My general response to
the material and coursework required for this class is very positive. To be
more specific, I found the reading and classroom practices engaging and
informative. The fieldwork assignment
was an excellent complement to both the surveyed literature and classroom
practices in that my perspective, informed by the classwork, underwent a shift in
the field. I was able to better understand what the teacher was doing in the
Worker Center because I had exposure to the literacy theories and practices
that he implemented in the classroom. In addition, I got to practice
ethnographic writing -- a type of writing I rarely do.
I found it challenging and extremely
satisfying to attempt to capture ongoing events through on-site observation and
writing. And, then to produce a more formal document based on notes,
interviews, reflection back on my observations and field notes, and supplemented
with critical theory provided by classroom documents. I have rarely been as much a participant in
my own writing. I am used to writing on all manner of things, but I am unaccustomed
to being able to insert my own research into a document produced for school.
Not a literacy narrative or analysis in which I provide perspective, but a
research paper for which I have provided part of the information to be
analyzed. It was an extremely satisfying experience and an experience I plan to
duplicate in the not too distant future.
I enjoyed participating in the class
presentations and learning from my peers all of the really good work going on
in adult education. It’s heartening to know that there are so many people
giving their best effort toward goals related to social justice and the balance
of inequalities that often begin in, and are reinforced by, the very field in
which I’ve chosen to work: education.
I was especially pleased with the large
part of the class dedicated to worker education and the educational opportunities
that labor unions provide for their members. It was through those very avenues
that many members of my own family got the education they would never have been
able to pay for, who went on to instill the value of education and provide it
for their own children. I’ll never forget my grandfather, Henry, saying
something like…you can lose everything, or have it taken from you, everything
except what you have learned…what you know. That’s true, I think. And, it’s
good to know that there’s a lot that can’t be taken from me or lost.
If I were asked to define humanity’s
purpose, I would say that our purpose is to serve our fellow beings in the best
way we can. Success for me isn’t related to material things, or to divine
beings, it’s being able to offer help to another person. It doesn’t really need
to be on a large scale for me…My father taught in really tough high schools
where failure rates were high, people were poor, life was violent, and often short.
He used to say…it’s about making a kid happy for one minute in a day that they
wouldn’t have otherwise been happy…one minute…one person…or longer…or more….it’s
all success to me.
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