Support Factors

In order to succeed at any task, one must first believe that it is possible. The road to learning begins with the gift of belief. This gift can take the form of support from family and friends, internal fortitude reinforced by faith in God, and empowerment offered by teachers and tutors. In addition to motivating participants to enroll in adult education, many participants’ mothers, spouses, siblings, and relatives have helped share the burdens inherent when a family member puts aside time for class work and homework. Eva admits that “my husband pushed me and said I better get an education so in the future, I can get a better job. I am happy to be able to read and write.”

Yetta’s family supported her decision to return to school by helping out around the house, thus allowing her the time she needed to study. Sophia admits that she could not have handled a job, school, and her children on her own and confesses, “My mother watched my children while I did all these things. If I didn’t have my mother, I don’t think I would have been able to do it.”

About three months after Conrad began his tutoring, he summoned up the courage to tell his daughters that he had been going out evenings in order to learn to read.

They thought it was really great. There were times I could go home and I wouldn’t do my homework until the night before I had to go to class; so they would come home one night and put their books back on the counter. They would say, ‘okay, dad, you’re not doing your homework; we’re not doing ours’… This felt so strange to tell me that I have to do my homework. We were able to sit down at the table and they were able to help me with it. Even my wife was able to help me with it. Then, if I was learning something I was really excited about, I would say, ‘Did you guys learn this when you were in school?’ It was fun. We made a little game of it in a way.

Paula, who is 57, explains the importance of family help and her pride in new accomplishments: “Working and going to school is hard. I do get help at home. I just started working on a computer and I love it. My family helps me learn it. I get a lot of good response. I feel good when I get it. I feel like each time I grow an inch.”

Isobel knows the importance of “the encouragement of family and friends, which I do have. The Salvation Army has said that when they purchase the new computers that they will give me one of the old ones so I can practice on it. They told me that they were all ready to blow up so that if I blew one up, it wouldn’t be a disaster.”

Fifty-nine percent of participants are active in their churches and faith in God appears to support their educational endeavors as well as other aspects of their lives. Paula expresses her faith in a context similar to other participants when she says: “I just hope God lets me see 62 so I can put my all into going to school.” Kevin reinforces this acceptance of God as an ongoing and powerful force in life when he explains that he views success as a result of “good family, lots of backing from family and a good religious background.” Faith not only provides personal comfort but is shared as reassurance for others struggling under similar circumstances. Barbara reports encouraging a classmate with the words: “She said she can’t do it. I said just don’t give up. God was watching over you. Keep doing what you’re doing. Try to do what you can. If you can’t do it, you can’t do it.”