Hello,

My name is Martha Alexander and I'm a doctoral student in educational psychology at Georgia State University.  This is my first posting but I have learned a lot from all of you on the listserv.  

I don't teach ABE but have taught health education graduate students for many years.  I plan to add the  concepts of "the other" and Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity to my course.  I think it is important information for health educators to be able to address issues of racism, classism, and gender in their practice.  Bennett's Model was new to me so thank you for including that, Ryan.  

In my teaching I have had many students from other countries.  I have enjoyed the diversity that they bring to the classroom.  I think that Jereann King made an excellent suggestion that we educators should become familiar with international politics.  I have also enjoyed learning about the educational systems from which my students come.  I have had students who had never participated in group discussions or group activities in their educational experiences.  It's a change for them and can sometimes feel threatening to them.  

Ryan, you asked about the training of ABE teachers in the area of diversity.  Although I can't speak to ABE training I have taken several diversity courses through work and they focused on race and gender, only.  I think it would be valuable to have more training opportunities that addressed the broader concept diversity.  I'm interested in hearing about other educator's training experiences in diversity, too.  

Martha Alexander

-----Original Message-----
From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Ryan Hall
Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2006 6:52 PM
To: PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 70] racism, classism, and gender in ABE

Concerning the FOB article Daphne posted last week (see below for her
original post):
I think that understanding group and individual differences and how
these differences can affect the learning process is an absolute
necessity for all educators at all levels. It's not an easy task,
though, to tell people that they have certain beliefs and values that
bias their teaching and may even serve as an obstacle to their students'
learning. And, I'm sure we all know that it's not easy hearing people
tell us that our teaching is biased in any way. In the FOB article,
Jereann King mentions a couple of her "ah ha"
moments that helped her understand the teachers she was working with;
one of them was her learning about identity development. In the article,
she says she learned that, "identities really do develop; you're not
born with them.
Life takes you through stages. When it comes down to race and class,
those developments can shift: from not paying attention to race to
wanting to recognize how society builds on and exploits race."
These comments made me remember a couple of "ah ha" moments I have had.
The first one was when I learned about Milton J. Bennett's Developmental
Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. What I liked about his model was
that it addressed one's ability to understand and deal with cultural
differences as a developmental process based on experience. It also says
that, depending on one's experience, a person can move forward or
backwards through the phases.
(For a brief explanation, go to
http://www.library.wisc.edu/EDVRC/docs/public/pdfs/SEEDReadings/intCulSe
ns.p
df). This was taught in the context of dealing with ESL students, so
culture was always the emphasis.
My other "ah ha" moment happened a few years later when I was introduced
to the concept of "the other." What I liked about this concept was that
it looked at more than cultural differences, which I thought was
necessary in a classroom setting, especially considering that we all
belong to more than one group, which is what makes us individuals. I
sort of attached this concept onto Bennett's continuum of cultural
development because it seemed to fit. 
I may have oversimplified this a little, but from these two "ah ha"
moments, I have come to believe that our ability to deal with our
perceptions of "the other" (regardless of what we consider "the other"
to be at any given time) develops in the same way that our identities
develop: by the experiences we have in our lives. I think it's important
to make sure that people know that this is a transformative process that
takes time to develop. Also, I think it is important for people to begin
this process by trying to understand how their own perceptions and
expectations of others are based on their experiences and that what they
think they know about others is clouded by those perceptions and could
even become a barrier to their students'
learning. 
I've had several classes that discuss diversity issues, but they were in
the context of teaching ESL. I'm just wondering what kind of training,
if any, ABE teachers have in this area. Also, which groups are
identified in the
training- culture, gender, religious, SES, race, etc.? And, how are you
told to deal with diversity in the classroom?
Ryan


Tue Nov 21 20:35:35 EST 2006

On the Focus on Basics list, Julie McKinney, the list moderator posted
an article which is very pertinent to this list:
A Conversation With FOB: Addressing Racism, Classism and Gender in ABE.
This article can be found at:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=206

The article shows how one teacher addresses racism, classism, and gender
with ABE students, and what she feels adult basic educators can do to
address power differentials that interfere with best teaching practices.
The article includes a list of resources that were helpful to her.

I wonder if people on this list want to look at this article and share
reactions, thoughts, experiences.
Daphne 


Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

Daphne Greenberg
Associate Director
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3977
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu> 


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