Knowledges in View: Women Learners

Knowledges in View: Women Learners presents the detailed process of the conversation circles and the summaries from each site. I will first describe the overall process similarities, i.e., what I tried to do in common for each location and with each circle. In chronological order, I will then provide the narrative of each site. The sections for each site include 3 parts. The first will be the overall description of the site, the unique aspects of the process for that site, and its demographics. The second part is the summary of the conversation(s) as presented to the learners. As much as possible, I tried to use a basic English writing style for the summaries. I have tried to represent them here in the same format as presented to the learners. Therefore, they do not follow strict APA style. To clue the reader to those sections, they are presented here in Palatino font. The final part for each site presentation includes my reflections gained from both the process and conversation content from the site. Finally, at the end of Knowledges in View: Women Learners, I describe the process I used for writing the site summaries and how I then coded them to create 8 overall thematic summaries for the learner page of the website.

I outlined an overall approach for the conversation circles including ways to make site contact; what I asked them to participate in; length of commitment and activity; what learners would be asked to do; accountability structures; and general set of problem-posing questions. I recognized the importance of remaining respectful to learners' time and needs and flexible to the curriculums and structures of the sites.

Process Similarities

• Learner Literacy Proficiencies: The learner populations in these samples primarily included--but were not be limited to--women who have higher reading levels (mostly pre-GED). I anticipated learners with broader literacy practices could reflect on and draw from their experiences as basic readers, and better articulate their concerns and viewpoints about reading materials. Reading levels of adult women learners, however, are neither simple to assess nor consistent in programming placement. All the groups were primarily constituted of women learners with some proficiency in English literacy, though some participants had more experience while others had more limited proficiencies than expected.

• Contact: For the most part, I chose sites with which I had previous contact or working relationship. For the sites with which I had not previously worked, I did have other colleagues who helped me to make contact with the site. In that way, I did not go into any of the sites "cold." Three of the sites had responded to Spring 2000 questionnaires (Caroline Center, Hubbs, and English Learning Center). I contacted all the sites via formal letter on WE LEARN letterhead explaining the purpose and process of the project and inviting their participation.¹ Within a few weeks, I followed up on each of these letters with a phone call or email.

• Literacy Worker: Each group was organized through a teacher or coordinator who chose from their own sites the group of women to participate in a conversation circle. Except for my general description to the literacy workers, I had no choice about which groups of learners or individuals were involved.

• Site Agreement: For each group, I tried to obtain a signed agreement. From my reading of Patricia Maguire's book (1987), it seemed important to have some formal written agreement with each program site in addition to the individual consent of each participating learner. The agreement outlined the purpose of the dissertation project; what the site could expect from me; and a request for what I needed from each site (see Appendix Agreement). I only received one signed agreement.

• Participatory Format: While I provided to the contact literacy workers a general outline of the purpose and process for the conversation circles, they were advised the format would match the curriculum and structure of their site. In all cases, rather than demand a rigid format, they all had the opportunity to contextualize and tailor the process to the learning needs of their learners or to the program structures in their sites. Some sites allowed me to take a class period for the conversation circle. Others could only allow the conversation circles nested within the context of specific learning goals. I used the book group formats in 2 groups (see below, Hubbs Center and Family Learning). One site recommended a memoir writing class (see below, English Learning Center) while another site proposed the conversation circles could also help them with their own internal research (see below, RCA). Each site chose a variation form of conversation circle and no two were exactly alike.

• Signed Consent Form: I obtained from each learner participant a signed form in which she agreed to voluntarily participate; to being tape recorded; and to knowing her identity would be kept confidential. Each participating leaner also received a copy of the form including my name, address, phone number, email address and website url.

• Room Arrangement: Each conversation circle, with the exception of one, was held in the learners' usual classroom. I arranged seating for each conversation circle in a circle within the limits of the classroom furniture. In most cases, the women generally sat around square or rectangular tables. In only one group did we sit in circled chairs with no table. In a few instances, this seemed an unusual and unique arrangement for women more accustomed to tables arranged in rows.

• Length of Conversation Time: Each individual meeting of the conversation circles was scheduled for one hour. One group met for 90 minutes. Another group met twice for 2 hours.

