Values, norms and culture

The coffee shop had two distinct learning areas: the front counter area and the kitchen, which seemed to generate different but equally valuable kinds of learning. In addition, it was in the coffee shop, and specifically the kitchen area, their daily lives. When students were working at the counter, they were interacting regularly with customers as they operated the cash register, and served coffee and baked goods. The kitchen jobs, on the other hand, were more isolated from customers. Although the jobs were quite different, students talked with equal enthusiasm about the meaningfulness of their learning while working at the counter and in the kitchen. All of the students enthusiastically shared stories about their newly acquired baking skills and the success they experienced when trying out these new skills at home. When talking about her children's reaction to her baking, Hannah said, "Oh they love it. They love it for snacks." Marion, Rouda, and Stacey agreed that they had all experienced the same positive reception at home when they tried out their new skills. Although all of the women were accustomed to preparing food for their families, they had never baked cakes, cookies, and muffins, and they had never used a recipe while preparing food in the past.

While the kitchen jobs were valued for the skills the students could use at home, the counter jobs were valued for the skills that could be used in the workplace. Hannah clearly made this distinction. Although learning to read recipes to bake and use the cash register were equally valuable to her, they were valued for different reasons. "The muffins, the cookies I learn because before I didn't know how to cook…also I cook for my children." Learning to use the cash register, on the other hand, has led her to think of herself as someone with a marketable skill. She explained,

Before, when I see some of my friends when they are working in the stores or doing something like that, I believe it is a hard job. But right now, I know I can do it like them. It makes me feel very nice because I believe it was something hard. I can't do it. But right now I know it's easy for me. I can do it.

Stacey valued her new skills working at the counter and serving customers. When she first entered the program, she chose to do jobs in the kitchen only, and was nervous about working at the counter where she would have to interact with customers. After Carrie encouraged her to work at the counter, this became her most valued learning experience in the coffee shop. "I never done that before…I surprise myself. Oh, I can do anything I want…" Like Stacey, Maritza also valued her newly learned customer–service skills. Before entering the program, she said she felt very nervous and shy around people. It was very difficult to initiate a conversation with someone she didn't know. She recalled her first day working at the counter, serving customers.