NLA discussion: returning students

[Angela_Hock]

Nancy, thanks so much for your thoughts and answers that included the
following:

> Angela, it's not so much the statistical data that should be of priority
> to you as much as this is important.  Stable, safe educational
> environments will provide your learners the needs that they currently
> see and feel are the highest priority.  So, if they *meet* their goal
> for that specific moment in their life, that might mean they will
> leave.  However, to add to what George wrote above, if you also create
> an environment that allows your learners to periodically rethink their
> goals and identify **new** ones, they will want to stay to expand their
> horizons more extensively.

I couldn't agree more with what you say here, and expanded on in your
message.  The safe, stable environment is a primary priority in our program.
My interest in returning students has everything to do with discerning the
"whys" not the the numbers.  Most of the learners I've encountered over the
last 6 1/2 years leave for one of two reasons: they find work that changes
their hours to ones that make the extra tutoring time problematic and family
demands create less time, i.e. illness in the family that requires their
time.  When their life circumstances change, they again come back.  And
that's incredibly affirming to what we're trying to do.  And those are the
ones I'm really interested in knowing about.  Your comments about the
changing goals is also germane--that's something I've seen several times as
well, and I really liked your reminding me about the necessity of having
learners re-evaluate goals themselves.  When I speak of learners who leave
and then later resume learning with us (or anyone else locally to whom they
could go), my thoughts are on those for whom either time or goals make that
return possible or necessary.

One of the best things about the listserv is watching the concerns,
questions and interests, my own included, be attended to, and having an
opportunity to carry on some conversation.  Thanks.

Angela Hock
ahock at ector.lib.tx.us
Ex. Dir., adult literay in Odessa, Texas



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