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Equipping Adult Learners For The World Of Work
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Project IDEA Corner
Workforce Literacy in a Homeless Shelter
By
Jane Huntington
Harris County Department of Education
Putting a Face
on the Homeless
Maria came to class at Footprints in the Sand, the homeless shelter/transitional
living center where she lives, forty-five minutes late. She was carrying
her usual breakfast of a donut and a cola. Leaning against the doorway,
she asked plaintively, "Miss Jane, do really have to be here?" She
had just gotten her five young children off to school, gave her abusive
husband money to take the bus to look for a job and had to somehow get
to an appointment with her Food Stamps worker that afternoon. Maria is
an intelligent woman who quit school in the seventh grade because she
was pregnant. She and her family have been in and out of Footprints in
the Sand four times in the past two years due to infractions of various
shelter rules. Maria wants a better life for herself and her children,
but she gets overwhelmed at the daily round of tasks she faces. Sometimes
she retreats to her bedroom and spends the day watching TV because, "I
just don't know where to start".
Facing the Challenge
People who experience homelessness do so for a variety of reasons. Some
of them have made poor life choices, some are involved with alcohol
or drugs, and some are part of the system of generational poverty
in which poor life skills are handed down from one generation to
the next, resulting in an entire culture of people who do not know
how to take advantage of the educational, cultural or employment
advantages available to them. Some of the homeless are also those
who may have had some education, a job and a place to live, but without
a "safety net" of family or friends to help them through
a difficult time, found themselves evicted from their apartment after
they lost their job or had a financial crisis. The challenge for
adult educators with such students is to try to match what we offer
them with what they can do and with who they are. What kind of educational
program works with women who are already stressed and discouraged
about being homeless and who have few job skills and little education?
The answer to this question came for me, in part, when I became a
Project IDEA teacher in 1998.
Project Description
I had been working at Footprints for about two years when I attended
the first Teacher Action Research (TAR) meeting. I realized that
some of what I had been doing already was project-based learning!
At that meeting, I learned that identifying a problem, choosing a
project, doing research to prepare for the project and coming up
with a final product were the key components. Identifying a problem
for us was the easy part! The women needed money. It was as simple
and as difficult as that. We decided to do a craft project in which
they could earn some money. The final product would be their craft
and a project log in which they documented what they had done for
possible use by other homeless shelters.
What happened in the course of our initial project continues
to amaze both my students and myself. Largely due to the skill and
dedication of our craft teacher, Esther Galindo, the first products,
Christmas bears, were so well made that the demand for them exceeded
our ability to supply! We sold thirty bears that first year. In January,
we brainstormed about what had been the strengths and weaknesses of
our initial project. The women identified lack of childcare and not
enough time as problem areas. They devised a childcare co-op in which
each woman worked with me to plan the day's activities for the children.
We also worked hard to develop a production schedule. They divided
into teams based upon individual interests and abilities, with some
concentrating on sewing and some on computer production of a brochure
and project log. With their second craft, Easter rabbits, they were
able to produce a much more difficult-to-make craft more efficiently
and made twice as much money as they had at Christmas. We had to keep
track of expenses and profits, make a time line and calculate what
each woman's earnings would be based on the amount of time she spent
on the project.
By this time, the women seemed to see that what they
were doing was significant. They worked with a professional writer
for several sessions to produce text for a brochure to accompany their
crafts. The learned Power Point and produced a presentation about their
project to show to others in the homeless community. This year the
women made and sold 93 Christmas bears and are currently producing
more Easter rabbits than last year. They are also learning a spreadsheet
program (and more math to go with it) so that they can transfer project
data into that format. This summer they will update both the brochure
and Project Log, incorporating the spreadsheet information into them.
Workforce Literacy-Learner
as Worker/Citizen
Learning to use a sewing machine and workplace vocabulary and acquiring
computer skills have been easy for these students, compared to the challenges
of learning to work as a team, to communicate effectively and to follow
through on their goals. It became clear that one of their greatest barriers
to becoming successful members of the workforce was learning the soft
skills it takes to keep a job, once you get one. To address some of these
issues, we began to have bimonthly business meetings. I made up an agenda,
using new vocabulary such as agenda, quality control, etc. We would sit
at these meetings, dictionaries in hand, and often before we could discuss
an agenda item, we would have to look up the definition! I had vocabulary
lists for the ESL students, which covered sewing, computer, and business
terms.
EFF at Footprints
When I did my final report for Project IDEA, I used the thirteen common
activities provided in Equipped for the Future (EFF) as a framework.
I was frankly amazed at how well they fit. In further evaluation,
we realized that the four core knowledge and skills areas were applicable
as well.
- Access: We talked about how to price our products,
who would buy them, what needed to go into a brochure and Power Point
presentation to help to promote our product. To answer these questions,
we looked at some business plans and had discussions about what it
would take to make our project into an on-going enterprise.
- Voice: When we first began in 1999, the women
had no concept of the meaning of their project beyond making a little
money for themselves. By the end of the second product at Easter,
2000, they were able to compose text for the brochure and Power Point
presentation that put their project in terms of "the big picture",
i.e. talking about the significance of it for the larger community.
It is significant that the women decided to write thank-you notes
to their first customers which they composed and produced on the
computer. The notes were signed, "From the Ladies of Footprints
in the Sand." They were identifying themselves not as homeless
women or welfare moms, but as those who had produced a product people
had bought -- as effective members of the community.
