering Public Become a more confident presenter
Speaking by defining your delivery style and
by creating a sustainable rehearsal
cadence.
Chapter 4 – Presenting Virtually Translate your authentic presentation
with Confidence skills to asynchronous and
synchronous virtual environments.
Chapter 5 – Professional Growth Revamp your professional growth
plan by expanding your ideas of
upskilling sources.
xii ◆ Introduction

Each section will follow the same three-part format with

tips interspersed throughout. The section structure is explained
below with descriptions of each component.

Personal Narrative: In order to highlight the real-world appli-

cation of each section’s content, the section will begin with
an anecdote that shares the implications of applying or not
applying a specific presenter quality.
Lessons Learned: This part is the heart of each section. In this
portion, the lessons learned from the real-world experi-
ence will be explored in depth by providing research from
sources like peer-reviewed articles, observations, studies,
and live interviews.
Putting it into Action: Each section will end with a series
of activities and reflections designed to give you prac-
tical actions you can perform using the insights gained
from the section. Think of this part like a Teacher Trainer’s
Improvement Choice Board with a variety of ways to imple-
ment the ideas shared.

Transferable Teacher Tips

Each section will also feature Transferable Teacher Tips
interspersed throughout. These are bite-sized ideas that work
well in the classroom and in the PD space. These signposted
moments are typically the easiest concepts to adopt because they
mimic the strong teaching that you performed when you were
leading students.

Expert Insights
This book also includes interview excerpts from three PD experts
who share real-world insights about the most and least successful
PD strategies:

♦♦ Dr. Sara D. Bourgeois

Assistant Professor of Education at Nicholls State
University
Director of Center for Teaching Excellence at Nicholls
State University
 Introduction ◆ xiii

♦ Toni Rose Deanon, M.Ed

Community Engagement, Designated Hype Person at
The Modern Classrooms Project
♦ Marc Dembowski
Senior Learning Designer at AVID Center

Enjoy
This book is a combination of my personal experiences and thor-
ough research, carefully crafted to provide you with practical
and insightful information. However, my goal is not only to edu-
cate you but also to make the journey enjoyable. I want you to
have fun while learning and laughing alongside me. Together,
we can overcome the dullness that often comes with learning
new things by strengthening our skills through engaging and
interesting content.

References
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2014). Teachers Know Best: Teachers’
Views on Professional Development. Gates Foundation. Retrieved
January 27, 2023, from https://usprogram.gatesfoundation.org/
news-and-insights/usp-resource-center/resources/teachers-
know-best-teachers-views-on-professional-development
Indeed.com. (2023, September 7). Teacher Trainer Job Description:
Top Duties and Qualifications. https://www.indeed.com/hire/job-
description/teacher-trainer-job-description
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2019, August 23).
Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants—Title II, Part A.
https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formula-grants/school-
support-and-accountability/instruction-state-grants-title-ii-part-a/
 1
Know Your Audience
By the time I reached my second year as a classroom teacher, I
had attended over ten different professional development (PD)
workshops. And in that short period of time, I already started
to empathize with teachers who would say things like, “I don’t
even know why they make us come to these PD workshops. This
could have been an email.”
In the fall 2009 semester, my school sent me to a professional
learning workshop titled Capturing Kids’ Hearts. With the com-
bination of the session’s mushy title and my growing disdain for
lackluster PD, the only excitement I experienced was a reprieve
from my daily school duties.
The workshop was hosted at a central location in the district
with teacher representatives from each school. When I entered
the building, I easily found the training room because there was a
woman standing near the doorway shaking hands and welcoming
each participant. “Well, that’s different.” I thought to myself. “I’ve
never seen a greeter at a workshop.” When I got to the door, the
woman outstretched her arm to shake my hand and said “Hi, I’m
Sheryl.” I shook her hand, said hello back, and entered the large
training room with several classroom-like tables. I chose a table in
the corner near the wall outlet. I remember feeling bored before the
workshop even started. I could not help but be triggered by the pre-
vious year’s PD sessions that left me feeling uninspired, confused,
and frustrated. I was convinced that this would be another day-
long lecture that would require an immense amount of coffee and
DOI: 10.4324/9781003404163-1
2 ◆ Know Your Audience

optimism to make it through. As I got settled, I noticed that Sheryl

greeted every person just as she greeted me.
That pessimistic feeling quickly fled me as Sheryl Sheffield,
the greeter and veteran teacher turned PD consultant, introduced
herself as our workshop facilitator. She explained that greeting
us all at the door was intentional; it was her way of opening up
to us while also learning our preliminary levels of engagement.
I was in awe at her familiar, motherly demeanor. Disarming is
the most accurate description of how she set the tone for the day.
Instead of immediately diving into the curriculum or drowning us
in death by PowerPoint, Sheryl spoke about her teaching journey,
her family, and what motivated her to be an educator. She quickly
became the everyteacher, a teacher version of the everyman who
felt familiar and relatable. It was the first time I had attended a
professional learning workshop where the presenter shared her
own positionality and motivators. It was also the first time a pre-
senter asked me to reflect on and share my experiences.
After her introduction and tone-setting, our first task was to
choose affirmative adjectives that describe us. Sheryl told us we
would refer to ourselves and each other in these affirming names
by placing the word in front of our first names. The ideas flooded
me quickly: Memorable Marcus, Mesmerizing Marcus, Mastery
Marcus, etc. And after ruminating for five minutes, it came to
me. I would be known as Majestic Marcus. I liked the sound of it,
and I liked the idea of sounding and behaving like nobility. Once
everyone chose their own descriptive words, Sheryl handed out
paper bags and crayons; we were to write our new names largely
on the bags and then design the bags however we wished. I
spent the following 20 minutes coloring the entire front face of
the bag with MAJESTIC MARCUS, and I left the other sides com-
pletely blank. Then Sheryl told us the purpose of the bags. She
said “These are your affirmation bags. We will staple all of these
to a bulletin board, and throughout the day, you are encouraged
to write and deposit affirmations to your classmates here today.”
My skepticism started to creep back in. I met the other
participants that morning, so I thought it would be inauthentic
to affirm them because I didn’t know much about them. My ori-
ginal sense of pessimism made me completely forget that a few
 Know Your Audience ◆ 3

