The Critical and Creative Thinking program has really inspired me to continue the work I have explored in this synthesis project. Understanding and analyzing the inner and outer sacred spaces of our learners and our physical environment is process work. Since individuals have different backgrounds, experiences, awareness of sense of self, and learning styles, we need to offer various methods for learners to engage in self-reflection. This process work regularly needs to be revisited and evaluated to best serve the needs of the women. Through this project, I also recognized that I cannot do this work alone. As we learned in the Women, Violence, and Adult Education project, practitioners should not try to tackle the work alone. I have enjoyed sharing knowledge and insight of creating inner and outer sacred space with my coworkers and other adult literacy practitioners. We need to analyze the multitude of ways to create sacred space. By discussing this work with others, I have been able to “tease out” the theories of how to help women gain a sense of self and place.
I cannot overlook the effect that this work has had on my own personal growth. In identifying what teaching strategies we use to help women find “meaning” to their lives and create a greater sense of self and place, I have found that I have gained a deeper awareness of my own self. I also recognize the relationship between the self and belonging to a community. As we tell the women that a certain level of self-love and self-acceptance must come before the love and acceptance of others, I also realize how this growth needs to continue in my own life.