This year the Christmas bears went to several cities
in Texas, as well as to New York, Virginia, and England. A homeless
program in El Paso is now using our rabbit pattern to do a similar
project The Power Point presentation has been shared at a state education
meeting and at the national meeting of Women in Communication. The
families at Footprints are currently working on a show for public access
television in which they will share stories about their lives at Footprints
and their craft business. They now believe that they can communicate
in such a way that their message is understood by others.
- Independent Action: Decision making and goal
setting were big parts of our project. The women had to decide how
many bears or rabbits to make, to set production goals for each week,
and to establish a final sales deadline. They brainstormed about
more effective use of each one's individual talents, coming up with
dividing into teams of craft production and computer production,
based on individual skills and interest. They had to do a lot of
problem solving around the issues of childcare, attendance, punctuality
and how to best divide their profits! This year, we received one
of nine grants given nationally by Laubach Literacy/Women in Literacy
which enabled us to buy new sewing machines, computer software, child
development materials and hire a part-time technology teacher. The
women helped me to decide what to include on the grant application,
based on what they perceived to be the needs of their enterprise
and how they want it to develop in the future.
- Bridge to the Future: Two of the women have
begun to make and sell bears and rabbits on their own at local flea
markets. They have all gained in the area of technology, both with
computers and using a sewing machine to produce their crafts. At
the end of one of meetings early this year, Maria asked me a question
which I could not have scripted better myself to illustrate her growth
in learning. She said, "Hey, Miss Jane, you remember you told
me about that school (HCDE's Irvington Learning Center) where I can
go five days and week and get my GED? I think I'm ready to try that.
I want to learn computers and be able to support me and my kids.
I'm gonna do it!" She no longer asks, "Do I really have
to be here?" She comes to class every day on time. She was the
highest producer on her assembly team. And it is her skill with the
graphics program which brightens both the brochure and project log.
When I asked Maria if she would be willing to come with me to present
their Power Point presentation to HCDE staff and students she immediately
said, "Yes, just give me time to get something decent to wear.
What I Learned
The most important thing I learned was to remember to see each student
as the individual they are - not as "homeless" or as a "single
parent." I also learned to invite collaboration so that my students
could benefit from the gifts and talents of others. I learned that
it's O.K. for me as the teacher not to always be the expert. I learned,
along with my students, how to make the crafts, how to set up a micro
enterprise, and I sat with them in class as others taught us how
to use the various computer programs.
Benefits to the Workplace
Employers are looking for people who can function as team members, communicate
effectively and be reliable, responsible employees. The women grew
in these skills because of the intrinsic motivation they had to see
their own project succeed. They saw that if someone came late or
not at all, production for that day was diminished. They learned
that if they didn't communicate their ideas in a way that others
could receive, they would not be heard. They learned that profit
is related to production, that they had to meet the production goals
they set or make less money. They learned that if they didn't cooperate
in providing childcare the children would suffer and so would that
days' productivity. In other words, they "learned by doing" the
skills for which employers are looking. They now have some experience,
some vocabulary, some knowledge of the world of work which they can
take with them from the shelter out into the wider world to become
self-sufficient members of society.
About the Author
Jane Huntington is a counselor/teacher for Harris County
Department of Education in Houston. She has worked with the homeless
for the past three years, teaching literacy classes, counseling and
developing programs of family services. She also teaches an ESL I class
and does BEST training. The current love of her life is her first grandson,
born just two months ago.
[Author's Note: The start-up money for this project was
a $1,000 "Making a Difference in the Lives of Families" award
received from Practical Parent Education.]
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Do
YOU want to know more
about Project IDEA? If so, contact:
Barbara Baird, Project
Director
(915) 831-4777
e-mail: barbarab@epcc.edu
or Rebecca Davis, Project
Coordinator
(361) 592-4735
e-mail: rebecca.davis@tamuk.edu
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EFF Worker Role
Map
Effective workers
adapt to change and actively participate in meeting the demands
of a changing workplace in a changing world.
BROAD
AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
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Do the Work
Workers use personal and organizational resources to perform their work
and adapt to changing work demands.
Key activities:
- Organize, plan, and prioritize work
- Use technology, resources, and other work
tools to put ideas and work directions into action.
- Respond to and meet new work challenges.
- Take responsibility for assuring work quality,
safety, and results.
Plan and Direct Personal
and
Professional Growth
Workers prepare themselves for the changing
demands of the economy through personal renewal and growth.
Key Activities:
- Balance and support work, career, and personal
needs.
- Pursue work activities that provide personal
satisfaction and meaning.
- Plan, renew, and pursue personal and career
goals.
- Learn new skills.
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Work With Others
Workers interact one-on-one and participate as members of a team
to meet job requirements.
Key Activities:
- Communicate with others inside and outside
the organization.
- Give assistance, motivation, and direction.
- Seek and receive assistance, support, motivation,
and direction.
- Value people different from yourself.
Work Within the Big Picture
Workers recognize that formal and informal
expectations shape options in their work lives and often
influence their level of success.
Key Activities:
- Work within organizational norms.
- Respect organizational goals, performance,
and structure to guide work activities.
- Balance individual roles and needs with
those of the organization.
- Guide individual and organizational priorities
based on industry trends, labor laws/contracts, and competitive
practices.
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| [Source: Page 11
of Equipped for the Future Content Standards: What Adults Need
to Know and Be Able to Do in the 21st Century published by the
National Institute for Literacy (NIFL). For information
on how to receive a copy of this publication, e-mail the Adult
Literacy Clearinghouse at tcall@tamu.edu |
 
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