seconds prior, I was highly engaged in the affirming adjectives

activity. I was back at square one with my attitude. As index cards
and pencils were passed around, I had no clue who I would affirm
or when. So, for the next hour leading up to lunch, I somewhat
paid attention to Sheryl; every time I saw someone get up and
drop an affirmation note into a bag, I thought to myself, “This is
dumb. I don’t get it. What could they possibly be affirming each
other about? We don’t even know each other. Besides, I could
NEVER do this with my actual students.”
When lunchtime came, I walked by my own bag, and I was
shocked and intrigued to see notes from other participants!
One of the notes stated, “Love your positive spirit, Marcus.” And
another stated, “You ARE majestic.” I bolted to my seat and imme-
diately scribbled a note to two other participants. And it was at
that moment that I realized what Sheryl was doing. Undeterred
by feelings of apprehension, Sheryl remained positive and
open because she was modeling a way to build a positive class-
room culture. She motivated and engaged with us by being a
relatable, trustworthy peer to us. Because of this, she gathered
buy-in quickly. And I had become her biggest fan. I found myself
wanting to learn from her.
By the end of the workshop, I fully bought into the Capturing
Kid’s Hearts curriculum partly because of the quality of the content
but mostly because of Sheryl’s delivery. An optimistic, authentic,
disarming teacher like Sheryl makes it possible to build an audi-
ence of engaged learners – both children and adults. By the end of
the full three-day workshop with Sheryl Sheffield, I knew I would
someday inspire teachers like she did. I knew I wanted to be a pre-
senter like her – someone whose dynamic lesson delivery could
never be captured in the confines of an email.

Lesson Learned: Good PD is Much Less about the Content

and Much More about the Person Delivering the Content
Think about the most recent PD workshop you attended. Was the
upcoming session the top priority for you at the time? How many
other things were on your to-do list for that day? How unbiased
4 ◆ Know Your Audience

and focused were you during the session? How quickly did you
decide that “this could have been an email instead?” Even if you
were the most eager, most focused learner in the room, it’s impos-
sible to attend PD completely void of competing adult responsi-
bilities and/or previous impressions of staff trainings. Thus, a key
pillar in your journey to elevate your teacher training is accepting
three realities that aren’t far from those of young learners.

Adults are Highly Distracted, Judge Quickly, and Want to be

Treated Like Adults
In an August 2023 Time Magazine article, Dr. Margaret Sibley, a
professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington School
of Medicine, shared that

Distractibility is nothing new. Focus naturally waxes and

wanes depending on a range of factors, from how much
sleep someone got the night before to how interested they
are in the task at hand. But the “cocktail” of anxieties
inherent to modern [adult] life can make for a particu-
larly potent drain on attention.
(Ducharme, 2023)

Modern distractions like cell phones, smartwatches, and

unlimited video streaming services will continue to evolve, and
so will the ways in which they continue to occupy our attention
spans. Couple that reality with the fact that adults carry respon-
sibilities like caring for children and paying bills, and you have a
recipe for the prejudice that teachers carry when walking into PD
sessions. In the case of the Capturing Kid’s Hearts workshop I
attended back in 2009, I was highly unfocused and had a growing
bitterness for staff in services. I was burned by boring PD
workshops in the past, but I was also incredibly anxious about
leaving my students in the care of a substitute; it was only my
second year teaching, and I knew my below-average classroom
management skills would make the substitute’s job tough. I wore
all of those feelings in the form of sweat on my palms when I
shook Sheryl Sheffield’s hand. And rather than ignoring the
apprehension, she smiled and greeted me genuinely. She also
 Know Your Audience ◆ 5

spent time asking about us before the workshop started and

shared personal anecdotes about herself. Essentially, she, like
many other great presenters, acknowledged the humanism of
the teachers before diving into content delivery. And she
continued to respect us as humans throughout the workshop by
“greeting” us even after the session started.

Transferable Teacher Tip #1: Plan to Greet

Similar to standing in the hallway of your classroom and greeting students as they
enter, position yourself so that you’re able to greet teachers with a warm welcome.
Reserve time and space in your plans to greet.

Your New Weapon against Pessimistic Preconceptions: The Greeting

Like many captivating presenters, Sheryl Sheffield checked
the audience’s vibe and built rapport quickly, making it easier
to forget our preconceptions and escape distractions. Before
teachers enter your professional learning workshop, many have
already formed opinions about the session or even you, the pre-
senter. Therefore, it’s important for you to make a stellar first
impression and build rapport quickly.
In his book How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less,
Nicholas Boothman (2008) breaks down the greeting into five
parts: Open, Eye, Beam, Hi!, and Lean.

Open. The first part of the greeting is to open your attitude

and your body. For this to work successfully, you must have
already decided on a positive attitude that’s right for you.
Eye. The second part of the greeting involves your eyes. Be
first with eye contact. Look this new person directly in the
eye. Let your eyes reflect your positive attitude.
Beam. This part is closely related to eye contact. Beam! Be the
first to smile. Let your smile reflect your attitude.
Hi! Whether it’s “Hi!” or “Hello!” or even “Yo!” say it with a
pleasing tonality and attach your own name to it (“Hi! I’m
Naomi”). As with the smile and the eye contact, be the first
to identify yourself.
6 ◆ Know Your Audience

Lean. The final part of introducing yourself is the “lean.” This

action can be an almost imperceptible forward tilt to very
subtly indicate your interest and openness (pp. 24–25).

For an extrovert like me, greetings come naturally. I prefer to

look others in the eyes when speaking, and I never hesitate to
smile or say “heya” first. If you are shy or more introverted,
though, greeting others can make you feel anxious or awkward.
If you find yourself struggling to be more open or if you avoid
looking others in the eyes, remember who you are in the class-
room with children. You know how your attitude sets the tone
for the students, so remember that the same applies to adult
learners. Your salutation can be the optimistic catalyst that
quickens attendee buy-in, but only if you prioritize making a
positive first impression.

Transferable Teacher Tip #2: Be the First to Say “Hello!”

Teachers take the lead when greeting students and initiating the lesson, so do the
same with adults. Remember that your greeting is both a disarming tool and a way to
check the pulse of your learners, so don’t wait to be smiled at; smile first.

But There’s no Time to Greet

In many instances, we will present a workshop in a space where
teachers enter at various times before the start of the session.
While some presenters prioritize preparing their instructional
materials, the disarming presenter would use this time to greet
audience members and build rapport. Your setup time before
your session is your greeting time, so get creative with how you
greet, and remember that greetings can also be eye contact and/
or body language.

♦♦ Walk around and greet people as they get settled in.

