By engaging in a further conversation with teachers of other cultures, I believe I can begin to comprehend what it is that cultures determine to be factors that promote a greater sense of self and place. I am interested in traveling to other countries to find other models of wholistic education in adult literacy field. For example, in Canada, the Stardale Literacy Program recognizes that First Nations people need culture-specific tools for learning. They use the medicine wheel as the basis of their curricula because it contains their worldviews, values, and ways of life. They also recognize that many women in their program, like ours, reside in poverty and abusive situations. According to their vision statement, the women need to move “[t]oward empowering their lives, their families, and their communities, thus overcoming systemic barriers (McPhaden, 2000).”
Their mission is similar to ours in that they understand the need for women to honor themselves before embarking on their educational journeys. I believe collaboration with this agency and any other wholistic literacy program will lead to a greater understanding of how to support women in literacy.
Adult basic education programs are not usually granted money from funders or the Department of Education that is specifically designated for improvement of the learning environment. Because of this, the classrooms in these programs do not usually have the most updated technology, nicest furniture, and cleanest environments. Programs need to propose changes in the funding policies. They need to advocate for money that can be allocated for the improvement of the classrooms of adult literacy learners. By creating a sacred space for their learners, programs can show learners that they are “worthy of respect” and deserve a beautiful, safe, and comfortable environment in which to learn. At the workshops Char Caver and I present at literacy conferences regarding our work with the Women, Violence, and Adult Education project, we often talk about this issue of creating a sacred space for the women in our program. We tell other programs about the grant we received from World Education and our decision to dedicate the bulk of the money to redesigning the classrooms. We also share our ongoing and struggles of the maintenance of the space. We reveal the constant challenge with control of the space that we have created for our students. However, our goal is to show that we value the women in our program and we strive to care for the space to the best of our ability. By sharing this idea with other programs, we hope that they will be inspired to find creative ways of improving their learning spaces. We wish that these programs also show learners that they are worthy of the time and effort it takes to prepare a beautiful space.