A New Year; A New Course

It's been a while since I last wrote, as so much happened this fall. Research about program planning went right to the back burner. Perhaps I'll have a chance to revive some of those thoughts and discussions during 2011.

My program planning work is currently most intriguing for the literacy program in the housing developments. I'm finding that I'm bumping up against major and significant power issues, not in the conventional sense, in that everyone working on the project is very much on board and supportive to the degree that they can be, but in a very subtle sense, in that community-based literacy for people living in poverty (especially moms living in poverty) isn't given nearly the resources it needs. It is assumed that regular funding will do, but that's a gross underestimation of what's required. A type of David and Goliath story. Tiny funding vs huge need. We are told it's because of the difficult economic times, and yet far greater monies are spent on other things. Why those and not this? Because we're dealing with marginalized people who don't vote and won't complain?

And so, program planning becomes political in that the focus is not only on helping these women learn to read and become confident in making whatever changes the want/can in their lives, but in that we need to fight for the very life of the programming, which can make such an impact on the lives of the students, their children and their community. Wouldn't it be nice to break the cycle of low literacy?

Hence, the program has taken a decided turn in the direction of trying to make it more difficult for funders to reduce the funding. We probably can't get the funding increased to what's actually needed, but we can't afford to lose even one dime. So we're chosing projects and approaches that will (hopefully) move the program into the media's eye. At the same time, we're helping the students to find their voice, and challenging some of the systemic assumptions that have led to their being under-resourced in the first place. The hope is that by moving these programs ... and their students ... into the light, we'll be able to get enough funding for the program to do its real job: helping people learn to read, write, learn, try new things, venture forth, and generally be productive parents and citizens.

The approach I want to take is one of "situated literacy", of drawing on people's lives to determine the learning that is needed to cope - not with MY kind of life - but with THEIR lives. In order to do that, we need to be prepared to listen to the students and their needs, to look at their community and their environment, and to be realistic about what can be accomplished with all the available resources: people, time, money, energy, hope. It should be an interesting year.