Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e92HIk918349; Mon, 2 Oct 2000 13:18:46 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2000 13:18:46 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <80499194F263D411B6A80008C7E1B503045358@mail.corp.fsc-dane.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Jeff Burkhart <jeff.burkhart@fsc-dane.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:89] real strategies X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Status: O Content-Length: 3905 Lines: 90 I've been sitting back and reading all of your wonderful commentary and experiences, and have been moved and inspired by many insights... There are so many threads of conversation I want to talk about. Someone (sorry I don't remember who) requested info about the Equipped for the Future (EFF) standards wheel after Susan mentioned it. See the following website: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/collections/eff/index.html <http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/collections/eff/index.html> I'm a white male working in an environment with mostly women, and mostly people of color. I have been teaching GED and employment skills classes in Durham, NC and currently in Madison, WI for 3 years, and always approach teaching as a process of facilitation and sharing of skills and information. I've worked in a few curriculum design groups at Literacy South, a great organization based in Durham where I learned a lot about the learner-centered approach. I have created several lesson plans for GED and ABE learners which address the EFF standards in addition to opening discussion about classism, racism and the welfare system. creating a city budget, reading and interpreting graphs about the increased number of children living in poverty in the south after 'welfare reform,' creating solutions to global warming. I'm still developing my skills in this area, and I recognize that I'm far from perfect. In the learner-centered classroom, everyone's ideas are valued as a resource. I have worked to recognize and overcome my own prejudices, and seeing myself not as the authority of a classroom, but as a facilitator helps. I often reflect in writing about things said in a class and how I react to others. This helps me to process and increase my comfort level, to acknowledge inherited racial stereotypes and hopefully to overcome them. Being in discussion groups about equality and empowerment helps. Being in groups in which I am a minority gives me an inkling of what it feels like for others on a regular basis. Sometimes riling people up is a dangerous thing. I do it a lot, but have never worked in a prison like Jill has. Teaching real democracy is subversive anywhere, and I think there are subtle ways of approaching it. I'd love to hear more of your experiences, Jill. And like Eileen, I have some trouble balancing my urge to teach and talk about issues of empowerment along with the practical skills that are necessary for learners' education or employment goals. Eileen-where can I find the work you referred to by Edward Wolff? It is frustrating to me when my colleagues flop a GED workbook down and tell adults to just learn it, without discussing what they are interested in, trying to discover things that have challenged them in the past. I'd love to hear more about actual strategies for working with adult learners and incorporating material that matters, and that is empowering to them. Thanks for your input, too, Kay. Jeff Burkhart I realize that this type of training may not deal directly with racism and classism directly. And perhaps it will do little to fight the bigger, white-dominated oppressive system. But, smaller strategies such as this may have the potential to broaden classroom content to be more inclusive of knowledge, skills, ideas, concepts, etc. brought to adult literacy classes by literacy students from different racial, ethnic and income groups. These types of strategies also have the potential to improve staffs' abililities to see their students as valuable, equal human beings with much to contribute to the class and community. Other strategies out there??? Kay Taggart _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
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