[AAACE-NLA] issues of interest

Fri Jan 23 12:20:23 EST 2004

Paul:

We are committed in our program to do exactly this. You need to visit our program and ask our students if they feel that we work towards this. However, the staff is committed to these issues. Last year we graduated 300 migrant workers with Sapnish GED certificates and we help 120 of them to transition to college ESL programs. Our classes are community based and are focused on the needs of the students in their respective communities. We set up classes in community centers, public schools, housing complexes and any other place where they facilitate space for us. 

We do extensive PD with our stuff to discuss multicultural issues, bilingualism, community development, etc. Twice a year we devote two weeks exclusively to staff development. In addition, the staff meets once a week for a few hours to discuss instructional issues that emerge during the week. 

By no means, our program accomplishes the propossed ideas presented by you. Our program is a combination of your goals, and what really happens in the process of doing this. The synthesis of these two allow us to re-examine our program and develop strategies to improve ourselves. It is a never ending process with lots of failures and barriers. 

I have been collecting anecdotes from students in our migrant program. Below are some of them. They reflect the struggles that our students face and how they may overcome them. 

 One of our students has taken the GED exam but has yet to pass her math portion. She is attending math tutoring so that she can re-test. She has reported that her self-esteem has improved considerably as a result of attending this program. She is currently enrolled full-time in credit courses at El Paso Community College and she is also working at a day-care. She wants to become a teacher. She has said that because of the classes she has discovered that she is an intelligent woman and has the potential of becoming a good teacher. She wants to work at an elementary school, teaching classes to “children of her community" 

 One student was being physically abused by her Spouse, and verbally abused by her mother in law and her children. She was very shy and would not communicate in class and was always looking down. One day, after much effort, she opened up to the promotora. The promotora invited representatives of the Shelter for Battered Women and the Violence Against Women Action program to speak with her. She refused services from both programs. Finally, a program called Familias Fuertes that offers group family counseling made a presentation in her class. All the students in the class decided to join counseling sessions, as a strategy to get the abused student to go to counseling. The whole class attended counseling including the popular educator, and so did some of some of the students’relatives, including the husband of the abused student. Those students who complete a certain number of counseling sessions with this program receive a certificate of completion. The entire class completed the counseling sessions and received the certificate of completion. In addition the entire class took the GED exams together. The abused student has reported that her family situation has improved considerably. 

 One of the students enrolled in our program was battered by her husband and he forbade her from attending our classes. She moved to Phoenix with her children to escape her husband. She recently returned to El Paso and re-enrolled in our program.

 One student who enrolled reported that she wants to learn because her children are attending elementary school, and she is embarrassed that they know more than she does and they make fun of her. 

 The husband of one of our students was against her going to school. He would tell her that she would not learn anything. He left her and moved to Mexico and told her that he wouldn’t come back unless she quit school. She did not quit school. After a month he came back and started to physically batter her, but she kept attending classes. She took her GED exam and passed four out of five tests. When he saw her results he tried to strangle her. He was arrested and is currently in jail. She returned for additional tutoring and will re-test soon. She plans to enroll in college. 

 An undocumented migrant worker with a fifth grade education from Mexico was an excellent student in our program. She took all her GED tests and had very high scores. As soon as she obtained her GED certificate, she enrolled in a continuing education intensive ESL program and is currently in level nine of that program. She is also studying computers in the evenings. Because she is still undocumented, she cannot qualify for financial aid to go to college. She is paying for her ESL and computer classes out of her own pocket. She has stated that after getting her GED certificate it became impossible for her to stop attending school. 

 One of the top students in one class was violently physically and sexually assaulted by her spouse before taking her GED tests. As a result of the battery, she was not able to pass her exams. However, she has decided to take the exams again. She currently makes flower arrangements and repairs cars to earn a living. 

 A student with a fourth grade education would come to class with her child. Her child would distract her consistently and she could not concentrate. The whole class took turns to help her with her child so that she could focus on her studies. She took her GED exam and earned her certificate. Her child is enrolled in Head Start and she works there as a volunteer while she waits for a work permit. She has been offered a job with Head Start as soon as she receives her work permit. 

 A student’s trailer home was burned to the ground with everything she owned soon after she took her GED exam. She was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Her daughter who lives in Dallas, Texas took her mom to Dallas and we lost contact with the student. The student recently contacted us to tell us that she had earned her GED certificate. 

 In one class two women had the same first and last name. They were both named Maria. To distinguish them, one was nicknamed Maria de la Cebolla (onion). The reason for this is that she would come to class for a while and half way throughout he class she would announce that she had to leave to go to the field to pick onions. She would take her books to the field and would study during breaks. She has obtained her GED certificate.

 An older and very dedicated man who attended our classes would promote our program to other farmworkers in the fields. The contractors got mad at him and told him not to promote our program because their laborers would leave to study for the GED. The man has obtained his GED certificate. 

 Our oldest student, a 77-year-old woman has obtained her GED certificate.

 A 75-year-old student obtained her GED certificate. Soon after she announced that she would be getting married, through the church, to her common law spouse. 

 A young student with a new born child was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend and the father of the child. He was threatening the student with taking her child away. The student was very distressed and was performing poorly in her classes. The promotora referred the student to “Familias Fuertes”, a free counseling program. Counselors talked to her and to her ex-boyfriend. Since then, the student has reported that her ex-boyfriend is not harassing her anymore, and she has been doing very well in her classes. 

