Violence and Learning: Taking Action

In 1999, after 12 years in the field of Early Childhood Education and Development, I accepted a position working as the adult literacy coordinator at the Learning Centre in Hanna. One of the responsibilities of my position was and continues to be to coordinate the adult literacy volunteer tutor program. I embraced the change and felt a renewed sense of finding the perfect employment opportunity to complement my interests and experiences.

To introduce the VALTA topic to learners and support staff in the Learning Centre, I created two bulletin boards outside my office. The theme of the first board was, Are you in the right frame of mind to learn? I used clip art, and a copy of an aboriginal medicine wheel, a display on holistic learning, suggestions for optimizing personal study space, and the thought-provoking question "Is violence an issue?"

Who are you was the heading for another bulletin on the topic of self-concept. The silhouette of a woman surrounded by questions encouraged reflection. Both boards also held handouts and telephone numbers for support services in the area.

Eager to participate in all opportunities for professional development, I found a manual for Writing Out Loud (Morgan, 2001), a program that offered participants a way to achieve both personal and academic growth through creative writing. I had been searching for a way to connect learners to one another and to offer a support circle to the women who shared the bond of being intimidated by the written word. I felt the program would suit learners' needs perfectly so I enrolled in an online course and became certified as a Writing Out Loud instructor. As a course practicum, I facilitated an ongoing writing group with learners in my program.

Through the weekly writing group,¹⁹ the participants created a strong bond with one another as they developed trust and shared personal life stories. Writing prompts were simple and left room for as much or as little freedom as participants desired. It soon became evident that each of the participants had compelling stories to tell. Many of the themes were the same: recalling feelings of embarrassment, shame, or inadequacy in some area of their life. I quickly recognized that in many ways I wasn't able to address the needs of the learners. I had not been trained to respond to the learners who had experienced violence in their lives. Learners sharing stories of past or current abuse in their lives left me feeling unsure of my own role or wondering how I could serve as a support to those in my program who were so clearly reaching for it. I wanted to be able to foster learners' abilities to move their lives forward in positive and productive ways.

Introduction