• Women Only: Each group contained only women. For the sites with mixed classes, women were pulled from class for the time of the conversation circle.

• Introductions: Each conversation circle began with an introduction. I would introduce myself, explain the purpose of the conversation and a general outline of the questions/topics, and then describe the summary process. I thanked them for allowing me to have time with them and for their willingness to participate. I reiterated that their participation was voluntary and gave them all an opportunity to leave the room for some other option I had pre-arranged with the teacher. I then asked each woman to introduce herself. They were asked to give their names and to talk a little bit about what they enjoy reading. Their responses guided the direction of the conversation.

• Tape Recording: I attempted to record all but two of the conversations (which I will describe later). However, due to technical difficulties, I do not have good tape recordings for all the groups. In a few cases, the tape itself actually broke and in one case the volume was set improperly so nothing got recorded. These, of course, were both unfortunate and aggravating circumstances. Through note-taking, journaling, writing exercises (see below) and learner approval of the summaries, the learner insights from those conversations are relatively accurate even without the tape.

• Problem-posing Questions: For each group, I used a similar set of problem-posing questions (Freire, 1990; Nixon-Ponder, 1995). They included: If you felt like reading something and you stretched out your hand to the table and the reading material was sitting right there, what would it be? What kinds of materials would you put in a resource room? Who would decide what they should be? What would you want to read? What would you like to read? What do you wish you could understand? What do you want to learn about? What topics do you want to read about? What are some of the things you've read that you really enjoy? Do you care for reading materials on women's lives or issues? What (women's) issues are important to you? How do you get reading materials for yourself? What would make it easier for you to get them? What should the materials look like? I used variations on these questions according to the nuances of the group and I did not always use all the questions.

• Questionnaire: To each group, I took a printed form reiterating the same open ended questions used in the conversation circle as well as additional demographic questions (age, race, number of children, etc.). Recognizing women may not feel comfortable sharing in a group, I wanted to provide women with an opportunity to write their unspoken concerns or reflections. Depending on the group, the form was used to help women do some reflection either before or after the conversation. I also explained the demographic information was confidential and would be used only to describe the group as a group. Their responses to the questions would also be kept confidential. The form was not exactly the same for each group. Groups I met with later in the process had slightly revised questions due to input I received from earlier groups. In all but one group, I have some written responses as well as conversational notes.

• Reading materials -- using a code: To each conversation I took a suitcase filled with some of the books, pamphlets, magazines that I have been collecting. About midway through the time period or when conversation seemed to have stalled, I introduced the materials to the center of the circle. I encouraged women to look through them. When possible, I pointed out the books relevant to our conversation or books developed by other learners. If I knew something about how other women learners had used them or had reflected on them, I would share those pieces of information as well. I did this with all but two groups. In most cases, this activity acted as a form of 'code'² to generate additional reflections from the participants.

• Learner summaries: My initial plan was to involve the participants in the actual writing of the summaries. Due to logistical restrictions, especially distance and lack of time, this proved to be seriously impractical so I did the writing myself. Using the tapes, notes, and learner writings, I prepared summaries as simply as possible including many of the direct quotes or phrases learners used. The presentation format was tailored to the nature of each group (some are discussed in more detail later). How each group received the summary differed. For groups who met more than once, I took the summary to the second session. We would read it together and discuss changes, which then became the starting point for the second conversation. For the groups who met only one time, I sent the site contact (teacher) a packet that included enough copies for each learner to receive: a letter of explanation and thanks, the summary, and en evaluation form (see Appendix Eval). The literacy worker was asked to distribute them to the women, collect their responses, and return them to me in the SASE provided.

• Learner's Writings: Writings by learners and publications or curriculum samples created internally by sites were collected from those who wanted to share them.

• Site Summary and Evaluation Form: I sent to each site contact person a summary draft of their site description. They were asked to read the site profile for accuracy, corrections, and additions as well as permission to use their name and the name of their site. I also provided them with the opportunity to evaluate my work and professionalism as a researcher. I received back four of the six forms I sent (see Appendix Site Perm).

• Final summary: After the final writing of the dissertation, each site will receive a final copy of the combined conversation circle summaries and the outline of future goals for WE LEARN.