♦♦ If refreshments exist, grab some, even if you aren’t
hungry. This could give you the opportunity to con-
tribute to casual conversations or to listen in on partici-
pant perspectives outside of the training room setting.
 Know Your Audience ◆ 7

♦♦ Play some music, but not too loud. Choose songs that
won’t drown out conversation but would work well in
a universal karaoke catalog. Look around the room and
folks who sing along or dance. This will help you find
common ground without saying a word.
♦♦ Exude that you love what you do. Scan the room while
beaming an authentic, positive smile.

Adults Want to be Treated Like Adults

When rapport is solid, and adult learners are engaged, com-
munication is a breeze. But oftentimes, PD trainers are asked to
teach a wide range of teachers with varying levels of rapport and
interest. Because of this, it’s pivotal to know how to shift from
speaking to children to speaking to adults.

Seek a Smooth Transaction of Communication

Have you ever been “shushed” during a training? Have you ever
felt patronized by another adult during a training? These are
telltale signs of the presenter or surrounding adults relying on
communication strategies that may be more effective with chil-
dren, not adults. Respectfully, I stop talking when shushed, and
I disarm when I sense another adult patronizing others, but not
without rolling my eyes first. You may have reacted similarly if
you’ve ever been in a situation where a fellow adult has spoken
to you like they would a child.
To help you understand the most effective ways to commu-
nicate with your adult audience, let’s use 20th-century Canadian
Psychotherapist Eric Berne’s theory of transactional analysis as a
framework. Berne proposed that the act of communicating ver-
bally or nonverbally is called a transaction, and transactional
analysis is “the method for studying interactions between indi-
viduals.” According to him, communication happens to and from
one of three ego states – Parent, Adult, and Child. Note that these
terms do not reference standard, dictionary definitions; instead,
Berne defines these states based on our experiences. For instance,
the Parent “represents a massive collection of recordings in the
brain of external events experienced or perceived.” And when
we speak as Parents, we’re often speaking from a perspective
8 ◆ Know Your Audience

of “we know better because we’ve been taught this.” In con-

trast, within the Child “are the emotions or feelings which
accompanied external events.” Essentially, when we speak as
Children, we are driven by our feelings related to experiences.
Lastly, the “Adult data grows out of the child’s ability to see
what is different than what he or she observed or felt.” This
means that Adult communicators maneuver from a more
logical, learned perspective – the space you want to live in the
most when presenting to adults (Transactional Analysis, 2013).

Be a Complimentary Communicator
If you make a conscious effort to stimulate and respond to
conversations from an Adult ego, you are essentially reducing
the chance of friction from an emotional Child’s response or an “I
know better” Adult’s response. This Adult-to-Adult conversa-
tion is ideal because it helps to avoid a crossed transaction –
“when an ego state different than the ego state which received
the stimuli is the one that responds.” For example, if you were to
shush your audience as a Parent would, you might create a
crossed transaction where audience members also respond like
Parents by saying, “I’m not a child. Don’t talk to me like that.”

Transferable Teacher Tip #3: Be a De-escalator

Classroom teachers experience communication conflicts regularly, especially when it
comes to student misbehavior. Remember that the best way to calm the conversation
is to de-escalate. Maintain a calm communication style when presenting even when
conversations become tense.

Unfortunately, stimulating conversation from an Adult ego

doesn’t guarantee an Adult response. Because teachers arrive at
PD with other priorities and emotions, crossed transactions are
bound to happen, so be prepared to communicate like an Adult.
Table 1.1 shows how unexpected crossed transactions can occur
during your sessions.
 Know Your Audience ◆ 9

TABLE 1.1 Crossed communication examples and ideas for how to diffuse them

What Could be
You Teacher Happening Here? How Do You Respond?

Says: “Everyone, Thinks: “Who Prior negative Acknowledge where

please login to does she think experiences and why a teacher
the platform, she is? Since with leaders might get this
and we’ll get when does SHE can sometimes impression, and then
started with the tell us what to cause teachers pivot back to the task
workshop in do? She’s so to view you as at hand. Maintain
3 minutes.” annoying.” a representation your open, beaming
of those past attitude throughout.
experiences.

Emails: “Thanks Replies: “Thank When parts of Decide if responding

for attending PD you too. In the your training via email will or
with me. Here future, can you feel redundant won’t help you
are followup share these or irrelevant to build rapport with
resources.” resources during attendees, they the person. If you
the PD session? can sometimes sense another Parent
It’s something I consider your ego responding to
do when I lead help inferior you, fight the urge
PD, and you to their own to respond like a
should do it self-learning Child and choose
too.” journeys. a response that
compliments the
conversation rather
than complicates
it with a back-and-
forth about who
knows best.

You: “Anyone Body language: For some Don’t let

have questions “I’m just ready participants, disengagement or
or need to to go. I hope we your workshop disinterest turn you
see anything finish early.” can’t or won’t into a Parent who
again?” be a top priority. says things like
This causes a “This is a mandatory
buy-in curve training. We must
that’s harder to get through this.”
overcome. Combine your
greeting skills with
your calm, learned
adult perspective
and genuinely
reinforce the
relevancy and value
of your PD.
10 ◆ Know Your Audience

Conversations can get confusing when people are not on

the same page. These types of conversations can also lead to
misunderstandings. As PD leaders, it is not enough to start
conversations and expect everyone to respond like adults. We
must also maintain an adult mindset even if others respond
with parent or child mindsets. Recognizing these realities is an
important step toward improving how we communicate with
teachers.

Putting it into Action

Reflect Explore Experiment

Create a superhero Use an AI chatbot Create three new ways

persona for yourself like ChatGPT to to get your audience’s
based on your ideal generate creative attention without
communicator ways to improve your speaking like a scolding
traits. How can you andragogy. In your parent or a complaining
bring out your inner query, use modifiers child ego. Remember
communication like “creative” and “out that communication can
superhero in your of the box” to generate be verbal or nonverbal.
interactions with more innovative ideas.
colleagues? What does
it take for you to go
from Clark Kent to
Superman?

