Pauline's relationship with her literacy student Simone, a thirty-year-old single mother on welfare, embodies the importance of building a supportive, social dimension to the learning experience. Pauline explains: "Although Simone and I have a hard time meeting on a regular basis and settling down into a regular pattern of work, I sometimes think that Simone needs me to be there more as a friend than as a tutor. It is because she is either busy looking after her ten year old son, or running out at the last minute for a job interview or to pick up a welfare cheque that she has been waiting for, that it is difficult to feel as though we are accomplishing anything concrete. Simone seems happy however, to have social contact with me on a personal level. Someone to share her frustrations with and to be supportive of what she is going through in society." This example demonstrates how these relationships have the potential to lead to social change, in that "if programs encourage sharing between women, sharing that not only allows them to talk about their problems, but also to look critically at the location of these problems, they will create a space for discourses of resistance" (12).

A similar relationship was formed between Frances and her literacy student Bonnie, mentioned earlier. Frances commented: "I feel as though I have helped Bonnie through some of the hard times in her life by presenting myself as a positive role model for her to learn from. I'm not saying this in a patronizing way, but what I mean is that Bonnie has never had another women to act as her role model, or support system. Bonnie respects my opinion and the advice that I give her. She ends up feeling empowered when she is able to take all these suggestions into consideration and act on them on her own."

Literacy as Empowerment
Most of the women that we spoke to expressed an eager desire to organize their own lives, to have their own source of income and to gain independence from welfare, the medical system, husbands and families. Several women mentioned getting a job or upgrading the one that they already had as a way to achieve independence. Doris sent us a letter last fall which read: "I definitely wish to begin my session. My English pronunciations and understanding text read needs immediate attention. I hope to qualify for your program to be able to gain some confidence to find my future employment."

Levana, an Israeli woman who is somewhat literate in Hebrew but wants to learn English, expressed her desire to provide her own children with a proper education. She spoke of how, as a young girl, due to the untimely death of her mother, she had to work hark to support her large family. Women like Levana focus their desires on their children, hoping that their participation in literacy and upgrading programs will give them access to greater opportunities.

Levana expressed how good it felt to be trying so hard to achieve her goals, and that it was this "trying" which make her feel capable of accepting new challenges in her life and of becoming more independent. Her most immediate goals included learning how to read her mail without seeking help from her children and becoming more comfortable with reading material at work and with filling out work-related forms. She also mentioned being embarrassed that everyone at work knew that she was unable to read and write.

Another common area in which women expressed their desire to rely on their own resources is the medical system. Bonnie was suffering from severe migraines and sought medical advice from a variety of sources. One doctor told her she was over-reacting and that her headaches could not possibly be as bad as she described. Another doctor whom she visited for a second opinion prescribed her with medication which was extraordinarily expensive and beyond her limited budget.