Reflections on Overall Process

 * Site Agreements: Obtaining site agreements may not have been necessary. Making opportunity for the conversation circles created permission. I did not insist on the site permission though I did receive a signed consent from each learner. In one situation, the contact person stated the formality of the process and form was too overwhelming. I only needed to agree (verbally) not to use any of the women's names in the summaries. In that situation, I was not even required to get consent signatures from each woman. My desire and concern for signed contracts created an unnecessary anxiety. This does not necessarily indicate a lack of professionalism on anyone's part. There are several factors to consider here. On the one hand, several of the literacy workers already had a working relationship with me, therefore, a level of trust and confidence was already established. It could be that sites have their own protocol not requiring the formality I brought to it. Finally, the women in the conversation circles were not traditionally considered a vulnerable³ population. In that way, each woman was responsible for her own level of participation, which could not be necessarily negotiated or mediated by the site. The site did not have to protect them from me. A situation of exploitation or experimentation did not exist.

* Anonymity: Because of the participatory nature of this dissertation project, the anonymity here concerned me. One principle of PAR views the participants not as objects upon whom research is conducted but rather the subjects of the inquiry. How do learners possess knowledge if their identities are anonymous? Why is it that the researcher becomes the only person acknowledged? How does this provide validity or value to learners' opinions and viewpoints if they become collapsed into the voice of the text writer? Is inclusion of direct quotes enough to give voice? These are questions for research beyond the scope of this project but important to acknowledge for the future consideration by WE LEARN.

 * Questionnaire: From working with the Family Learning WLTR book group, I learned some women do not feel comfortable talking in groups, regardless of how well they know the others involved. One woman in particular was extremely quiet in the group but would then have extensive conversations with me one-on-one afterwards. Though it may have been her need for affirmation from the teacher, I also suspect she preferred one-to-one conversation in general. She regularly made conversation with other women from the group on an individual basis. The writing option provided an additional tactic for eliciting answers from women who may be uncomfortable talking in groups or who get shutdown in conversations. It also helped those who may have felt reticent about talking publicly about personal or threatening issues. The form also helped some of the immigrant women who felt more comfortable with their writing skills rather than their English conversational skills. Writing added to and reaffirmed learner voice and knowledge.

* Using the code: In most cases, the reading materials from the suitcase barely made it to the table before women started grabbing at them. The enthusiasm with which women looked at the books and magazines signaled to me both their interest in them and their hunger for them. At several sites, women were so interested and delighted with these unfamiliar items they wanted to know how to get them for themselves. In several settings, I "lost" a few books or I ended up actually giving women books to have or to borrow. These codes also facilitated women's creativity on some format issues, surfaced some additional subjects they would like to know more about, and generated ideas for how to find out more about such resources. In these situations, women's behavior rather than their words encouraged my thinking related to the interest women have for reading resources and their general willingness to use them if more were available.

* Learner summary: Attempting to receive mailed responses from learners produced little information. This may have been too much for me to place on the literacy workers. By the time the learners received the summary (usually within 2 weeks) the moment of interest may have passed. I do not know if the women learners received the summaries from the teachers in the first place. In one case, I received no replies and my subsequent attempts to contact the literacy worker have received no response. This process may have worked better if I provided as SASE to each learner so she could take the form home and complete on her own. This may have been slightly more productive, but not much. I actually provided as SASE to each woman in the Baltimore group (Caroline Center) and out of 15 women I received 3 responses (20%). In one situation, the worker returned the forms but they contained few remarks of any kind. In two situations, though I received no responses, the literacy workers later told me the learners had received the summaries and said they enjoyed participating in the group. This, however, does not reflect whether learners thought the summary was accurate.

 Beyond these similarities, the process of organizing and facilitating each conversation circle had its own unique characteristics. I will now walk chronologically through the process for each group. I have used the names of the sites who gave their permission.

