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creating a better
learning environment
Beyond the
Wall:
A literacy program designed to prepare
women
for their return to the community
These observations are based on my experience during three years
when, as a volunteer, I organized, developed and taught a literacy program at
the Gabriel Dumont Institute Community Training Residence, a minimum security
facility for women in Saskatoon. Women who have experienced violence in their
lives are often too emotionally scarred to benefit from a regular academic
education. A tutoring program must help them gain skills so they can survive in
their home community.
What We Learned
I
started the program with two women who wanted to "learn more reading and
arithmetic." As the program developed and more women became involved, several
things became apparent.
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Classroom activities had to be structured so that the women
felt safe and could relax. Here, the tutor's attitude is crucial. It must be
relaxed, friendly, non- judgemental and caring. Constant positive reinforcement
is essential.
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The student's knowledge gained through daily living must be
recognized and validated. We discussed using math skills while shopping, using
verbal skills when dealing with a landlord or social service agencies or
reading and understanding school letters.
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Teaching materials must be relevant to the student's life.
We used newspapers and current magazine articles; we selected materials with
Canadian content.
- Oral language activities were an important ingredient. They
had to teach the women to:
- express an opinion
- explain (and defend) that opinion
- discuss ideas
- develop questioning techniques to learn from others
- develop basic research skills, i.e. using a dictionary or
map
Our Goals
Our aim
was to show the women the value and joy of becoming life-long learners. They
needed to develop self-confidence and a positive self-image. We did no
placement testing when a woman entered the program. Instead, we interviewed
each student and asked her what she would like to study. This afforded her a
degree of decision making. Unless she had been attending classes while she was
incarcerated, we encouraged each woman to review the basics in reading, writing
and math. This showed the women what they could do and so it was a positive
experience. It also enabled the tutors to develop an individualized program for
each student. |