References
Boothman, N. (2008). How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less.
Workman Publishing.
Ducharme, J. (2023, August). Why Everyone’s Worried About Their
Attention Span—And How to Improve Yours. Time. https://time.
com/6302294/why-you-cant-focus-anymore-and-what-to-do-
about-it/
Transactional Analysis. (2013, January 16). Eric Berne M.D. https://
ericberne.com/transactional-analysis/
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
against good discipline. It was lawful for any religious, except a
novice, to speak in the secrecy of Chapter about any matters that in
his judgment required to be corrected. These generally resolved
themselves into one of three classes relating to regular life: (1)
negligences of all kinds, changes of customs, and mistakes in the
divine service; (2) want of due care in the keeping of silence; and
(3) neglect of the proper almsgiving on behalf of the house. As to all
things in the first class it was the duty of the cantor and succentor to
speak first, and to call attention to anything they had noticed amiss;
concerning shortcomings in the second class, the superior and the
guardians of the cloister, whose special duty it was to watch over the
monastic silence, were to have the first say; and as regards the
third, naturally the almoner and his assistant would have most
information to give on all that regarded the monastic charities.
After the “proclamations” or “accusations,” the superior pronounced
the punishment. No one was allowed to offer any defence or make
any excuse, and the whole process was summary and without noise
or wrangling. The penance was generally some corporal
chastisement, with rod or other discipline; and this, which to our
modern ideas seems so curious, and indeed somewhat repellent a
feature of mediæval monasticism, was evidently at the time
regarded as quite a natural, and indeed a useful and healthy form of
religious exercise; for, besides being looked on as a punishment, this
form of corporal chastisement was resorted to with permission of the
superior as a common means of self-mortification. Such voluntary
penances were chiefly sought for on days like the Fridays of Lent,
and especially on Good Friday, and when some brother specially
desired to offer up penitential works for the soul of some departed
brother.
When the questions of discipline had been disposed of, which
ordinarily would have taken only a very brief time, the superior, if he
desired to say anything, made his short address or exhortation. He
then, if there was any need, consulted his community about any
temporal or other matter, or asked their consent, where such
consent was required. In all such temporal matters many of the
Custumals advise the junior members to defer to the age and
experience of their elders, although they were of course free to give
their own opinions, even if contrary to that of their elders.
It was at this time in the daily Chapter that any deed or charter to
which the convent seal had to be affixed, and to which the convent
had already assented, was sealed in presence of all by the precentor,
whose duty it was to bring the common seal to the meeting when it
was needed. When this part of the Chapter was finished, all matters
such as the issuing of public letters of thanks or congratulation, etc.,
in the name of the community, were sanctioned, and the granting of
the privilege of the fraternity of the house to benefactors or people
of distinction. When the actual ceremony of conferring this favour,
which was both lengthy and solemn, was to be performed, it was at
this point that the “confratres” and “consorores” were introduced
into the Chapter. After the ceremony the “confratres” received the
kiss of peace from all the religious; the “consorores” kissed the hand
of each of the monks.
In the same way, on the day before a Clothing or Profession, the
candidate presented himself before the abbot, at this point in the
Chapter, and urged his petition. Also, before a monk was ordained
priest he had to come before the Chapter; and kneeling, to beg the
prayers of his brethren. The superior was charged to explain to him
again carefully at this time the responsibilities of so high a calling,
and to warn him of the dangers and difficulties which he would have
to encounter in his sacred office. Then the superior pronounced over
him a special blessing and offered up a special prayer for God’s
assistance. When there were many candidates for ordination who
had to go elsewhere to receive their Orders, it was at this time in the
Chapter that the schedule of their names was drawn up and handed
to the senior, who was to accompany them to the bishop at whose
hands they were to receive ordination.
 HENRY VI BEING RECEIVED AS A CONFRATER AT EDMUNDSBURY

Only on rare occasions, however, would there have been any such
matters of public business. Ordinarily speaking, from the superior’s
address, if he made any, followed by his blessing, the Chapter
passed to the commemoration of the departed. If the day was the
anniversary of a benefactor whose soul ought to be remembered in
the prayers of the community, the precentor, or the succentor in his
absence, came forward immediately after the superior had given his
blessing, and standing in front of the reading-place, said: “To-day,
sir, we should have the great bell rung”—or some other bell,
according to the solemnity of the anniversary. “For whom?” asked
the superior. “For so-and-so,” replied the precentor, naming the
special claim the person whose anniversary it was, had upon the
community. Then the superior, bowing, said: “May his soul and the
souls of all the faithful, by the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
Whereupon the precentor wrote the name of the benefactor upon
the “tabula” for the day, that no one might have the excuse of
absence for not knowing for whom the whole convent had to offer
up their prayers that day. Then from the lectern the reader
announced the usual list of the anniversaries of brethren entered in
the necrology for the day; and this again was followed by the
precentor reading any mortuary roll, or notice of death of some
religious of another house, or of some personage of distinction, if
any such had been received. After reading such a roll, it was his duty
to explain to the community what were their obligations in regard to
the deceased. The Chapter was then concluded with the De
profundis and a prayer for the souls of all departed brethren and
benefactors.
On ordinary occasions, of course, the daily Chapter would not
occupy a very long time, possibly a quarter of an hour or twenty
minutes. At any rate, a full half-hour of the morning would be left
before the High Mass, which began at ten o’clock. This time was
generally spent by the monks in conversation in the cloister. On days
when there was talking, the prior, or abbot if he had been present,
on coming into the cloister when the Chapter was over, would sound
three times the tabula sonatila, which was apparently a piece of hard
wood, to which two other smaller pieces were loosely fastened, so
that when shaken it gave forth a musical sound and served the
purpose of our modern gong. This triple sounding of the tabula was
always the signal for talking; the superior, or whoever acted for him,
pronouncing the word Benedicite, without which no conversation
was to be permitted in the monastery. “By the three strokes,” says
one author who sees deep meanings in ordinary things, “is to be
understood the signs of our mortality, representing our coming into
the world, our passage through life, and our transit through the
portals of death.” The special significance of this thought in regard to
conversation was apparently that in view of it, a bridle should be set
upon the tongue and a guard upon the heart, which was so
frequently disturbed by trifling images.
 7. THE PARLIAMENT
After the Chapter the common business of the house was
transacted. The discussion about all the many details of a great
administration like that of a mediæval monastery necessitated
regular consultations between the officials and the superior, and
frequent debates upon matters of policy, or matters of business, or
on points of the Rule or observance. These meetings were known as
“the Parliament,” or Discussions, and from them the word to signify
our house of national representatives was taken.
One particular part of the cloister was selected where these
monastic Parliaments were held, and thither all came who had any
matter to suggest or business to transact with the officials. Here the
abbot, or he who took his place, was ordered to be ever ready to
hear what those had to say who sought him for guidance or
direction. In another part of the cloister, during this time after
Chapter, the senior monks met together to listen to devotional
reading, and to discuss points that might strike them in their
reading, or which had been suggested by the Divine Office. In the
same way the juniors were to be in their places in the western walk
of the cloister with their master, or one or more of the seniors,
similarly engaged in asking questions as to observance, or seeking
to know the meaning of any difficult passages in Holy Scripture. The
novices, and the juniors who had been only recently professed, were
together in the northern walk of the cloister, being taught the
principles and practices of the monastic life. It was a precious time
for the beginner, when the disciple was exhorted to question his
instructor on all matters connected with the regular observance, but
especially about the Rule and the Divine Office.
During this period of the Parliament the guardians of the cloister
were directed to go about from group to group, to see that the laws
of the regular life were observed as they should be. During this half-
hour, except in the case of the officials who had to transact
necessary business of the house, no conversations about worldly
matters or vain tales were to be permitted. The Parliament time—
between Chapter and High Mass—was devoted exclusively to
spiritual matters or to the discussion of necessary business.
During this and all similar times of conversation the monks were
warned to keep watch over their tongues. When asked their opinion
or advice, they were to give it with modesty and moderation. No
signals were to be permitted between various parts of the cloister;
the conversation was to be conducted in a low tone, and it was to be
considered a matter of first importance that at these meetings all
should be present.
 CHAPTER VII
THE DAILY LIFE IN A MONASTERY—continued

