Making Connections: a Literacy And
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Making Connections Literacy and EAL Curriculum from a Feminist Perspective Making Connections Literacy and EAL Curriculum from a Feminist Perspective CCLOW / CCPEF 47 Main Street Toronto, Ontario M4E 2V6 © 1996 The Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women ISBN number: 0921283-18-0 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Making connections Includes bibliographical references ISBN 0 - 921283 - 18 - 0 1. Literacy programs. 2. Literacy - Study and teaching. 3. Women - Education. 4. Feminism and education. I. Nonesuch, Kate. II. Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women. LC149.M33 1996 374.012 C96 - 931629 - 1 The Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women wishes to acknowledge and thank the National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development and the Ontario Training and Adjustment Board for their financial contributions towards this project. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the funders or of CCLOW. Editor: Kate Nonesuch Editorial Committee: Dharini Abeysekera, Evelyn Battell, Francene Gillis, Janet Isserlis, Sue Mendel, Kate Nonesuch Bibliography: Evelyn Battell Design and layout: Margaret Adam / ArtWork Cover art: Moon Joyce Back cover photograph: Moon Joyce For additional copies of this book please contact: CCLOW 47 Main Street, Toronto, Ontario M4E 2V6 Phone: (416) 699-1909 Fax: (416) 669-2145 Second printing: September 1997 Acknowledgments We would like to thank many people for the invaluable help they gave to this project. From CCLOW: Aisla Thomson, for her reassuring calm, her faith that we would achieve miracles and her playfulness. Bernnitta Hawkins, who eagerly and with humor took over a million decisions in the middle and who makes it clear she believes in our work without ever having met us. Dianne Palachik, for the hidden work that makes everything run smoothly. Facilitators: Elaine Gaber-Katz, who helped us, over and over again, to see where we were and move forward, and who was a personal inspiration to many of us. Moon Joyce, who played and sang and got us singing to bring us together, to energize and encourage us. Selvi Varathappan Dyck and Marie Gregory, who remain a big part of the project, even though, as a result of circumstances beyond their control, they were not able to complete the work. We would like to thank them for the research and writing they did on women's issues, and for contributing their ideas and their enthusiasm to our meetings. Louise Ford, for her creative contributions to our first meeting. All the individual adult literacy and EAL learners we have encountered, for their honesty, courage and determination to learn, and for helping us learn to teach. The programs where we work, for facilitating our participation in the project: Action Read Community Literacy Centre of Guelph Carnegie Adult Learning Centre, Vancouver, B.C. The Centre for Literacy of Quebec, Montreal, Quebec Community Programs, Academic Studies, Nunavut Arctic College, Iqualuit Community Services, Dawson Campus, Yukon College Inverness County Continuing Education/Inverness County Adult Tutoring Network/ Inverness District School Board, Nova Scotia Malaspina University-College, Cowichan Campus, Duncan, B.C. Rainmaker Project, Vancouver, B.C. Toronto ALFA Centre For field testing parts of this curriculum: Lenore Balliro, Bridget Bruneski, Vicki Noonan and English 020, Malaspina University- College, Marie Cora, Laureen Fredella, Sally Gabb, Isa Helfield, Adult Services, PSBGM, Montreal Marilyn Hepburn, English in the Working Environment Peggy Holt, Academic Upgrading, New Brunswick Community College; Department of Adult and Vocational Education, University of New Brunswick; Fredricton Literacy Council Pat Hugo-Eesly, Action Read, Guelph Janet Isserlis and the learners at Carnarvon School, Vancouver Judy Kondrat and the ALFA Women's Group Pat MacNeil, Beat the Street, Toronto Kate Power, University of Illinois at Chicago Centre for Literacy The Bridging Group, Toronto ALFA Centre Community Adult Educators, Nunavut Arctic College, Nunatta Campus area (Baffin Island) The Inverness County Recreation/Tourism Department The Strathlorne Learning Centre For support and encouragement: Ranil, Bhanu and Rashmi All the learners Abeysekera Betty Ann Lloyd The learners and staff of Action Peggy Maguire Read Library staff at Malaspina University- Hal Adams College, Cowichan Campus Sigrid Anderson Ann Paquet Claude Billard The Port Hood Literacy Council Karen Du Bois Anne Brownstone Prilutsky Daniella Boulay Jackie Rochon Kate Braid Pat Russell Lisa Brubaker Steven Shaw Danielle Dumas Libby Shea barbara findlay Susan Siddorn Catherine Garrity Sara Smith Louie Ettling My student Dr. Catherine Hankins Mary Ellen Thomas Isa Helfield The Tuesday Group at the University of The Inverness Oran Waterloo Carroll Klein Michael Vadera Alex Jones