Introduction

In September 2002, I was hired as a coordinator for the Partnership Approach to Literacy (PAL) Project in Pincher Creek.²⁴ I joined the Violence and Learning: Taking Action (VALTA) Project in order to learn more about how violence affects learning and I hoped to pass on some information to our tutors. From a personal point of view I was fascinated with a project that spoke out about issues of violence as I had experienced violence in my marriage for eight years. It was interesting to think that something so negative could be studied and perhaps turned into a positive.

I have learned, experienced and grown so much from being involved with the VALTA Project. Getting together with other people to discuss issues surrounding violence was a new experience for me. I was initially terrified by the thought of bringing up all the details of violence I had experienced and sharing them with others. Fortunately, this was not the goal or expectation of VALTA. I appreciated the freedom to share only what we wanted and the urging to take care of ourselves in whatever way worked best for us. This included leaving the room at any time, using different ways of creating to express ourselves (drawing, painting, writing, building with different materials), working in a part of the room that felt the most comfortable for us, singing, eating healthily, and moving through exercise or breathing techniques. The VALTA Project environment became very non-threatening and I learned about the importance of the effects of environment and self-care on the learning process. The sense of taking care of myself through holistic learning (body, mind, spirit and emotion) was totally new to me.

After leaving my husband several years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was take courses, study and read. However, for one full year I could not focus on anything but my fear and the stress of my situation. Reading to my four young children was the only reading I could finish. Sewing, which I enjoy, was out of the question, and I dropped out of a university course because of the reading and writing expectations. Although the experience that year was very frightening and I thought I was losing my mind, this experience was one of the things that drew me to the VALTA Project. I began to wonder if many literacy students who are escaping violent situations try to get on with their lives through learning, when self-care is also needed to enhance their learning process. I started to wonder what I could share with others in the literacy field through my own experience and from what I was learning in the VALTA Project.