Read the book review by Freire and Molina (2018) and think about ways that their review impacts your thinking about adult education and social action. Complete an I.R.A to clarify your thoughts:
Insights: what are your insights after reading this review?
Resource: share a resource that supports your insights; this may be another reading, a video or an image.
Application: explain how you might apply your new insights in your own personal and into your own personal and professional practice as an adult educator.
Insights:
This course has opened my eyes to how educators are not embracing society’s marginalized populations. I include myself in that category. While researching this topic, it is clear to me how important and vital it is to re-examine and do some soul searching in my role as an educator in this mainstream adult education program. I must continue to examine how so much of the world has changed. I can no longer have such narrow views on marginalization and suppression of educational views and opportunities. I have always considered those on the periphery to reconfigure ‘their’ lives to align with the dominant social and structural norms and practices. Why are ‘they’ not the catalyst for change? I have always been proactive, so why can’t ‘they’ do the same? Selfish? Yes. I have always been one to ‘play by the rules’ and ‘do as I’m told.’ That started as a child and being disciplined by my father, and later my career in law enforcement has numbed me to the needs of prisoners, sex workers, and first nations.
Resource:
The resource supporting my insight is the research report titled Beyond Barriers: Maximizing Access to Learning for Marginalized Adults in the City of Edmonton dated October 23, 2009. The purpose of the project sponsored by the University of Alberta (Edmonton) was to assess the educational programming needs of low-income adult populations, looking particularly at educational gaps, trends, and barriers for accessing learning within the City of Edmonton. From a list of 132 community-based organizations agencies, 112 were contacted, including inner-city drop-in centres, pre-employment programs, immigrant and refugee-serving agencies, Aboriginal agencies, University extension services and institutional providers.
In this report, the context was to show how the adult education landscape had shrinking access to learning for adults who experience barriers, and adult education has abandoned its traditional educational goals such as social cohesion and equality. The educational context revealed Alberta’s learning systems are complex, fragmented, and incomplete, especially for marginalized learners. The focus has been on formal post-secondary education rather than on community-based organizations.
Application:
Marginalized adults need learning environments that will help them build additional learning capacities. Participants need to restart their learning journey, including small encouraging mentoring communities that rebuild confidence and hope. Funders and providers have to recognize the broad range of adult learning beyond employment learning. Examples include citizenship participation, Aboriginal autonomy, basic education, literacy, women’s learning centers, and personal interest learning. While widening the circle of pedagogical practices, it is essential to include holistic learning, community building, critical reflection, peer learning, field experiences and job shadowing.
It is important to know that marginalized learners require small, nurturing environments where they are personally known, the complexity of their lives are understood, and where one on one assistance, moral support, counselling and mentoring is provided.
After reading the book review Disrupting Adult and Community Education: Teaching, learning, and Working in the Periphery by Freire and Molina (2018), should I invest $128 in Amazon and read the book? Is the answer yes just because Freire and Molina suggest the book is a “must-have” for those working with marginalized populations or working in adult research. Do I want to feel the discomfort as it disrupts my preconceived notions of what it means to practice adult and community education? My pedagogy of learning is comfortable, but life is not always comfortable.
Laurie
References
Chovanec, D. & Lange, E. (2009). Beyond barriers: Maximizing access to learning for marginalized adults in the city of Edmonton. Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta.
Freire, C. J., & Molina, N. (2018). Disrupting adult and community education: Teaching, learning, and working in the periphery. New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource Development, 30(3), 72–74. https://search-ebscohost- com.libraryservices.yorkvilleu.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=url,cookie,ip,uid&db=ehh&AN=131108837
Good morning Steven.
Thank you for introducing me to Tim Wise and his YouTube video. I had no idea what white privilege was or how involved it is until this course. I found the comments on YouTube from other viewers interesting, enlightening, and disturbing. Some viewers’ opinions are explicit denials that seem to continue to protect white male privilege from being acknowledged, lessened or ended. This just continues to defend it.
I viewed the YouTube video from Peggy McIntosh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRnoddGTMTY. Her view is that whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege like they are taught not to recognize male privilege. Dr. McIntosh views white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that she can count on using every day. Examples like renting and purchasing an apartment or house, getting a mortgage, driving without being stopped by the police, and buying bandages that match her flesh colour.
I am fortunate to be on two volunteer boards – BrainTrust Canada and the Brain Injury Alliance of BC. The not for profits meet the needs of people affected by acquired brain injury by providing evidence-based approaches to provide brain injury prevention and education, rehabilitation services, and client advocacy.
I love the advocacy part. I can certainly see the application and how I can incorporate the knowledge of marginalized groups. That may be a good idea for my capstone paper. Thank you for planting that seed.
Laurie
On Task Teaching 