Lee Weinstein Moon Joyce Dot Whitehouse Chantal Landry Heide Spruck Wrigley Table of Contents Introduction What Do I Need to Know about This Book? How This Book Came to Be What is a Feminist Curriculum? by Kate Nonesuch Women at the Centre of the Curriculum by Janet Isserlis Responding to Disclosures of Abuse in Women's Lives by Jenny Horsman Daily Lives by Janet Isserlis Exploring Learning and Identity by Jenny Horsman Self Esteem and Literacy by Dorothee Komangapik Gender Roles by Kate Nonesuch Cultural Awareness Activities by Alice Li Role Models by Evelyn Battell Women and Work by Selvi Varathappan Dyck, Evelyn Battell, Janet Isserlis and Kate Nonesuch Tools for Building Self-Esteem by Francene Gillis Choosing Safer Sex by Sue Mendel Songs about Women's Issues by Dharini Abeysekera Poetry by Canadian Women by Helen Winton Women's Ways of Learning by Linda Shohet Women of Courage: Herstory by Anne Moore and the Women's Group of Action Read Bibliography What Do I Need to Know about This Book? Introduction section The introductory section of this book is extensive; as well as giving you some background to the writing process, it explores some of the links among feminism, literacy, violence and women-centred curriculum. Two kinds of text After the introductory material, you will find there are two kinds of text in the chapters, each in a different type font. The main text, in this font, is a straightforward description of suggested activities, readings, discussions and so on to use with learners. Beside it you will find occasional comments, in this type font, in which the author "muses" on the work; for example, she may give a rationale for the activity, suggestions for further reading or comments from learners. We have separated the two kinds of text so that when you take the book to class or to a tutoring session, you can find your way through the main text easily, without distractions; when you are reading it outside of class, we hope you find that the comments enrich the main text and put it into a context. Since that context may be like your teaching situation, or may be very different, the comments can help you adapt, expand or contract the activities to suit the learners you work with. The Bibliography The Bibliography begins on page 347. It includes complete listings of resources cited in the chapters, as well as ordering information for hard-to-find items. The jagged heart We use this icon to alert you to activities, readings and topics that might raise strong, perhaps painful, emotions. In the comments beside the jagged heart you will find an explanation, or an alternative activity that is less loaded, or a suggestion that will help you prepare for possible reactions. Particularly, the jagged heart often refers you to the introductory chapter, "Responding to Disclosure of Abuse in Women's Lives," by Jenny Horsman. We suggest you read it before you work with learners on any of the chapters in this book. We use this icon, not to scare you, but to make the curriculum easier to use. Think of it as a heart, because it deals with feelings, feelings that you want to treat tenderly, feelings that, by using the activities in this book, you encourage learners to show. Think of it also as a warning about an explosive device: pay attention to the comments beside it, listen to learners, go slow, and be prepared to stop or change direction as needed. Cassette A cassette tape comes with this book which has the songs used in two chapters, "Songs about Women's Issues" and "Women and Work." Readings At the end of each chapter we have collected all the poems, stories and songs suggested for learners. If you would like more copies of the readings, they are available from CCLOW (address below) as a separate package. Exercises You will also find exercises for the learners at the end of each chapter. These exercises may be photocopied for educational purposes. Miniatures Miniature versions of readings and exercises appear at appropriate places in each chapter. Their purpose is to show clearly what is needed for each section and to remind you of the content of the student material. We hope they will make your class preparation easier. Overlaps If you read the book from cover to cover, you will find similar material in several chapters. The same poet, and sometimes the same poem, for example, may show up in two or three chapters, and many chapters suggest that learners make collages or do a media analysis. Since it seems unlikely that anyone will do all of these chapters with anyone group of learners, we have not tried to eliminate overlaps. If you are doing a chapter that asks your class to make collages similar to ones you have already done, bring out the old collages and look at them, using the focus of the new chapter as a starting point for discussion, before going on to the next activity. Non-sexist language We have tried to refer to "they" rather than "he" or "he or she" when talking generally about people.