8. THE HIGH MASS

The daily “Magna Missa”—the Conventual, or High Mass—began at
ten o’clock. The first signal was given by the ringing of a small bell
some short time before the hour; and forthwith, on the first sound,
the juniors and novices laid aside the tasks upon which they were
engaged. All books were at once replaced on the shelves of the
aumbry in the cloister, and then the monks waited in their places till
the second signal. On this being given, talking at once ceased, and
the religious made their way to the church. Meanwhile, on hearing
the first signal, the hebdomadarian, or priest, who had to sing the
Conventual Mass, and the other sacred ministers, after having again
washed their hands “to be ready to fulfil their functions at the sacred
altar with fitting purity” of body and mind, made their way to the
sacristy to vest for the service.
The community having entered the choir and taken their places, the
senior members nearest the altar, the prior, who was up to this time
waiting outside the door of the church, gave the sign for the tolling
of the bell to cease. As he did so, he himself entered the choir and
took up his position in the stall nearest to the presbytery steps and
opposite to that of the abbot when he was present. If Tierce had not
already been said at the time of the morning Mass, after the usual
silent Pater and Ave, the superior made a signal for that Hour “by
rapping with his hand upon the wood of his stall.” Whilst the
community were engaged in the recitation of the Office, the
ministers were completing their preparation in the sacristy, and
when it was over, if the day were a Sunday, the priest came into the
choir for the solemn blessing of the holy water. He was preceded by
the thurifer bearing the processional cross between two candle-
bearers, and was accompanied by the deacon and sub-deacon in
albs. Two vases of water had been prepared on the first step of the
presbytery by the church servers, and thither the procession went
for the weekly blessing of the holy water. The cross-bearer mounted
the steps and then turning somewhat to the north, stood with his
face towards the priest; the deacon assisted upon the right hand of
the celebrant and the sub-deacon on his left. The solemn blessings
of the salt and water were then chanted by the priest, the whole
community answering and taking part in the service. When the
exorcism and blessing of the salt was finished, the sub-deacon,
coming forward, took a little of it on a smaller dish and handed it to
the priest to mix with the water. The rest of the blessed salt was
then taken by one of the church servants to the refectorian, whose
duty it was to see that a small portion was every Sunday placed in
every salt-cellar in the refectory.
After the blessing of the holy water came the Asperges. The priest,
having given the book of the blessings to one of the servers,
received the aspersorium, or sprinkler, and dipping it into the vat of
water, went to the altar, and after having sprinkled the front of it
thrice, passed round it, doing the same at the back. Meanwhile the
vat-bearer with the holy water awaited his return and then
accompanied him as he gave the Asperges to all the religious in the
choir. At the abbot’s stall the priest paused, bowed, and presented
the sprinkler, so that the superior might touch it and sign himself
with the newly-blessed water. When the abbot had finished the sign
of the cross, the priest passed down the ranks of the brethren,
sprinkling them with the water, first on one side and then on the
other. If a bishop were present in the choir, he was treated with the
same special reverence shown to the abbot, and to him the blessed
water was to be taken first. When all the brethren had received the
Asperges, the priest accompanied by his ministers went to the choir
gates and sprinkled those of the faithful who were in the body of the
church.
After this two priests, accompanied by two of the brethren,
proceeded to take the holy water round the house. One pair went
through the public rooms and offices of the monastery sprinkling
them and saying appropriate prayers in each. The other mounted to
the dormitory and did the same for each bed and cubicle, and
returning through the infirmary, gave to each of the sick brethren
the same privilege of receiving the holy water, which their brethren
in the church had had.
Whilst this was being done by the two priests and their associates,
the community, under the direction of the precentor, passed out of
the choir into the cloister for the Sunday procession. First walked the
bearer of the holy water which had just been blessed. He was
followed by the cross-bearer walking between two acolytes carrying
lighted candles. Then came the sub-deacon by himself with the book
of the Holy Gospels, and behind him the priest who was to celebrate
the Mass accompanied by his deacon. These were succeeded by the
community, two and two, with the abbot by himself at the close of
the double line. Ordinarily the procession passed once round the
cloister, the monks singing the Responsories appointed for the
special Sunday. On greater feasts there was more solemnity, for then
the community were all vested in copes, which had been brought
into the choir by the church servers and distributed to the monks
after the Asperges. On these occasions, as also on the Sundays, the
Hour of Tierce followed, instead of being said before the blessing of
the holy water. On the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent also, and on
the Rogation days, there were processions; but these were
penitential exercises, and on such occasions the community walked
barefooted round the cloister.
If the day was one of the solemn feasts, upon which the abbot
celebrated in pontificals, he was vested by the sacred ministers
before the altar in the sacristy, whilst Tierce was being sung in the
choir. At the conclusion of the Hour he entered with due solemnity,
being met at the door of the choir by the prior and others, and he
took his seat upon a throne erected before his stall in the upper part
of the choir until the procession was formed. The abbot only
celebrated at the High Altar on these great feasts; and never except
with full pontifical ceremonies, if he had the right to use pontificalia
at all.
In most monasteries several times a year—four or more, according
to custom and circumstances—there were exceptionally solemn
processions with relics and banners. On these occasions every care
was taken to make the religious pageants worthy of the best
traditions of the monastery. Such processions would be preceded by
the vergers of the church with their maces of office; and the
community, all vested in copes, walked in couples with some four
feet between them and between the next couple. Every here and
there a single individual walked in the middle carrying an appropriate
banner; and at intervals the great shrines, which were the special
pride of the house, or the chief notable relics, were borne by the
requisite number of religious clad in sacred vestments. At the close
of the procession came the abbot in full pontificalia, assisted by his
sacred ministers. Finally, following the church servers, walked the
janitor of the church, or “door-keeper,” “who,” according to one
Custumal, “was to raise his rod well above his head, to warn the
people who pressed on after the procession, to stand farther away.”
These were the ceremonies preliminary to the High Mass on Sundays
and on the greater festivals. Ordinarily speaking, the conventual
High Mass would begin either directly after Tierce, or if that Hour
had been already recited at the time of the early Mass, immediately
the community had entered the choir, and the cessation of the bell-
ringing had given notice that the prior was in his place. The two
juniors appointed by the cantor had meanwhile taken the graduals
and psalters from the presses in the choir, and had distributed them
to the seniors, juniors, and novices according to their needs. The
cantor of the week, also, had by this time put on his cope, had
chosen a book, and had taken his stand at the lectern to be ready to
lead the singing. The High Mass then commenced and went on as
usual till after the Blessing. At the Offertory the prior or some of the
seniors brought the oblations to the altar and gave them to the
celebrant. On Sundays, after the Blessing, the hebdomadarian priest
gave the usual benediction to the weekly reader, who had come
forward from his place in choir to the steps of the presbytery to
receive it. The Gospel of St. John was said after the priests and the
ministers had reached the sacristy and were standing before the
altar there, whilst the community were leaving the choir for the next
conventual duty, or were unvesting, if they had that day worn copes
or albs.
If the abbot celebrated, the ceremonial was somewhat more
elaborate. The prior made the oblation at the Offertory, and assisted
the abbot to wash his hands after the incensing of the altar, and
before the Post-Communion at the end of the Mass. If the abbot had
been taking part in the procession, at the end of it, when the
religious returned to the choir for Tierce, the abbot retired to the
sacristy, accompanied by the ministers, where he took off his cope
and put on the dalmatics and chasuble for the Holy Sacrifice, waiting
in the sacristy till the signal was given for beginning the Mass.

