Strategies for Helping Women Overcome
Barriers to Learning Caused by Violence
Book Review
by Harriet Vardiman Smith
Horsman, J. (1999). Too Scared to Learn: Women,
Violence and Education.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McGilligan Books. 392 pp., $24.95
Morrish, E., Horsman, J., and Hofer, J. (2002). Take
on the Challenge: A Source Book from the Women, Violence, and Adult
Education Project.
Boston, MA: World Education. 208 pp., $18.00
Both of the books described in this review are available for checkout
by mail from the Clearinghouse Library.
In Too Scared to Learn: Women, Violence and Education, Jenny Horsman
re-examines learning from the perspective of the prevalence and impacts
of violence in women’s lives. Based on research with literacy learners,
instructors, and practicing therapists,
Too Scared to Learn brings together a variety of disciplines and perspectives
to inspire new approaches to teaching and learning. On the book jacket
notes, Elsa Auerbach of University of Massachusetts at Boston calls the
book “a groundbreaking study that brings a critical issue for adult
educators out of the closet. Trauma and violence have been invisible
elephants in adult education classes — Jenny Horsman is a pioneer
in raising awareness about their pervasiveness in learners’ lives,
their consequences for learning, and the implications for teaching.”
Debra Coe, Even Start Evaluator and former Austin-area adult literacy
program administrator, said this about her reading of Too
Scared to Learn: “When
I was teaching women receiving TANF in ABE/ASE classes, I was constantly
shocked and amazed by the tremendous amount of violence my students experienced
both in their pasts and in the present. Jenny Horseman’s book
helped me to understand the psychological impact that violence had on
these women’s ability to learn. It spoke not only of the negative
aspects but also of the courage and resiliency these women possessed.
Too Scared to Learn helped sensitize me to a reality that was very different
from my own and enabled me to empathize and better connect with my students.” (personal
communication, October 2006).
Horsman and others in the Women, Violence, and Adult Education (WVAE)
Project were funded by the US Department of Education, Women’s
Educational Equity Act Program to study and develop practices to address
the impact of violence on women’s learning in their New England
adult basic education classrooms. Take on the Challenge:
A Source Book from the Women, Violence, and Adult Education Project is
the result of that project. This resource for educators and activists
interested in anti-violence work provides an analysis of the effects
of violence and a practical collection of ideas and activities, with
examples from teachers working in GED,
native language literacy, ABE, ESOL,
welfare-to-work, corrections, and shelter settings. Based on the foundation
of Jenny Horsman’s
research, educators in the project successfully changed their curriculum
and learning environment to address impacts of violence on learning.
Practitioners focused on well-being and incorporated counseling and creative
arts into the classroom. Each chapter includes a general introduction,
tools for programs, and teachers’ writings about the changes they
made. In addition to book form, Take on the Challenge can also be downloaded
from the publications page of the World
Education website.
The following is an excerpt of content from Too
Scared to Learn, as
it later appeared in the form of a teacher handout in Take on the Challenge
(pp. 25-26).
Too Scared to Learn: Impacts of
Violence on Learning
Hidden Impacts of Trauma
All or nothing — There is no middle ground. Students
may move from trusting someone completely to having no trust in them
at all, from thinking they’re doing brilliantly to seeing themselves
as failing. Some learners start with great enthusiasm, then quit
when they are faced with the day-to-day slog.
Presence — It is hard to stay present enough to learn, especially
if learning is stressful. For example, if the classroom doesn’t
feel safe, or something (e.g., a smell, a sound, a sight, a physical
sensation) reminds a student of a time when they were not safe, they
may “space out” or “leave”.
Living with crises — Crises may distract and make it hard
to be present and learn. If crises are what is familiar, then calm
may be hard to cope with.
Trust and boundaries — If people who should have been trustworthy
weren’t, then a person’s energy may go towards figuring
out who to trust and what secrets to trust them with.
Telling — When students are asked to write or talk about their
lives they are always deciding how much to tell. They may be ashamed
of telling the truth about themselves.
Experiences of violence can take our energy away from learning;
hiding the problems may take even more energy.
The Whole Person
The whole person is affected by violence. Many feel fragmented,
disconnected from the self, and unable to learn.
Spirit — Violence convinces many that they are worthless,
that they are nothing and nobody.
Emotions — Fear or panic lead many to close down. Sadness
may lead to anger to avoid feeling.
Body — Violence may cause injuries or illnesses to be absorbed
in the body.
Mind — When learners have been told repeatedly that they are
stupid, they may internalize this message. Supports — Where
educators and programs see the aftermath of violence as separate
from education, students may have no access to or information about
supports such as counselors, or other culturally appropriate resources,
to assist in addressing issues and focusing on the desired learning. This issue is of particular concern in literacy programs that serve
immigrant learners, according to Janet Isserlis (2000). “Minimizing violent
behavior (e.g., convincing a woman that violence is criminal only if
it occurs in public, or that a man is allowed to physically punish her
because of male privilege; or blaming her for the violence because she
did not obey him) is also common among batterers both within and beyond
immigrant communities. Batterers strive to isolate their victims. For
immigrant or refugee women, this isolation is exacerbated by language
and culture differences that make finding safe options all the more daunting.” (p.
1). As to how this impacts learners’ participation in the classroom,
Isserlis explains, “For English language learners who have faced
loss of one sort or another (status, employment, family members, or homeland),
being able to view the classroom as a safe and predictable place is key
to building community among and safety for learners and practitioners.” (p.
2). Implications extend to state policy as well. “State plans for
adult education might support development of ancillary services for learners
attending classes for whom violence is a factor in learning. This, coupled
with teachers’ understanding of the effects of trauma on learning,
should help to make the classroom a safe place and learning more possible
for adult language learners” (p. 3).
Jenny Horsman invites interested individuals to visit the new Learning
and Violence Website to learn about who is doing research or creating
innovative practice to understand and address this issue. The site features
a forum where members can post questions, comments, input, experience
and ideas about learning and violence. www.learningandviolence.net
Reference
Isserlis, J. (2000). Trauma and the Adult English Language Learner:
ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED444397).
  
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