Response to Video

Funding for K-12 education is significantly larger than it is for adult education. This a tremendous issue, as adult programs and colleges are seeing a high influx of non-traditional students. Many of these students are choosing to initiate their college experience in community colleges for financial reasons, open access and for the variety of programs that are provided. The diverse motives of students parallels their incentives (family, stability, self-improvement) for attaining an education. Roughly half of community college students work full time and one-third of them have families. They are juggling a number of responsibilities that are uncommon for more traditional students. What does this mean for adult education? Community colleges respond to the demands of non-traditional students. By offering classes in the evening and tuition at a fraction of what other universities charge, students have more access to a college education. However, despite their growing population, community colleges are suffering from financial cuts. The lack of resources impacts several of the colleges programs including counseling (in the video we saw that the ratio can sometimes be 1500 students to 1 counselor) and remedial classes, which many students have to take.
Perhaps one of the greatest contributions that community colleges afford, are vocational and skill based classes. These classes prepare students in a number of areas in job training, raising their employment prospects.

I began my post-secondary education at a community college. Like many students, I was unsure of what career path I wanted to embark on. The other more formidable colleges appeared beyond my grasp. My impetus for advancing in my education is similar to the many students entering community colleges, I wanted to create a better future for myself. A non-traditional student, I was able to work though my busy schedule and attend classes, which was in great part due to the flexibility of the community college I attended.
Legislative officials should be aware of how powerful community colleges are for communities and on a larger scale, the United States. Higher education results in working individuals who pay taxes. By limiting resources to these institutions they are not only enforcing the denigrated view some have of community colleges, they are also restricting the sole avenue of education some individuals can afford. Something must be done.

Response to Wynne's Presentation

There are a number of reasons as to why students opt out of a high school education. Poverty, academic barriers and lack of engagement are just a few that were touched upon in Wynne's presentation. These reasons are cause enough for 39 million people in the United States to not have a high school diploma. There are however, a number of programs that allow individuals to attain a high school equivalency certificate. This was typically acquired through GED prep but has recently been changed to the TASC exam. The TASC exam is modeled after the common core which has been instituted in schools K-12. The common core focuses on a more critical and analytical learning approach. It requires students to deepen their content knowledge of the five disciplines.
The significance of a high school diploma or equivalent is reflected in life earnings. There are direct economic benefits to advancing in education. The workforce which is evolving from unskilled to skilled workers requires more trained employees. This is precisely why attaining a high school equivalent is crucial in the long-term success of individuals.

Can teachers in high schools help those students who are at the brink of dropping out? In a high school in Florida a group of teachers and staff tackle that exact issue. By pinpointing the students with faltering grades, teachers meet to discuss the student's issues and the methods in which they can better reach out to them. Acknowledging that external factors influence learning, the teachers enter a larger scope of awareness. Such programs highlight the preventive measure schools can take to address the growing number of students that are not completing high school.

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/08/300587823/putting-student-data-to-the-test-to-identify-struggling-kids

Chapter 4 - Ways With Words

For our discussion we delved into Chapter 4 of Ways With Words. This chapter gave us a glimpse of how the children of Roadville acquire language. Family and community play a significant role in the initial stages of language development as parents are expected to consistently expose children to new words that relate to their environment. Over time the language becomes more specific and children are corrected on proper usage.
In Roadville, religion is the basis for how parents discipline and teach children the "right" ways to behave and learn. Memorization of bible verses and religious songs are used to measure children's knowledge. This can be somewhat misleading, since it does not demonstrate comprehension but can be useful down the line in grade school.
For the citizens of Roadville language reinforces the traditional values within the community, values that initiate even prior to the birth of the child.

QUOTES

Family

“Roadville parents see themselves as responsible for “training” their preschool children, and they plan ways and means to provide what they regard as appropriate experiences before their children go to school.” (pg. 145) 

“For Roadville parents, there is no substitute for their role; children need parents to train them. Extended family and trusted friends may reinforce the teachings of parents, but the critical functions rest with parents.” (pg. 146)

Religion

“The rightness of their behaviors and beliefs is, in their minds, in line with their religious teachings and the precepts of the Bible.” (pg. 139)

“These memorizing tasks are graded in difficulty, so that the youngest children learn the names of Bible characters, words of songs such as “Jesus loves me”, and move on to short verses, books of the Bible, short passages, and whole chapters or psalms by the time they reach junior high age.” (pg. 140)

“For many of the practices and precepts the church holds for language, a parallel ideal is expressed by parents. The church insists on verbatim performance as a prime way of showing off knowledge; parents demand verbatim performance from their children at home as a way of showing their learning.” (pgs. 143-144)

Society

“Children who are too young to engage in cooperative play are often put together in playpens, and there they babble and monologue to themselves in parallel play. Their mothers often intervene and try to get the two children to talk to each other, for example, to talk about the sharing of a toy rather than to squeal and tug.” (pg. 124)

“They have learned to use language to acquire the knowledge their community has judged they should know at their age and they have learned appropriate ways of expressing that knowledge.” (pg. 145) – Trackton and Roadville

*Right

“Children come to know they must be careful about following directions on the links between words and behavior; if they “say it right,” they show they’ve “got it right,” and they themselves are, in turn, “right.” (pg. 144)

Other Concepts

         traditional baby shower - representing the community values

        baby talk to relay instructions and advice to new mothers - secondary message

  word association that connects to their environment; applying a learned word  to relatable objects (pg. 122)

        word and sentence expansion - guided and controlled by adult (pg.124)

        questions as directives to discipline

         everything in its place - spaces having purpose (pg. 137)

       memorization skills to demonstrate knowledge

             expectations of language reinforce values (pg. 144)

Discussion Questions

1)  What is a parent’s role in the early stages of learning?