The Conversation Circles in Chronological Order

• Expanding Life Choices, So. St. Paul, MN
• ABE Site, Fall River, MA
• Caroline Center, Baltimore, MD
• Hubbs Center, St. Paul, MN
• Family Learning Program, So. St. Paul, MN
• English Learning Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Resource Center of the Americas, Minneapolis, MN

Expanding Life Choices - South St. Paul, MN
March 27 & April 3, 2001

Expanding Life Choices (ELC) is a program offered at Family Connections/Family Learning under the auspices of the South Suburban Literacy Project. Intended for ex-offenders, the 6-week ELC class offers time for women to reflect on their life and situation and to learn some specific tools for planning the next part of their lives. The women who attend are mandated by the court or their case worker to participate, and come with a variety of needs and concerns. Attendance is required and monitored. The theme for this particular group was self-esteem.

I came into contact with this particular group through Liz Arend, the teacher who invited me to facilitate Women Leading Through Reading book groups (see Claiming My Place & below). Liz facilitates this class. Unlike the other conversation circles, this group was NOT a literacy learning group per se but I decided to proceed for two reasons: 1) Liz enthusiastically embraced the conversation circle as useful for them, and 2) it would provide an additional opportunity to explore the conversation circles process. She agreed that 2 sessions could be used for the conversation circle.

Week One: The format of the ELC class provides women an opportunity to talk about what's happening to them day-to-day. At the beginning of each session, they have an opportunity to "check-in." Before check-in on the first conversation circle, Liz introduced me to the group and told them a bit about why I was there to which I added more details about my dissertation project and the focus of the conversation circles. I offered that if this conversation topic did not interest them or if it would get in the way of what they needed to do as a group, then I was willing to leave. They agreed I could stay so Liz asked them, as part of their check-in process, to introduce themselves by saying a little bit about their experiences with reading. Though Liz followed my lead with the questions and allowed me to guide the conversation, she stayed in the conversation and added some questions of her own. This was one of the sessions I chose not to tape record as it was an introductory meeting. At the end of the class, women in the class agreed that I could come back the following week for more discussion.

Week 2: I asked the women if I could tape record this conversation. They agreed and I went through the consent process which included filling in the questionnaire. Together, we then discussed the summary notes I had prepared from the previous week and no one had changes to make. However, it provided the springboard for our second conversation. I sent the final summary notes to Liz with the evaluation form. I received no responses. However, Liz later told me they were interested in the summary and that they enjoyed our conversations.

ELC, Summary of conversation circle notes as provided to learners

Some women in our group use reading to learn what they need for their daily lives and to improve their job opportunities. One woman said that even though she doesn't like to read much, she'll read if the materials really interest her. It's been hard for her to comprehend the things she reads but she also knows this is getting better. She's working on her GED and views this as a way of getting somewhere in life and helping her brain. She also wants to get a driver's license but is having a hard time reading the driver's manual to learn the rules. For her, reading is mostly connected with what she'll need to do for a job. When asked if she would be interested in reading for information, like how to raise her biracial child, she didn't think she would do that. But she was interested in reading drama and comedy and "love life."

Another woman was interested in writings mostly connected to information and people's daily lives. She was interested in diaries too and learning from other people's problems. She wanted to read for information that women can use in their daily life. Subjects that interested her include: dealing with their kids relationships, looking up information to see where women can get help; finding where to get jobs or a place to live and how to get day care.

A third woman didn't know how she got through high school because she didn't get very good grades. She wants to get more training so that she can get a job in an office. She's interested in knowing how to work on computers. Though she doesn't read much, she does like to read magazines and gossip stuff about people. She will sometimes read the newspaper if there's something she wants to know about.

Two women in the group both read regularly and had much to say about this topic. J. reflected on how what she reads has really helped her to understand her own feelings, especially about the violence in her life. T. mostly reads fiction and she had much to say about how reading in school was too much unconnected to life. Both T. and J. described how reading helps them to "zone out." They get so absorbed by what they are reading that they loose awareness of the people and things around them. At these times, it takes people a some time to get their attention or they get startled if someone suddenly interrupts them.

T. highly recommends the book Here on Earth. She thinks it's one of the best books she ever read but they wouldn't let her read it in high school. The stuff they read in high school was not interesting. Even though Here on Earth might be aggressive, it was an excellent book to read. T. believes that teachers always teach what they know but they never take the time to figure out something new. Teachers teach what they were taught. And it goes backwards. So nobody ever gets anywhere new. In school they don't want the students to think. The way to get through high school was just to tell them (the teachers) what they wanted to know. They didn't care about the student's opinions on anything. They teach the same thing over & over (like Macbeth or Hamlet or Romeo & Juliet) and want to always know the same answers.

