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From: "Margery Freeman" <freemannola@cox.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:134] Funding professional deveopment @ understanding "isms"
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I'd like to reply to Susan Joyner's question: How do we find professional
development dollars to support our continuing education @ "isms". At YES!
as we prepare grant proposals both for public and private monies, we avoid
using typical "grantese" that describes our students, or our communities, by
their deficits. We refuse to speak about "at-risk" youth, "target"
communities, "disadvantaged" students, etc. since that perpetuates the
myths that "these people" are less than us.
It has been our experience that if we are doing a good job at what we do
(i.e. meet the requisite requirements @ reporting our outcomes), we can
speak honestly about the values and training that we believe in. For
example, in YES! grants, we speak about our fundamental belief in literacy
as social justice, and we describe our understanding of the relationship
between literacy, poverty and racism. Then (since our beliefs are carried
out in our budgets) we build in $$ for "undoing racism" workshops for all
our staff, $$ to pay community consultants (i.e. poor people) to serve as
literacy organizers, $$ to pay for student leadership development, etc.
We also build relationships with our funders: State department folks,
philanthropic supporters: They know us, and more important, they trust that
we are handling their grants correctly. This builds trust - and gives us
opportunities for dialogue so that we can begin to challenge the premises of
some of their policies, including what is "acceptable" professional
development. We can't do this alone! We need to create a collective voice
to change both the language and the topics of professional development.
Margery Freeman
FOB author
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Joyner" <sjoyner@mail1.vcu.edu>
To: "Multiple recipients of list" <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov>
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003
9:29 AM
Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:121] RE: question from Cris, to the group
> Professional Development requires funding and, at least in my situation,
> there are many gatekeepers protecting access to limited professional
> development dollars. These gatekeepers include both state level decision
> makers and local program leaders who decide professional development
> priorities. In my experience, it is not easy to fund significant
> professional development focusing on racism and other "-isms." In this
> situation, Cris's first alternative (integrating these themes into every
> professional development event) is rather more feasible. How have other
> list members found funding for professional development that addresses
> important but sensitive or controversial issues?
>
> Susan Joyner, Director
> Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
> 804/828-6521
> 1-800-237-0178
> www.vcu.edu/aelweb/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nifl-aalpd@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-aalpd@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of
> jataylor
> Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 8:18 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:119] question from Cris, to the group
>
>
> Good morning, all,
> I am forwarding a question to you from Cris Smith, that seems to be a
topic
> for all of us to explore. I look forward to reading your insights.
Thanks,
> Jackie
>
> >From Cris:
>
> There seems to be at least two ways (to me) to address "isms" in
> professional development for adult education practitioners. One way is
> to build a discussion of isms into every professional development that
> is organized and planned; there's always some facet of any topic that
> has to do with isms. The second way is to schedule one or more
> workshops, study circles, practitioner research opportunities, etc. for
> practitioners specifically focusing on racism or other isms. Is one of
> these ways preferable to another, or should professional developers aim
> to offer professional development activities of both types throughout
> the year (at either the state or program level)? For people who have
> planned specific "isms" workshops or other professional development, do
> you find that they are well-attended and what are some ways of
> recruiting practitioners to join them?
>
> Cris Smith
>
>
>
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