Introduction

Making Connections is a literacy curriculum manual developed by the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW). It arose out of a recognized need for relevant, woman-positive materials for women literacy learners. Making Connections attempts to address the realities of women's lives and to incorporate concerns such as childcare, violence, race, sexuality, self-esteem, disability, etc., into literacy learning.

Twelve literacy workers from across Canada collaborated on creating Making Connections. Once the manual was produced, CCLOW developed a follow-up project to support literacy workers and instructors who were interested in using it. Fifteen facilitators from across Canada were contracted to develop and present workshops on the Making Connections curriculum. These facilitators came together face-to-face twice: first, to discuss the nature of the workshops they would give and, second (one year later), to discuss their experiences in giving the workshops.

This document came out of the second meeting, as a way for the facilitators to share among themselves and with others the details of their workshops, and their findings and reflections on having presented Making Connections as a literacy tool. A questionnaire entitled "Guided Reflections" was developed by a small group of facilitators at the second meeting and what follows is a compilation of the responses. Comments from evaluations forms filled out by participants in the Making Connections workshops are also incorporated and these are enclosed in parentheses to differentiate them from the feedback of facilitators.

Facilitators

Evelyn Battell has been an Adult Basic Education instructor in Alberta and B.C. for more than 20 years. She has written curriculum for students at many levels, in many subjects and many learning situations.

Slowly her understanding is growing of what it means to teach the whole person. Facilitating Workshops on Making Connections gave her a wonderful opportunity to explore, with others, good curriculum which takes into account some of the factors that are often ignored in the teaching of women.

Deanne Bradley is culturally Deaf and has worked in the Deaf literacy environment for five years as a literacy instructor (instructing English through American Sign Language in a pre-literacy program). She is a feminist and advocate and served on the Board of G.O.L.D. (Goal: Ontario Literacy for the Deaf) for four years. She believes in the importance of issues surrounding women and literacy and first became interested in the area upon learning women's stories.

Nzula Angelita Ciatu is a community organizer and activist. She is a feminist, counsellor and educator presently working as a facilitator in a Bridging program for immigrant women who are survivors of abuse. Her interest lies in anti-oppressive methodologies and popular education.

Nancy Cooper is from the Chippewas of Mnjikaning First Nation and lives in Toronto. She has been working in the Native Literacy field for the past seven years. She is inspired by poetry and animals.

Maureen Doherty recently re-located to Ontario from Iqaluit (soon to be Nunavut) in order to pursue her M.Ed. in Adult Education/Community Development at OISE in Toronto. She lived and worked in the eastern Arctic for 15 years as a teacher, adult educator and as Coordinator of Community Programs for Nunavut Arctic College. She was an active Justice of the Peace in the NWT for 8 years, and is also a proud mother of three boys.

Priscilla George is a Deer Clan Ojibway from the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation in Southern Ontario. Her Anishnawbe Spirit Name is Ningwakwe, which means “Rainbow Woman.” Priscilla has taught for the primary and junior grades, English as a Second Language and Special Education for the Toronto Board of Education, where she was employed for fourteen years. She has also been an Addictions Counsellor, and an Academics and Life Skills Coach at Wanepuhnud Corporation, an off-site program through George Brown College. Priscilla has been involved in literacy since 1987, is a founding member of the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, and is its current Learning Outcomes Coordinator. She has authored a number of articles and books on Native literacy as a tool in individual/community development/empowerment.

Priscilla has two children; Denise, 31, who is an actress and a children’s entertainer, and Dennis, 26, who is in his fourth year at the University of Toronto’s School of Dentistry.

Julianne Hodgins has a TESL certificate, is a freelance facilitator and has worked as a front line social service worker for many years. She has been a feminist for a long time and possesses an ongoing interest in creating joyous teaching environments.

Janet Isserlis has worked with refugees, immigrants and visiting students in the United States and Canada since 1980. She has taught in community-based organizations, schools, adult learning centres, worksites and housing projects. Her work has focused on literacy and language development, primarily with adults, most often with women. She worked with parents and community members in elementary schools as part of the Rainmaker Project and as a volunteer tutor in Vancouver, B.C.

Kate Nonesuch has thought and written about women and literacy for many years. She is literacy co-ordinator and instructor at Malaspina University-College, Cowichan Campus (Duncan, BC. ), co-author of a series of science books for basic readers and inventor of the Never-Fail Writing Method.

Mary Norton is a teacher and program coordinator at the Learning Centre in Edmonton. She is also involved in research and writing related to adult literacy.

Linda Shohet is the founder and director of The Centre for Literacy of Quebec, an independent charitable organization in Montreal. Priority issues for the Centre in the last few years have been literacy and health, literacy and technology and literacy and women. Linda teaches English at Dawson College in Montreal, specializing in developmental/basic writing and in writing about science and technology. Since 1984 she has worked in the field of school-based and adult literacy and she has served as President of Literacy Partners of Quebec, a provincial coalition of English-language literacy groups.

Janet Smith is a popular adult educator and community development worker from Brandon, Manitoba. She has worked as a researcher and project coordinator in the literacy field since 1992 and has published two booklets, “Where There is Life There is Hope: Women Literacy Students’ Experiences with Discrimination” and “Literacy, Welfare and Work.”

Arlene Wells has worked as an adult educator since 1981, primarily in community-based learning programs for women. She was part of a group of Victoria women who founded Bridges, a learning program for women survivors of abuse. For the past two years, she has been studying Intercultural Education and Training at the University of Victoria.