T. also mentioned other books that interested her like John Grisham mysteries. She likes mysteries because she likes to figure out the problem before the end, and she's mostly successful at it. She likes reading romances (like Nora Roberts) too but doesn't really think it's that interesting to read all the sexual references. Usually its all the same boring descriptions -- guys and girls having sex. She tends to skip over all those parts and describes them as "more pornographic than pornography." Mostly she skips them because they're unbelievable ("yeah, like no guy in his right mind would actually do that!").

Other books that have interested her is a series called "The Letter…" series -- Letters from Vietnam especially touched her. She's been looking for Letters from Prison. T. said the only nonfiction book she read was one about the Holocaust and she learned a great deal from that. In general, T. always finishes the books she starts -- she just has to even if she skips over most if it. She also has a good memory and remembers in detail all the books she's read.

J. loves to read and is always reading. She never wants to get rid of her books because she often re-reads them. She especially likes to read true crime stories and wanted to be a crime scene investigator or a pathologist. Right now she's reading about a famous profiler who looks at crime scenes from the past (like Lizzie Borden) and tries to re-interpret them in view of current investigation techniques and science.

This is the type of reading J. enjoys. She been the victim of many violent crimes and finds it important and fascinating for her to understand the criminal mind. It has helped her to understand her own feelings and given her some perspective on why people do what they do. As a child, she thought everyone thought the way she did especially when she was thinking about revenge. Reading true crime has been a kind of therapy for her. She realized why she felt the way she did and that she had reasons outside of herself for those feelings. Something was causing her to feel destructive.

Since then, she has branched out and views it as a hobby. She reads profiler and crime scene books and memoirs of violent criminals. They are also very instructional and give her ideas about how to protect herself and her daughter. "… these people, you know, they tell you in their memoirs why they chose this victim over that one, how not to be a victim because this person had been doing this or had been doing that." She's learned practical stuff like traveling in groups, avoiding certain areas, and not looking vulnerable.

J. worries that her daughter does not seem too interested in reading. At one point, she was concerned that her daughter might have a reading disability. She will sometimes cook with her and get her daughter to read the recipe and follow it. In this way, she knows her daughter does comprehend what she's reading. It's been hard because her daughter has little attention span but she has noticed that her daughter will stay with books that are very interesting to her.

J. also agreed with T. that many of the romance books are pretty pornographic and describes the BIG historical romances as especially the worst. She also remembered her father liking the westerns written by Louie L'Amour and figured out they were the male version because every third page centered on a cowboy and his description of a woman's breasts. She said, "no wonder my father liked them so much!"

We also talked a little bit about why women like to read horror. Some of the women in the group don't like it at all. Some like it a lot. T. thinks it's because with horror at least the thing that's most horrifying is under control. You can tell when it' going to happen and you know it will go away or be over. Someone else (S.?) suggested that the books with characters like Freddie Kruger are so unbelievable that even if it's scary you can still remember that it's not real. Some of the ones with characters like stalkers or that seem more believable, are harder because you know there are real people like that and they may be out there. It's more difficult to read because it's too real and might possibly happen.

My Reflections on Expanding Life Choices

 * Definitions of literacy: Because it was not a formal literacy class, I initially questioned the inclusion of this group as a conversation circle. Clearly, Liz had more vision about this than I did. The opportunity for this group of women to talk about reading and women-centered literacy materials, and to reflect on their own reading interests did fit into ways they could explore their own self-esteem. What became important here were not the individual literacy proficiencies of the participants, but rather the ways in which they use various forms of reading (literacy practices). The conversation circle provided an opportunity for this group of women to explore and articulate how their reading could and does inform their lives. Two of the women in this conversation circle were avid readers with high school diplomas. They talked extensively about why they choose the types of things they read and what interests them. Along with this, they mentioned the therapeutic values of reading. However, two of the women talked more about the functional aspects of literacy for them. One of the women in this group was actually working towards her GED. Another woman wondered how she got her high school diploma because her grades were not that good. She hoped to get additional training, especially on computers, so in the future she could get an office job.

