Adult Learning and Discourse

In case it’s any consolation, dear students, (and I know it is not!) I am staring at a blank screen that I hope will become a first draft of a paper that I can present next week at the National Reading Conference. Oh, it’s not as lame as it sounds. I’ve actually got a paper to present, but a lot’s happened since I submitted it, and I want to use this opportunity to frame up something new. As I look at a 15″ stack of hi-lited journals, overdue library books, surveys, half-full yellow pads, interview transcripts, and treasured books with more margin notes than text, I am am utterly lost as to where to begin. 

So many choices: I could write a report about Hope House–not as a scientific study, but as a descriptive piece. Submit it to a practitioner journal, like the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Or, maybe I have enough lit review content and first hand experience to write a theoretical paper about the unique challenges facing poor researchers like me attempting to “measure” such broad programs as Hope House, with its numerous intangibles. (Come to think of it, this may not be a new problem: how do other programs that purport to affect transformative changes go about measuring themselves?) Maybe submit it to a more conceptual journal such as the Education Researcher.  Or, maybe I could dip into the new data (it is just raw transcripts at this point) conduct a preliminary analysis, and write up my study & preliminary findings. Submit it to a research journal such as the Journal of Literacy Research… 

I am in the brainstorming stage and feeling like I am missing a really important ingredient: the brain. Thank you, readers, for being my sounding board. (Even though I am probably not getting any sympathy votes from you.) (sniff sniff)   B.  

One of the things I love about Education Rita is how much good can come of our muck-ups, when at least some of our intentions are good. Being a frumpy old hippie (and a huge Michael Caine fan), I relate to pathetic old Frank, and thus reflect on his role as an adult educator. Let’s think about all the ways Frank positioned himself in ways that were and were not ”ideal” for dialogue according to Habermas’ three claims for valid or “ideal” speech:  (a) Truth. This has to do the factual accuracy of speech. Was Frank speaking the truth to Rita, about the content of the courses? I think so. I do not think he lied to her about the criteria for the exams, the significance of an author or text, or the facts surrounding the plot of Macbeth. In fact he didn’t lie to her about his drinking habits, or his initial reluctance to take her on as an extended university student. (b) Rightness. Rightness has to do with the ethical principles and moral content of speech — regardless of it’s accuracy, the ideas embedded in speech can lead to hurtful or helpful, caring or hateful outcomes….Even here, I think Frank scores relatively high marks.  Yes, I ascribe to him some shreds of noble concern about the moral impact of his work. This may seem odd, given his callous and cynical stance toward his students. In this sector of his job, he is anything but moral or ethical. But in terms of his relationship with Rita, I do believe he genuinely does not want to crush her authentic “folk” spirit that would result from transforming her into a preppy clone. He is blind to his own jaded selfishness regarding his perspective, and cannot see how his “Habit of Mind” is in serious need of wardrobe change. Still, when judging him from within his own value system, isn’t he taking a principled stance? (c) Truthfulness. Truthfulness has to do with the motivations of the speaker. Does the speaker have his own or the listener’s best interests at heart? Does the speaker wish to direct or free the listener to direct herself? Here is Frank’s great downfall. He is riddled with ulterior motives from the get-go: first, a lazy, self-absorbed stupor to avoid work; then a paternalistic need to impress her with his authority, and finally his romantic interest. In each phase, these motives permeate his attempts at dialogue and cloud the purposes of his tutorial. As Rita grows toward independence, his motives are exposed. His cruel criticisms of Rita about how her new voice was “shrill”, about how he had created a “Frankenstein”. In real life this mean-spirited and non-truthful speech would likely have destroyed someone even as courageous and talented as Rita. And wouldn’t she have found out about the shallownesses of literary communities eventually? She didn’t need Frank’s jealous smears for that; Trish’s suicide attempt worked quite well in this regard, thank you very much.

Thank you, all who provided mid-course feedback. It serves as a reality-check, and also as a barometer for how the class is coping with and moving through the course. From the 5 feedback forms submitted, it appears that: (a) most of you like or at least tolerate the blogging — only 1 person said he-or-she “hated blogging, but appreciated the reflective process;” (b) most feel the workload is a bit heavy; (c) 3 felt that one or more of the assignments could have been a little better explained, and (d) 2 would have liked me to provide more clarity about my expectations for the assignments. In addition, the following three suggestions were very helpful: (a) the use of small groups is good, but, regarding paper 3, add more structure to help students support each other. (b) When presenting new material, have students work with the material on their own before presenting the theories of others. (c) Have students make formal presentations using the learning theories.

I will take all of your ideas to heart. For starters, I will attempt to provide some structure for this week’s Writer’s Workshop. Also, in the remaining classes, I will think about ways to engage you in inductive experiences before presenting theories (although, you will have read about them in advance). I will also think about creating a small group student presentation assignment for next semester. For those that require more guidance for either of the remaining assignments, I urge you to bring up any questions you have—regardless of how fuzzy or technical, or whatever…And, as far as the work load is concerned—take heart! Other than a few brief World Within reflections and the blogging, the only major project you have left is Project 3! (Does that help?)