Being an educator today is a struggle for many of us, day in and day out. When I worked in a middle school, I felt like I had to wear many hats and not just be the teacher. I sometimes filled the role of a parent, a friend, a nurse, or just a shoulder to cry on. Then, of course, middle school brings its own challenges of bullying and puberty. I decided last year to make the switch to adult education. I found out that adult education is its own unique niche with its own set of issues and struggles.

To start, I don’t have a real curriculum geared to adult education, and the materials I do have seem really childish. I have to find and create materials that are appropriate not only for my students’ education level, but also their age, lifestyle, and background.

I can’t print phonics worksheets that have little hearts and teddy bears all over the page. These materials would make my students feel uneducated or stupid, and what I want is to empower them to change their lives and educate themselves.

To add to the challenges many of us adult educators face, I also work in a jail.

Working in a jail, prison, or corrections facility brings its own unique issues to this already challenging job. Our schedule is based around when inmates are allowed movement. From 11:30 to 1:00, inmates have to go back to their living units for count and lunch. Therefore, we cannot have classes during this time.

Then there are the day-to-day challenges of students not coming to school because they are in court, or they did something and ended up in segregation, or they just didn’t want to come. Students are given “good time” if they come to school, and they can earn five days off their sentence for being in school for the month. However, some max out their good time because they are in other mandatory programs, and many of our non-sentenced population don’t care, because they haven’t been sentenced and cannot earn good time yet, and are really hoping they can make bail and go home. They do face disciplinary consequences if they miss too many days; however, some students still do not care.

Summertime! How might we encourage our adult learners’ natural motivation to learn, outside of dedicated and supportive class time?
 
One answer, of course, is to share websites with our students. Some, like Khan Academy, are well known. Here are a few sites you may not know about that I will be sharing with my students.

BBC Bitesize GCSE exam prep:  I find the revision units for Edexcel to be challenging but accessible for my HSE students. (Note: I have not been able to access the videos that are part of some of the units.)

If more background content knowledge is needed, I suggest the BBC Bitesize KS3 level instead, such as this revision and test for Solids, Liquids, and Gases.

If their work and family schedules permit, they may like to go on some "field trips":

Most public libraries have GED/HiSET/ABE practice books, which can be used onsite; a working library card would only be needed to check them out. Several (all?) have summer reading programs.

Lastly, the National Park Service offers free admission to many national historic parks, sites, and scenic trails within Massachusetts. Several are accessible by public transport.

Conferences can be exciting and fun. While research clearly shows that extended professional development is more effective than single workshops (see Effective Teacher Professional Development and Standards for Professional Learning), conferences offer the opportunity to wander into a workshop you never knew you wanted, check out the exhibits and resources, see friends and acquaintances you might otherwise not see, meet new people, and talk shop with people from across the state or country.

But what sticks?

It takes extra effort to bring home and build on the learning from conferences and one-stop workshops. Do those great handouts and freebies sit in a bag? Are those good intentions to look up the web links ever realized? What survives the return to regular life?

Sometimes, something from a single workshop can become the seed of new learning and practice...if we take the time and attention to water it.

At the 2009 MCAE (MA Coalition for Adult Education) NETWORK conference, I was captivated by Akira Kamiya's "The Art of Presentation - Beyond Bullet Lists." Akira was the Regional Technology Coordinator for the Boston center in the old SABES system. Akira wrote:

At the 2014 ACLS conference on Implementing the College and Career Readiness Standards in the ABE and ESOL Classroom, a particular slide on a presentation by Amy Trawick struck home: it seemed to exactly describe the differing ways that my colleagues and I approached lesson and unit planning. It was a relief to realize that we were all correct, but alone we were incomplete. Together, the approaches combined to create strong curricula and learning experiences for our students. I spoke with Amy at the break, studied her materials, and later counted myself extremely lucky to get to work with her when I joined the SABES PD Center for ELA.

That same conference saw me sneaking in to Donna Curry's math session after lunch; after all, I reasoned, I taught ELA and Math and needed both sessions. It was fun! We played and learned at the same time. Donna let us struggle; she did not just model a math skill and have us copy her. We had to figure things out, but with lots of support. I was entranced, and immediately wanted to sign up for more of her PD.

The 2017 COABE (Coalition on Adult Basic Education) conference got me thinking about thinking and gave me some great seeds of learning, from a session with Eric Appleton and Mark Trushkowsky of the CUNY (City University of New York) Adult Literacy Program. Their session on Teaching Science Through Inquiry incorporated inquiry into reading and writing activities about evolution. It was eye-opening and a great affirmation of teaching through inquiry still being possible even with limited "hands-on" materials and limited-time students who are preparing for standardized tests. (See their session materials.) Later communication with the presenters also affirmed that inquiry teaching is not just for math or science; Mark wrote, "I really honed a lot of my inquiry instincts in a social studies context. I used a lot of photography and a lot of role-play/writing from different perspectives."  In particular, two idea kernels I've been working with since are "push cards" and "Notice and Wonder".

This year (2018) at MCAE I attended sessions on the state's policy on College and Career Readiness, creating class websites, and dyslexia. I was gifted with free resources from Townsend Press, lunched with colleagues from across the state, and waited out the April snow fall.

And now, how to make the learning continue?

• Get the papers out of the bag. Remember what sessions were attended.
• Is there something small that can immediately be put into practice?
• Are there related PD offerings?
• Links to click on and websites to check out?
• People to communicate with?

Try it! See what seeds of learning could blossom into something new.