 A homless student with very low self-esteem enrolled in our program. Since she enrolled, she earned her GED certificate, her cosmetology license, she has found employment, and she is getting assistance to purchase a home.

 A troubled youth from an alternative school was referred to our program and was placed in one of our classes with mostly adults. At first, he could not relate to the other adults and had a hard time adapting to the class. Presently, he claims to have acquired a new respect for adults and especially his mother. 

 A woman working in cleaning was asked, together with her other co-workers, to do some overtime work. She refused since she was attending GED classes. Her employer told her that if she passed her GED, she would get promoted. She is currently working as an accounting assistant for the same employer.

 Many GED graduates from Fort Hanckock have requested employment as teachers’ aids upon completion of their GED tests. They do not speak English well or at all, a requirement to work with the school district. The school superintendent began to offer free ESL classes to GED graduates so that they can work for the district. 

 A student reported that since she started attending GED classes she reads and understands store receipts. On a recent visit to the grocery store, she noticed that she was overcharged for an item and she requested a refund. 

 Several GED graduates from last year are currently enrolled in credit classes at EPCC. Some of them are volunteering as tutors for MAP.

 A student was admitted to college under the Noriega Bill.

 A student who had an alcoholic spouse learned about AA and Alanon in class. They are both attending counseling.

 A student learned about the Shelter for Battered Women in class. She referred her cousin who was being abused by her spouse. The cousin is receiving counseling.

 A student wanted to bring her elderly and ill mother who lived in Chihuahua to live with her in El Paso. With help from her instructor, she got her mom a visa to come to the United States and a wheel chair from another agency. Her mom passed away right before they made the trip to El Paso.

 A young student had been travelling with her parents around the country following the harvests, and was unable to find a place to study for her GED and complete it. She enrolled in our program (in Spanish) and her parents decided to stay in El Paso so that she could earn her GED certificate, which she did within three months. 

 A student who worked in the fields with her husband learned about our GED program through her daughter’s elementary school. She enrolled in our program against her husband’s will. Even though she had only gone to school through the 5th grade she took the GED and obtained 211 points. While she has not passed all five exams, she is still attending classes.   

 An 18-year-old student with two children who was living in the Shelter for Battered Women earned her GED in our program. Because of a problem in her eye we referred her to an eye specialist. Unfortunately, she lost her eyesight in one eye but she continues to attend ESL classes. She is currently living with her 42-year-old husband who continues to abuse her. 

 A student had been secretly attending classes since her husband opposed her going to school. On a Saturday in which she was scheduled to test for the GED her husband wanted her to go to the fields with him. She had to tell her husband the truth and he drove her to take the test. However, he told her that she couldn’t study anymore and he hid her car keys. She is waiting for the results and hoping to have passed since it will be harder to continue to attend classes. 

 On another site, a student didn’t want to got o school, but her husband forced her. She took her GED test but didn’t pass all the exams. She got a job and quit attending classes. Her husband made her quit her job to return to school. 

 The communities that are furthest from the City of El Paso lack social and educational services. When a rural community is located between two larger communities, people have to go to different communities for services. They may receive health services from one and social services from the other. 

 In the rural areas, the public schools lack resources and there is a lot of abuse towards the children by other children, or by staff. There are virtually no counselors and there are no systems in place to explore or address these problems. Parents share their problems in our classes and learn about how to address issues in our classes. Parents reported to their HEP teacher about a bully in a school. The teacher advised them as to how to proceed and the parents met with he principal, who addressed the problem. 

Andres

In a message dated 1/23/2004 10:38:38 AM Eastern Standard Time, tjjhjr at netscape.net writes:

> 
> SURE!!!!!!!!!!BUT WHO WOULD DARE SPEAK OUT ON THESE ISSUES (AND KEEP THEIR JOB)????????
> 
> 
> 
> 
> PAUL ROGERS <pwaynerogers at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> >I would like to know if there is any interest in
> >dscussions on other issues, such as:
> >1. promoting bilingual education
> >2. protecting ESL students' and teachers' rights
> >3. meeting the needs of the growing immigrant
> >community
> >4. promoting a progressive, multi-cultural/lingual
> >agenda.
> >Paul Rogers
> >
> >
> >--- David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> wrote:
> >> AAACE-NLA Colleagues,
> >> 
> >> You will find updated lists of state and urban adult
> >> literacy 
> >> coalitions at:
> >> 
> >>   http://alri.org/Rosen/advocacy/advocacy.html
> >> 
> >> and
> >> 
> >>   http://alri.org/Rosen/advocacy/naulc.html
> >> 
> >> Thanks to Edith Gower, Executive Director of the the
> >> National Alliance 
> >> for Urban Literacy Coalitions (NAULC), for the most
> >> recent update 
> >> information on urban coalitions and some of the
> >> state coalitions which 
> >> are NAULC members.  There may be some state
> >> coalitions for which the 
> >> information is not yet up-to-date.  Please check
> >> your state to see if 
> >> it is correct, and e-mail me with the corrections.
> >> 
> >> This information is intended to help adult literacy
> >> advocates find 
> >> others in their state or city with whom to
> >> collaborate.
> >> 
> >> Thanks.
> >> 
> >> David J. Rosen
> >> djrosen at comcast.net
> >> 
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org
> >>
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> >> http://literacytent.org
> >
> >
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