2)  What is the place of religion in learning? And how does it help or hinder learning and literacy?

3)  How does each community’s independent use of language affect their children?

Response to Spirituality and Adult Learning

After reading this chapter I can certainly see the connection between academic learning and spirituality. As Tisdell explains, spirituality is an individual process that, yes can be part of a larger religious ideology, but doest not necessarily have to be tied to any particular denomination. Spirituality in this case is striving towards wholeness.
Similar to transformative learning, spirituality allows for the reframing of ideas and promotes critical reflection. Often this transformation results in the learner drawing upon past experiences even questioning prior beliefs. Additionally, this process creates the sense of the interconnectedness of things - parallel to the planetary view of transformative learning - and may impact how the learner views the world on a grander scope. No longer will it be just an individual transformation but one of action to eradicate the conditions that have oppressed them.
When it comes to adult learning I consider spirituality to be influential on a case by case basis, as all students are diverse. Learning involves critical analysis with existing knowledge as the foundation that students expand upon. This knowledge may be closely linked to spirituality which may affect learning. Understanding the role of spirituality in education grants the opportunity for instructors to connect to their students on a more profound level.

Response To English and Creole

Language is a reflection of identity. It is the means in which cultures and members of societies communicate and connect. When students aren't able to draw on their native language or are forced to disregard it's use in an academic setting, limited learning and retention may result. Perhaps the language is perceived as "low in prestige" creating negative views of those who use it. But how do these sociolinguistic norms silence students?
Since language is tightly linked to identity then it's acceptance is therefore the tacit acceptance of the student. For adults entering college classrooms this is a significant issue in the manner in which they learn. As the article depicts, often students can produce grammatically correct writing but that may be devoid of sentiment, their own voice considerably hampered. Adult Biliteracy (last semester's assigned reading) touches on the positive effects of introducing biliteracy into classroom curriculum. Students who are biliterate can process text on two platforms which enhances their ability to understand the materials that are being covered. Although, there is a negative notion that the utilization of the native language - Creole being the language discussed in the article - will impede in learning a second language -  in this case English - the experimental curriculum employed at the College of the Virgin Islands proves otherwise. 
As instructors design their curriculum they should take into account the cultural implications of langauge as well as recognizing the students who will benefit most from adult biliteracy methods.

Response To Strangers No More

Perhaps what I enjoyed most about the article was the sense of collaboration between the women who were part of the experimental curriculum. They had all, in some form, dealt with the societal and cultural factors that demarcate the roles between men and women, in particularly those within a marriage. Having a relevant topic as the foundation for discussions and assignments, generated an interest that allowed for their linguistic growth.
Their group discussions prompted new ideas that connected to their lives within a social context, in similar fashion to Freire's work.
The instructor guided them through the process of transformative learning and presented them with challenging material that resulted in a more analytical approach for reasoning. This was evident in the evolution of their writing from succinct and personal to exceedingly more developed and concrete. They had become truly empowered through literacy. This empowerment led to a desire for change - there is Freire's theory coming to light again - and thus the "Open Letter to Bahamian Men" was created. The letter accentuated the womens concerns and struggles in relation to Bahamian mens disregard for continual loving and respectful behaviors within the marriage. It presented the effect these behaviors have on family structure and provides reccomendations for improvement.
The success of the curriculum highlights how beneficial shaping a curricuum that responds to student's lives can be.

Response to Lives On The Boundary (First few chapters)

Testing
Categorization of students based on test results has been the recurring factor in to what classes students are placed in. Mike Rose begins his book by addressing the accuracy of tests which overlook and fail to take in to account the different strengths of students. Reading the internal dialogue that students have regarding their academics, delineates the difficulty that many students face in their educational journey. There is a definite stigma that failing students are ill equipped and incapable of learning what is required of them. Their shortcomings are perceived as a blow to the American educational system and that somehow the literacy crisis is a "new" problem. As a result, standardized tests are implemented as well as curriculum that is designed around passing such exams. How is this system hindering students in their learning? And how limiting are these tests in terms of the content material that students are exposed to?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-houghton/square-pegs-in-round-holes_b_4277650.html

Disengaged Student
Mike Rose acknowledges his lack of motivation during his high school years and depicts the frustration that students undergo at being repeatedly shown material they have not mastered in their earlier years of schooling. Students create methods to get by and often reject the educational system altogether by refusing to participate. What inspiration do students have then to pursue a college education? Those who do are often thrown into a daunting pedagogical world that appears far beyond their reach. This dilemma is then left to the instructors who should incorporate methods and material that can engage students at their various levels. In his college experience Mike Rose was fortunate to come across professors that provided a range of literary material  - this is especially significant for references as attempting to comprehend college material may require preexisting knowledge of topics  - and who worked with him at perfecting his writing - he evolves in his writing adjusting sentence structure and phrasing. Through his personal account we are able to better understand the plight of students in their quest for an education.