9. THE DINNER
Dinner followed Mass directly, with only a brief interval for the
washing of hands. As a rule, the midday meal would be served
about eleven o’clock. The reader and servers were permitted to take
some slight refection beforehand; and for this purpose could leave
the church before the conclusion of the service with the refectorian
and kitchener. On Sundays, however, the reader had to wait till after
he had received the usual weekly blessing, but he might then go
straight from the altar to take his bread and wine.
Just before the close of the service in the church, the prior came out
into the cloister and either himself began to sound the signal for the
dinner, or caused someone else, appointed for the purpose, to do so.
If through any accident the meal was not quite ready, or, as one
Custumal says, “if the bread be still in the oven,” it was the duty of
the kitchener to wait for the coming of the prior and to inform him of
the delay, so that the signal might not begin to sound before the
cook was ready. In this case the community, upon coming out of the
church, after they had performed their ablutions, sat as patiently as
they could in the cloister till the signal was given. Ordinarily,
however, the bell began to ring at their coming out of the choir, and
continued to sound whilst they were preparing themselves for the
meal, and, indeed, until all were in their places.
The prior, or the senior who was going to preside at the meal if he
were absent, remained at the door of the refectory, and gave the
sign for the bell to cease ringing when all was ready. Whilst waiting
here, the various officials who had to make any communication to
the prior about the meal, or ask any permission appertaining to their
office, came to make their reports or proffer their requests. For
example, the infirmarian had now to notify the names and number
of the sick under his charge, or to ask permission for some one of
the brethren to dine with them. The guest-master would do the
same in regard to his guests, and, on the great feasts when the
abbot had pontificated, he would frequently send his chaplain to the
prior or presiding senior, when thus standing at the entrance to the
refectory, to acquaint him that he had invited the sacred ministers
who had assisted him in the function, to dine at his table. In some
places also, on every fish-day, the cellarer acquainted the prior at
this time what provision he had made for the community meal, in
order that the superior presiding might judge whether there ought to
be anything further supplied to the religious, by way of a caritas, or
extraordinary dish.
The monks on entering the refectory were directed to pause in the
middle and salute the Majestas over the high table with a profound
bow. They then passed to their places to await the coming of the
superior. If this was delayed they could sit down in their places till
the bell, ceasing to ring, told them that the superior had given the
sign for his entry. They then stood in their ranks and returned the
bow he made to each side as he came into the hall. If the abbot
dined in the refectory, each monk also individually saluted him as he
passed up to his seat. The usual Grace was then chanted, and the
prior, or whoever presided, gave the blessing to the reader, who
came forward into the middle of the refectory to ask for it. Whilst
the community were sitting down in their places at table, the reader
mounted the pulpit and opened the book at the place he had already
prepared. When all was quiet the superior sounded the small bell at
his table as a sign that the reader might begin; and, when the first
sentence had been read, he sounded it a second time for the
commencement of the meal. That the interval between the two bells
might not be over long, the reader is warned in some monastic
directions to make choice in all refectory reading of a short sentence
as the first.
 REFECTORY PULPIT, CHESTER

