Lashallah's Adult Learner's course blog posts

Consortium for Worker Education class visit

As mentioned in some of the other comments, Barbara Gleason has mentioned the CWE many, many time during our class discussions. While I had an idea of what the consortium was about, learning about the history and accomplishments of the organization while visiting the facility and meeting Joe McDermott and Eric Shtob was way beyond my expectations. Wow! I was so impressed with the whole idea of supporting and educating working class people. Joe McDermott has extended his hand to the people of NYC and given us opportunities to improve our lives. Although I did not know it before our class visit, I now realize that the consortium's support has helped me too, because I attended and graduated from the College of New Rochelle and we learned that CNR is one of the many educational institutions that the consortium has supported, financially and otherwise. I truly thank Joe McDermott, Eric Shtob and the entire CWE staff for their generous contributions and would also like to congratulate them on their remarkable achievements.



Listening to (and saving) The World's Languages from the NYT.

The things that are preserved are things that are valued, including languages. The work that Professor Kaufman is doing is honorable, yet he and his colleagues have their work cut out for them. America has greatly influenced many parts of the world because of business purposes, migrants flocking to the states in search for better lives, etc. Therefore, English is considered the language of power and one must be competent in it in order to be successful. For this reason, other languages and dialects are drifting towards this dominant language.The only way to preserve other languages and dialects are to do exactly what Professor Kaufman and other linguists are doing and that is to acknowledge and respect all languages. While it's obvious that we need a mainstream language in order to communicate in an organized fashion, is it unrealistic to imagine a society where multiple languages and distinct dialects are respected? As Stacy-Ann mentioned, "Langauge is very close to identity." I believe that if people are made to feel that their native tongues are appreciated they will be able to express themselves more powerfully in a classroom because their thoughts would likely be embedded in confidence rather than shame.


Mike Rose, Lives on The Boundary
Here is a link to an interview of Mike Rose by Bill Moyers about Lives on the Boundary:

Thank you Jane for posting this link. i found Mike Rose's interview with Bill Moyers to be very interesting. They spoke about several compelling facts in regard to education and underprivileged people. One of the issues that stood out for me is society's perception of these particular student's failure. Society tends to find deficiency in impoverished people's language, intellectual capacity and cognitive abilities. Failed performances on standardized tests and/or high school drop-out rates are seen as indication of incompetency. However, Mike Rose questions the causes of failure. He challenges the notion that many students failure is a result of unintelligence and poses that a probable cause is social failure. Rose believes that many students who have been deemed as incapable, has potential and ability that is unseen. Lack of opportunity and strong educational support has proved to be a huge disadvantage. He is compassionate about "inviting" more people into the educational system and doing so in a more productive way. He states that, "not doing so runs counter to our country's story" and I agree that it does not demonstrate equality, liberty or justice for all.



Response to Preparing for Success

"In August 1998, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, became law. The AEFLA established accountablitiy requirements for states receiving federal funds for adult education. The NRS became the vehicle for states to report their outcome based performance data."Page 8This particular quote resonates with me because I have been working at an adult literacy program for close to ten years and although I work with and understand the AEFLA program and the National Reporting System (NRS) it was nice to read about the history of these terms. Performance based data provides evidence to the state funders of how the program is operating. Administrative staff such as myself are responsible for reporting the amount of hours students spend in the program, if they acheive any educational gains, obtain or retain employment, recieve a GED or continue on to higher education. Some people feel that the state requires too much and that acquiring the information and necessary documents from students is a tedious paper chase. I agree to an extent but I also see it from a positive perspective. Because of performance based funding, literacy programs are obligated to serve the students appropiately. In addition as a counselor, it enables me to get to know our students in ways that I may not have had the chance to otherwise. I spend a lot of time discussing their personal goals and developing career plans with them. Then at the end of every semester, I report their progress to the state.So although the work is time consuming and detailed,I understand that AEFLA and the Workforce Investment Act ensures that the funds that are provided to serve students is used appropriately.







Ruben Rangel

Ruben Rangel's visit may have changed the dynamics of our class. As a class, we have spend a measurable amount of time together and some of us even spend time together outside of the classroom. Nevertheless, although his Freirian style workshop was intense and maybe uncomfortable for some, I think the true word activity helped to create a stronger bond and strengthened the learning community in our classroom. Like Alex, I too learned new things about our classmates that I did not know. It helped me to feel more comfortable because many of us share the same challenges and goals. Isn't a learning environment more effective when the students are more involved and supportive of one another?I can relate to this method of learning/teaching because as I stated in class I have used this technique with the GED/ESL students that I work with. It helps students to gain a greater respect for one another and realize that they are more alike than unalike. However on the graduate level students usally respect others differences and can work together without this sort of excercise. However, it was interesting experiencing this type of workshop as a student and with others on a graduate level. I seems that our class was more resistant than the students in the literacy program. I am interested to know what factors influence the resistance. Perhaps age, class or status - what do you think?







Wynne's Class Presentation

I really enjoyed our class discussion on March 2nd. Wynne did a wonderful job presenting information on the various programs offered at LaGuardia Community College and it was a pleasure having Amy Dalsimer join us.The reading materials that Wynne provided were very interesting, especially on the I-Best approach. This technique offers students contextualized instruction to ensure that their academic needs will be met while they will also acquire specialized skills to obtain employment in specific occupations upon completing the course.Many adult learners, particularly during this current economic crisis, are eager to gain new skills and improve their employment status. The I-Best approach is an ideal, goal driven strategy, that can keep students engaged in the classroom by addressing their immediate learning interests and implementing reading, writing and math skills as well.I would be curious to learn the outcome of such programs. Statistical questions come to mind, such as: How many students are successfully placed in jobs? Also, How many students choose to pursue a more formal education to enhance their career choice after learning the benefits of becoming more educated?




Integrating Vocational and Basic Skills Education
I think a basic skills and vocational training classroom environment would be one where both of these needs of the students are met.Academically, it should offer reading and writing specific to the particular training. This would improve comprehension, build vocabulary and language skills while also better educating students on the vocational subject. In addition, if funding allows, the classroom should be set up to model, as much as possible, the environment in which the students will be seeking employment. For example, if students are studying to be pharmacy technicians, there should be medical books, supplies, measuring tools, etc. provided to give students hands on experience. Instruction outside of the classroom can be helpful too, such as visiting a pharmacy and meeting with professionals in the field.I support this style of teaching and learning. I believe all students, but especially adult learners have a better learning experience when instruction is demonstrated by example or when one is able to grasp the concept tangibly.