The Leadership Ladder

Beyond respect for students’ individual interest and needs, beyond establishing an environment that fosters teamwork, there is evidence that leadership qualities were encouraged and rewarded. Adult learners who showed leadership qualities were recruited as mentors and outreach workers while attending classes and as volunteer tutors and aides after completion of their studies. Some graduates who performed well in this role were taken on as paid staff and others who completed training courses or college were subsequently hired as teachers, tutors and counselors. These employment opportunities during program participation advanced leadership skills and encouraged interests in teaching and counseling. Furthermore, the availability of paid positions within the adult education organization or agency assisted program graduates to adjust to the world of work.

Benny not only helped his peers in class but took it upon himself to serve as a liaison between non-English speaking students and the community. If someone had a vision problem, he would locate the proper social service, call for an appointment and, if necessary, take the person there himself. Well- liked by students of all ethnic backgrounds, he was hired while still attending ESL classes to canvass the neighborhood, going door-to-door and visiting families to promote the importance of education and learning English.

Carolyn, who volunteered as a Head Start aide in exchange for free daycare while she was in ABE classes, so impressed the teachers at the center that they encouraged her to pursue a career with the Head Start program. Hired as a substitute, she worked her way up to associate teacher before opening a daycare center of her own at her church. Henry, a construction worker who became a community development coordinator later in life, recalls how his leadership skills emerged as part of his GED participation.

I wound up getting involved in every aspect of the school: working along with the principal, I became friends with everybody; I worked on different projects. I got involved in our graduation, worked with the computer people to make one of the nicest signs I had ever seen that was in our graduation and was all done through the computer. I guess I have always been sort of a project coordinator at heart all my life. I just took that on... I left with the intent that my life was going to be much better. I left with a better attitude.

The leadership ladder in place in many of the participants’ programs was not limited to mentoring, volunteer tutoring, and entry level employment. Recognizing the service to the community that Ed and his wife had given by being foster parents to over 20 children, his literacy council teamed up with a prestigious local university to offer him a scholarship to study for a bachelor’s degree in social work. Sophie also parlayed her adult education experience into an opportunity for advanced education. Working as a teacher’s aide at the same center where she obtained her GED, she was offered the opportunity to attend college classes through a Career Opportunities Center program.

Recognition of achievement and leadership can be a self-fulfilling prophesy. Adult learners honored as outstanding students say it provided an internal validation that encouraged them to exchange dreams for the pursuit of possibilities. Anna, who earned more than one scholarship on her way to a master’s degree, said of her recognition award:

I didn’t receive any monetary rewards and I didn’t receive any of the scholarships as a result of that, but I think I received some kind of internal high as acknowledgment when I got that award and it meant a lot because all my children were there with me when I received that award.