The monk who read one week had to serve the next, and during his
week of reading he was never to be absent from his duty except
with grave cause. For example, if he were to be invited during his
week of office to dine at the abbot’s table, he was to excuse himself
and say that he was the conventual reader. The reason assigned is
obvious: the reading had to be carefully prepared, and was besides
a labour; so that to ask anyone to take the duty unexpectedly would
mean not only that he would have a burden placed upon him, but
that the community would not have proper respect paid to it, in
having to listen to reading that had not been prepared previously.
One common and useful direction given to the refectory reader is,
that he was not to hurry. The quantity he got through was
immaterial compared with distinct pronunciation and careful
rendering. Any specially noteworthy passage should be repeated so
as to impress its meaning upon the hearers.
When the second signal had been sounded by the president’s bell,
the brethren uncovered their loaves, which had been placed under
their napkins, arranged the latter, and broke their portion of bread.
At the second signal, too, the servers began their ministrations. In
some of the greater houses, at the beginning of the meal, two
juniors, one from each side, took their goblets and spoons and came
to the table of the presiding superior. Here they took up their places,
standing at either end of the table, unless the superior should invite
them to sit. These junior monks were to act as the special servers of
the religious presiding in the refectory. They were to assist him in his
wants, to anticipate them if possible, and to act as his messengers
should he require them to do so. On first taking up their position,
the senior of the two was directed to cut the superior’s loaf in two
for him, the other was to fill his goblet with the beer or wine served
to the community. These two assistants at the president’s table had
to eat their meals as they stood or sat, as the case might be, at the
ends of the high table, and were to be helped immediately after the
president himself.
When the sign for beginning the meal had been given, two other
juniors, one on each side of the refectory, rose from their places,
and, receiving the jugs of beer or wine from the cellarer or his
assistant, proceeded to fill the goblets set before each of the
religious. When this was done they asked permission from the
superior, by a sign, to fill the measure of drink intended as the
convent’s charity to the poor. Meanwhile the servers had gone to the
kitchen-hatch to bring in the dishes. These were taken usually first
to the superior, and from this dish the two juniors serving at his
table were helped; then, should there have been any one of the
brethren lately dead, his portion, to be given to the poor, was served
out into a special dish. Finally, in many places, two dishes were
taken by the servers to the tables on each side of the refectory; one
to the top and the other to the bottom and so passed along the
tables, the monk who passed the dish, and he to whom it was
passed, bowing to each other with ceremonial courtesy.
In some houses the method of serving was somewhat different: the
portions were served separately, having been previously divided
under the direction of the kitchener or refectorian. When the first
dish was pottage, the serving always began with the youngest
member of the community, the superior receiving his last; in other
cases the first dish was always taken to the superior’s table. The
servers were exhorted always to attend to their work, not to keep
standing about the kitchen-hatch, and much less to stop gossiping
there; but to watch carefully and even anxiously for any sign that
might be made to them by the brethren.
In some Custumals there were minute directions for the serving.
Those who served the brethren were not to rush about, nor stand
aimlessly in one place, nor gossip with the kitchen-servers even
about the dishes they received. They were to watch to supply what
was wanted; they were to serve with decorum and with patience, as
if, indeed, they were waiting upon our Lord Himself; and they should
not attempt too much at a time, as, for example, to try to carry in
more dishes, etc., than they were well able to do. As a rule, they
were to be contented to use both hands to carry one dish.
During the service of the first course, the reading was to proceed
uninterruptedly; but when the community had finished eating it, a
pause was made until the second course had been set on the table.
Meanwhile, at some religious houses at this point in the dinner, the
poor man selected that day to receive the alms of the community, or
as the recipient of the portion of a deceased brother during the
thirty days after his death, was brought into the refectory by the
almoner. His share was given to him, and one of the juniors helped
him to carry his food to the door. At this point, too, that is, after the
first course, if there were not many to serve, permission from the
superior was to be asked by a sign for one of the two servers to sit
down and begin his meal.
The second course was served in a way similar to the first. Many and
curious are the directions given as to what the monks might or
might not do according to the code of mediæval monastic manners.
The regular food, for example, was not to be shared with anyone,
as, indeed, all had received their own portion; but if anything special
or extra was given to an individual, except for sickness, then he
might, and indeed would be considered wanting in courtesy if he did
not, offer to share it with his two neighbours. These neighbours,
however, were not to pass it on. If the superior in his discretion sent
a brother some extra dish, the recipient was directed to rise and bow
his thanks. If the dish came from the table of the abbot, when out of
the refectory, he who received it was still to bow towards the abbot’s
place as if he were present. If it came from anyone else than the
superior, the recipient had to send it by the server to the senior
presiding in the refectory, that he might, if he so pleased, partake of
it, or even dispose of it altogether according to his pleasure. If any
mistake was made in serving, or if by any accident something was
dropped or spilt on the tables or ground, the delinquent had to do
penance in the middle, until the prior gave a sign to him to rise, by
rapping on the table with the handle of his knife.
Some of the hints as to proper decorum at table seem curious in
these days. No one was to clean his cup with his fingers, nor wipe
his hands, or mouth, or knife upon the tablecloths. If he had first
cleaned the knife with a piece of bread, however, he might then
wipe it on his own napkin. The brethren were exhorted to try and
keep the tablecloths clean. Stained cloths were to be washed
without delay; and to avoid stains, all soft and cooked fruit was to
be served in a deep plate or bowl. Every care was to be taken not to
drop crumbs upon the floor; salt was to be taken with a knife, and
the drinking-cup was to be held always in both hands.
When the prior, or the senior presiding at the table in his place, saw
that the monks had finished their repast, he knocked upon the table
with the handle of his knife, as a sign for the collection of remnants
intended for the poor. The two juniors appointed for this purpose
then came forward, each carrying a basket, and bowing in the
middle to the superior, passed down each side of the refectory,
collecting the pieces of bread and anything else that the religious
had placed in front of them as their individual alms. Whatever
portion of bread any monk desired to keep for the evening meal, he
guarded by covering it with his napkin. Any loaf, or part of a loaf, left
uncovered after the dinner was over, was claimed by the almoner, as
belonging to “the portion of the poor” at his disposal.
When the two juniors had finished their task, the prior rapping the
table a second time, gave the sign for the servers to collect the
spoons and knives, and take them to the kitchen hatchway to be
removed for washing in the place set aside for that purpose.
Meanwhile the monks folded their napkins and waited silently for a
third signal, upon which they rose from their places and took up
their position for Grace, facing each other on the inner sides of the
tables. When they were ready in their ranks, the reader who was
waiting in the pulpit, at a sign from the prior, sang the usual
conclusion of all public reading: “Tu autem Domine, miserere nobis,”
the community answering “Deo gratias.” Then followed the chanted
Grace, which was concluded in the church, to which the community
went in procession, during the singing of the Miserere or other
psalm.
The officials and religious who had been occupied with serving,
stood on one side at the end of the meal, and as the brethren went
out from the refectory they bowed to them, to show their reverence
for the community in its corporate capacity. The servers then went
to the lavatory and washed their hands in preparation for their own
meal. The refectorian remained behind when the community went
out of the refectory, so as to see that all was ready for the second
table. At this second meal the cellarer generally presided; and one of
the junior monks was appointed to read whilst it was being eaten by
the servers and by all those who for any reason had been prevented
from dining at the first table.

