describing the barriers

When It Isn't Obvious:
Personal Abilities and Learning

Sometimes the journey is the destination. This sentence may hold within it the very essence of learning. Nothing is ever, always, obvious. For many women, part of their journey involves education. It is essential to remember that as we pull open the doors of academic learning, we bring with us the baggage of our life experience. This baggage is also part of the journey.

As a woman who is first, and most importantly, a valuable, competent person, I would like to share with you part of my journey. From the very start of my life I have had to cope with being differently-abled. It is not always tremendously difficult, but it is never easy. Another aspect of my life concerns being sexually abused as a child. Although I am continually working to be a champion over these circumstances, I have to be realistic and admit that these issues affect every part of my personal journey, education included.

I have noticed several things that I would like to see changed within the walls confining adult education. Some of the necessary changes are instantly obvious. Most, however, are not.

Eyes to See
I believe it is crucial that educators start looking, making an honest effort to see circumstances that may hinder a student's ability to take in information. To illustrate my point, I cite a situation from my own experience. I was a student at a business college. The first day, everyone was assigned a desk according to her or his last name. The instructor offered me a desk at the front, though that is not where my name would have placed me. An easy solution to an obvious problem.

I had another course that involved a great deal of note-taking. In the beginning, I worked desperately to keep up. Daily I struggled and daily I'd borrow someone's notes and photocopy what I had missed. Administration gladly allowed me to do this at no cost. Finally, one day I realized that my energy was being foolishly spent when, in the end, I would undoubtedly borrow notes and use the copier. I then decided it was more to my benefit to put down my pen, listen to the lecture, copy a set of notes for myself later and conserve my energy for other things. This instructor, assuming that my actions were due to laziness, went to the administration and from that point on I was charged for using the photocopier. The speed at which a student can write is not always an obvious problem, nevertheless, it can be a problem and it deserves a respectful solution.

Instilling in a student an insatiable desire to search in every crack and every corner for ideas and possibilities is a privilege. Educators must be just as diligent with their own thoughts. Is it always appropriate to insist that students not hold on to the lectern while making a presentation, if the necessary formalities are observed? Could an assigned report be done with drama instead of being hand-written?