Hello All:

Trying to frame a response to the discussion thus far is very 
difficult because of the contexts from where people speak.  I 
instruct a program called Gardening and Customer Service training in 
the Adult Special Education Department at Camosun College in 
Victoria, BC, Canada.  I have also been Chair and now Program Leader 
for our Adult Special Education Department, but we prefer the name 
Access to Employment Training Programs as this better reflects what 
we do.  We provide service to adults who do not meet the academic 
prerequisites or who are unable to do regular programming either at 
this time or in the future. (This is a story in itself.)  This 
semester we have embarked on teaching applied literacy and numeracy 
as it relates to employment and to the individuals needs.  Also, 
within the Gardening and Customer Service Program, we run it like an 
economic enterprise and through the sale of plants, shrubs and trees 
are able to purchase materials, supplies and tools as well as 
teaching real skills that are required for the workplace.  

We have students who have learning disabilities, but in British 
Columbia, Canada, unless a student has had an assessment done during 
their time in the public school system, when a student becomes an 
adult he or she is responsible for paying for this on his or her own. 
Because of the prohibitive cost for an assessment, very few students 
have it done.  They are caught in the nebulous grey area.  But if 
they do have documentation and the academic prerequisites for their 
course or program, then they can receive accommodation through the 
college's Disability Support Service (DSS).  Because of the limited 
number of opportunities for students who do have not documentation or 
who do not have the academic pre-requisites to enter regular academic 
programs, our department tries to fill this void with a combination 
of specialized workforce training and applied literacy and numeracy. 
As well, our Adult Basic Education Departments does not have the 
resources to meet the needs of very low level literacy students, so 
we have positioned ourselves to provide this service.   

I must comment on the name Special Education as it has been raised a 
number of times in the discussion.  I believe that for Camosun 
College, Adult Special Education is a misnomer as what we are trying 
to provide is a opportunity for a disparate group of learners to 
pursue learning in a college without being bound by the academic 
criterion set by regular programs.  Therefore, it is the nomenclature 
that is prohibitive rather than what is provided to learners.  We 
have tried to address this by changing our name to Access to 
Employment Training Programs (ASE).  Although stigma around Special 
Education stills applies because of what has been alluded to within 
the discussion (public school special education classes), I believe 
we are creating "a foot in the door" for learners to enter the 
process of developmental education. We are also continually engaged 
in community connections, marketing and providing opportunities for 
learners to attend our institution.

In reference to David Rosen's email about a wish list for adult 
education, I would suggest creating partnerships with a university 
that has programs that are teaching assessment testing and 
techniques.  Students in these courses could be paid a stipend for 
completing assessments that would benefit both the university and 
college learner.  As well, I would like to see our provincial 
government increase its commitment to providing services for students 
with disabilities.   Colleges in BC are provided with block funding 
which means that as the cost of providing services for students with 
disabilities continue to grow, the colleges are finding it difficult 
to meet these demands because they have a finite set of funds. 
Currently in BC our premier has made a commitment to literacy 
training but the colleges have yet to have their budgets increased to 
reflect his commitment. 

This has been a most interesting and informative discussion.  Thank you.

Take care,

David

David Greig
Program Leader, Access to Employment Training Programs
Instructor, Gardening and Customer Service Training
Camosun College:  Interurban Campus
4461 Interurban Road
Victoria, BC  V9E 2C1
(250) 598-8220
greig at islandnet.com    
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