10. AFTER DINNER

The community dinner would probably have taken about half an
hour; and by the time the monks came from the church after
finishing their Grace, it would have been about 11.30 in the
morning. The first duty of the monks on coming into the cloister was
to proceed to the lavatory to wash their hands again—a not wholly
unnecessary proceeding in the days when forks were unknown, and
fingers supplied their place at table. At Durham a peculiar custom
was observed by the monks each day after dinner on coming from
the church. They betook themselves to the cemetery garth “where
all the monks were buried; and they did stand all bareheaded, a
certain long space, praying among the tombs and graves for their
brethren’s souls being buried there.” If None had already been said
in choir, the community had now several hours to devote to reading
or work, or both. If that canonical Hour had yet to be said, then the
religious, after their ablutions, took their books and sat in the
cloister till the monks at the second table had finished their meal,
when the signal was given, and all went to the church and recited
None together, returning to their occupations immediately
afterwards, by which time it would have been about midday.
After washing his hands on coming out from Grace, the prior, or the
senior who had presided in the refectory in his place, was directed in
some houses to go and satisfy himself that all was well at the
second table, and that those who had served others were
themselves well served. From the refectory he had to go to the
infirmary to visit the sick, and to see for himself that their needs had
been properly supplied. When these two duties had been fulfilled, it
was the custom in some places for the prior on occasions to invite
some of the seniors to his room for a glass of wine, to warm
themselves in winter, and for what is called in one Custumal “the
consolations of a talk.” When the prior was not present, the
presiding senior was allowed to invite some of the brethren to the
domus recreationis—the recreation-room. At certain times and on
certain feasts the whole community joined in these innocent and
harmless meetings.
At this same time the juniors and novices with their masters were
permitted with leave to go out into the garden and other places to
unbend in games and such-like exercises proper to their age. In this
way they were assisted when young to stand the severe strain of
cloister discipline. Without the rational relaxation intended by such
amusements, to use the simile constantly applied to these
circumstances, “as bows always bent” they would soon lose the
power of “aiming straight at perfection.”
The monk, it must be remembered, was in no sense “a gloomy
person.” There is hardly anything that would have interfered more
with the purpose of his life than any disposition to become a
misanthrope. His calling was no bar to reasonable recreation. In fact,
the true religious was told to try and possess angelica hilaritas cum
monastica simplicitas. Thus at Durham we read of the greensward
“at the back of the house towards the water” where the younger
members of the community played their games of bowls, with the
novice-master as umpire. On the stone benches, too, in the cloisters
at Canterbury, Westminster, Gloucester, and elsewhere, traces of the
games played centuries ago by the young religious may still be seen
in the holes and squares set out symmetrically, and oblongs divided
by carefully-drawn cross-lines. Sometimes we read of hunting,
contests of ball, and other games of chance. Archbishop Peckham
was apparently somewhat shocked to find that the prior of
Cokesford, in Norfolk, at times indulged in a game of chess with
some of his canons. In other houses he found that dogs were kept
and even stranger pets like apes, cranes, and falcons were retained
in captivity by the religious. It is difficult to draw the exact line by
passing which monastic gravity is supposed to be injured, and so
there was, no doubt, constant need for regulation on all these
matters. But some such amusements were necessary, and by them,
the tension of long-continued conventual exercises was relieved. The
monastic granges to which from time to time the religious went for a
change of scene and life were most useful in this regard and enabled
them to recreate their strength for another period of service.
In the disposition of the early part of the afternoon, some slight
changes had to be made between the winter and summer
observance. In summer, immediately after the dinner, the community
retired to the dormitory for a sleep, or rest, of an hour’s duration.
This was the rule from Easter till the feast of the Exaltation of the
Holy Cross in September, and all the community were bound to
observe the hour for repose if not for sleep. The period of rest, thus
allowed at midday, was taken in reality from the night. During the
summer the times for vespers, and supper, and bed were each an
hour later than they were in the winter months, when the light failed
earlier. This hour, by which in summer the sleep before Matins was
shortened, was made up by the rest after dinner. During the same
period, except on vigils and such-like days when None was said
before the dinner, that canonical Hour was recited after the midday
sleep. On the signal for the termination of the hour of repose the
religious came from the dormitory and, having washed, sat in the
cloister till the notice was given to proceed to the church for None,
which at this time of the year would have been finished some time
between 12.30 and one o’clock.

11. THE DAILY WORK

The chief working hours in a mediæval monastery, including a period
for recreation and outdoor exercise, were between twelve o’clock
and five in winter, and one o’clock and six in summer. It was during
these five hours that the chief business and work of the house was
transacted. The officials then attended to the duties of their offices;
the writers and rubricators made progress in their literary and artistic
compositions in the cloister or scriptorium; the juniors and novices
studied with their masters, or practised public reading and singing
under the precentor or his assistant; those who had work in the
kitchen, or the bakehouse, or the cellar, etc., addressed themselves
to their allotted tasks. In a word, whilst the morning of each
monastic day was devoted mainly to prayer and the church services,
the afternoon was fully occupied in many and various labours and in
the general administration of the monastery. Of course manual
labour, that is the working in the gardens, or fields, or workshops of
the establishment, always occupied at least a part of the working
hours of every monastery, and frequently a large part. This manual
labour was necessary for health and exercise, and it was insisted
upon in all monastic codes, not so much as an end in itself, as a
means to avoid idleness, and to strengthen the constitution of
individuals by regular and systematic corporal exercises. The work of
a labourer in the fields and gardens was never looked upon as
derogatory to the monastic profession; and St. Benedict expressly
tells his followers that they are to look upon themselves “as true
monks, when they have to live by the labour of their hands.”
 CARMELITE IN HIS STUDY

This manual labour was generally a conventual work, that is,

undertaken in common; and the permission of the superior was
always required to stay away from it. In some Orders, such as the
Cistercian and Cluniac, it was performed with a certain amount of
ceremonial usage. The prior, for example, rang the bell, or struck the
tabula to call the brethren together, distributed the necessary tools
amongst them, and then led the way to the place where they were
to dig, or weed, or plant, etc. In the Cluniac houses, the abbot went
with the community. When they were assembled at the door of the
cloister he was to be informed, and he then came into their midst
saying, “Eamus ad opus manuum”—“Let us go to our manual
labour.” Upon this, the youngest leading the way, the monks went in
procession to where they had to work, saying the Miserere or other
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