Several years ago, I taught GED classes to women receiving TANF
(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).  Many of them had been
incarcerated at one time or another.  Since I had them in class for 20
hours a week, we got to know each other quite well.  Using a functional
literacy approach in which we learned the academic skills necessary to
pass the GED exams within the context of "life skills" such as
communication, job readiness, health, child development, and many other
topics, we delved into personal issues and examined how it was that each
of us (myself included) had come to be where we were.  We also looked at
our dreams for our future and how we could help make those dreams a
reality.

 

I was shell-shocked at first at the desperate situations in which these
women lived.  And, more importantly I was humbled by their optimism and
perseverance.  In short, I was proud to be working with them.  To answer
the question Dominique posed as to who are we to tell their stories, I'd
like to suggest that it is important for both these women to tell their
stories and for us to tell them also.  As dismissive as the woman you
encountered was regarding the need for education within the prison
system, at least you did have the opportunity to talk to her.  I feel
that those of us who have worked with women in poverty need to be strong
advocates for them as well as encouraging them to advocate for
themselves.  Personally, I've been able to shape to some degree the
opinions of others who will listen to me but who might not listen to
women such as my students.  Often those in poverty whether physically
incarcerated or locked behind unseen walls of bigotry and prejudice are
simply not seen nor heard  whereas we are seen and heard - if not always
believed.

 

The biggest obstacle I faced in my work was my pitiful lack of
understanding of what it meant to be poor.  Having had grandparents who
were poor, I thought I understood poverty.  However, it took less than
one day for me to realize that there is a world of difference between
economic or "situational" poverty and generational poverty in which the
lack of resources goes far beyond money to include lack of a functional
social network such as trusted friends and family members, a lack of
educational resources, and a lack of emotional support.  I had expected
that my biggest obstacle would have been establishing trust; however,
this was not the case.  My students must have somehow sensed my
sincerity in trying to understand and be of some help to them because
they opened up to me in remarkable ways.  They shared their hurts and
their frustrations as well as their hopes and dreams.  Together we
learned from one another.  Often, I left class knowing that I was the
one who had learned the most.

 

Debra Coe

Grant Specialist

Texas Family Literacy Resource Center

The Education Institute

College of Education #2117

Texas State University

601 University Drive

San Marcos, TX 78666-4616

512-245-9293 

Fax 512-245-8151

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Chlup, Dominique
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 12:13 AM
To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: RE: [PovertyRaceWomen 468] Bars, Boundaries, and Barriers
Researching Women's Spaces

 

First, I have to admit that I have been a "lurker" on this discussion
list for quite sometime.  In all of my time lurking I think I have
posted twice, so when Daphne asked me to consider being a guest
facilitator I have to admit that I was excited but also a bit leery of
leaving behind the safety net of reading others' postings and becoming
actively involved in the discussion.  I see this, though, as my risk for
the week, so I want to invite all of the other "lurkers" along with the
regular posters on the list to feel free to post this week.  I welcome
the opportunity to dialogue with everyone.

Now onto the discussion...

When colleagues ask me about my work and the challenges I face
researching women student-inmates, one of the first things I reveal to
them is how I struggle with the barrier of writing about topics and
women who live lives that are far removed from my day to day life.  I am
the one with perceived authority, access, and the privilege of going
"home" at night, and I try never to forget that.  

When I first entered a prison classroom, I naively expected to find
women who were very different from me, but they weren't.  Yes, their
institutionalized lives were different from mine, but I was immediately
struck by how my students could easily have been my mother, sister,
grandmother, best friend, or me.  It didn't take long for me to realize
that prison spaces demonstrate a convergence of disadvantage based on
racial, class, and gender inequality.  All of the women I have ever had
the privilege of working with were arrested for offenses associated with
problems of addiction, poverty, and domestic abuse. Whatever
preconceptions I had of women prisoners, I quickly realized were
misconceptions based largely on stereotypes and misinformation.  I now
believe that in the name of maintaining dominant social order, certain
resources and privileges are concentrated in some groups, which
marginalize and criminalize others.  

Many of the stories I have researched, witnessed, and heard over the
years regarding the treatment of women inmates, offend my democratic
sensibilities.  I have cried, laughed, dreamed, and hoped with my
students (both the ones that I have actually had in class and those whom
I have only researched in the prison archives).  I have been rendered
speechless when accosted by individuals who don't understand why I have
chosen to do the work that I do.  One woman, whom I struck up a
conversation with on a very long line for the bathroom at a wedding
remarked, "I hope my taxpayer money isn't going to pay for that
education program."  

I informed her that for the most part the prisoners were raising the
money to keep classes going.  The education programs had been the first
thing cut when prison budget restructuring had occurred.  "Good" was all
she said before getting off the line and walking away from me.  I still
struggle with the challenge of facing critics and what to say to them.
I also struggle with the objectives of "giving voice to the voiceless,"
"sharing untold stories," and "portraying prison life."  While these
objectives, decidedly feminist ones, are in keeping with why I began
this work, I am not sure they should be the reasons that keep me
invested in this work.  I question:  Who am I to be telling these
women's stories?  What right do I have?  What right do any of us have if
we are not women prisoners ourselves?  

I have begun this discussion by sharing a bit of my story from the
social context of working with women inmates.  I hope you will feel free
to respond to any of the points or issues I have raised.  But I also
wonder about the struggles and challenges each of you face either
researching or working in women's spaces.  What would you describe as
the biggest barrier or boundary you face in your work?  How do you deal
with these bars, boundaries, and barriers?

 

--Dominique

 

 

Dominique T. Chlup

Director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and
Learning  (TCALL) &

Assistant Professor of Adult Education

Texas A&M University 

www-tcall.tamu.edu

 

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Daphne Greenberg
Sent: Fri 2/9/2007 2:52 PM
To: Women and Literacy Discussion List The Poverty Race
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 468] Bars, Boundaries,and Barriers
Researching Women's Spaces

Reminder about Guest Facilitator:
(please invite friends and colleagues to join by telling them to
subscribe, and later unsubscribe at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen )

Starting this Monday, Feb. 12th and continuing through Friday Feb.
16th, Dominique Chlup will be facilitating a discussion on:

Bars, Boundaries, and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces

If you have time and are interested, I highly recommend that you check
out the following links where you can find two examples of Dominique's
writings. The articles are not long, and I think that you will find them
interesting and full of thought provoking ideas:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=828
and
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=826

In case you want to know more about our guest facilitator, here is a
short blurb about her:

Dominique Chlup is an assistant professor of adult education and the
director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and
Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University.She got her "calling" to be
an
adult educator after volunteering for a year at the Valhalla Women's
Jail in New York. She taught in the "Right to Write" program.  While
her
career has taken her into several other adult classrooms, she finds
she
returns again and again to her work with women student-inmates.  She
wrote a
dissertation on the history of the educational programs and practices
at
the Framingham Reformatory for Women in Massachusetts, and she
continues
to research contemporary prison programs.  As a part of her research
with women inmates, she has encountered both literal and figurative
bars.  As such, she is always interested in dialoging with others
about
their own experiences researching and working in women's spaces.  To
learn more about her work, you can read

http://www.ncsall.net/?id=828
and
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=826

Please invite your friends and colleagues to join us during this
"discussion." If they want to temporarily join us, they can subscribe
and then later unsubscribe at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

Daphne



Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

Daphne Greenberg
Associate Director
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3977
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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