* Promise of literacy: These women had much in common with women learners in general. All but one of the women in this ELC group talked about being victims of some form of physical or sexual violence.⁴ All were in some form of housing crisis. One woman was homeless and living in her car but looking for a place so she could get her daughter back. Two were being evicted while another was having difficulty finding Section 8 housing, and another was fighting with her landlord. In connection to this, they were all struggling with some aspect of runaround or miscommunication with governmental and social service agencies. Their educational achievements seemed to have no bearing on solving any of these issues, thus calling into question the "promise of literacy" (Horsman, 1994).

* Willing participants: This group calmed my concerns about how open women learners would be in the conversation circles. Would women learners be at all interested in talking about their reading interests or women-centered literacy materials? Would they only say what they thought I wanted to hear? Would they only talk about what they thought they were supposed to in relation to reading and schooling?⁵ Would they talk to me about anything at all? Would they refuse to participate totally? Also, because the women in this group were mandated to attend ELC classes, I wondered how truly voluntary their participation could be in this setting and conversation circle.

This conversation circle presented two curious dynamics. First, the women in this group did not really talk with each other or build on each other's conversation. They rarely looked at each other and directed their comments and eyes to either Liz or myself, depending on who had just asked a question. I made a note to myself to watch this in other groups and try to facilitate interaction between participants in subsequent conversation circles.

Secondly, three of the women in the group were very open and revealing about their personal lives, even within moments of my first meeting with them. Though they did answer questions directly, they also talked for long periods of time along their own conversational paths, usually about the immediate pressures and problems each woman was individually handling. Their willingness to divulge details of their lives seemed too open. On the one hand, the purpose of ELC is to give women an opportunity to explore the issues in their lives. On the other hand, I was surprised at how much they revealed so quickly, although I had just met them. The overall atmosphere Liz created perhaps fostered their trust.

 * Understanding women's stories: In searching for some reflection on this experience, I talked with other literacy workers and teachers. They offered some insight from their experiences with system-ized women. Women dealing with any aspect of social services and governmental agencies&endash;who have been incarcerated, who are working through recovery, who are court mandated to attend parenting classes, and so on&endash;know what they can talk about without consequence. They have to reveal aspects of their stories to endless numbers of authorities who control women's access to or denial of whatever resources women are trying to gain. In order to survive this process, each woman has a story to tell&endash;one that provides enough information to satisfy requirements but that she can afford also to giveaway without losing or jeopardizing her-self.

ABE Site - Fall River, MA
April 14, 2001

According to information taken from their website, the Adult Basic Education program located in Fall River, MA⁶ provides high school equivalency classes, English as a second language, developmental math and other programs that help people with limited skills. They offer employability services (job-related instruction, resume preparation) and support services (job counseling, referral, academic advising). Their target population includes the general public, specifically area residents over 16 years old not currently enrolled in high school. They have morning and evening classes.

I first became aware of the ABE program because of a connection through Sally Gabb at SABES Southeast.⁷ She asked me to do a Women Leading Through Reading book group training in Fall River for network members of SABES. Using this travel opportunity to expand site locations, I also arranged to facilitate a conversation circle through a SABES affiliated learning site. To prepare the learners for the project, I agreed to send ahead of my arrival a letter introducing the project and myself.⁸

Sally had arranged, through the ABE director, for me to talk with learners in the ABE program. However, it seems the director did not really convey the information very clearly to the teachers. Even up until the day I arrived there was some confusion about which class and teacher would participate. There was miscommunication on what day and time I would arrive. Because of this confusion, the teacher ultimately was not prepared for me to be there.

When arrived, Sally introduced me to the teacher who expressed being disconcerted by my presence. She did not know I would be there then and was not very clear about my purpose or goals. She had not yet read my letter to the students having received it only a few hours earlier. She had only given the letter to the students shortly before my arrival so they had not read it either. I assured her that I did not want to disrupt the class or her lesson. I was happy to cancel my time with them rather than interrupt their day.⁹

The teacher also had some concerns about the research process itself. According to her, students in their program who participate in research are often paid. The teacher asked if I was going to pay the students. I had not planned on this but said if it really mattered, I would find some way of coming up with a nominal sum for each woman. The teacher said she would ask the director about this while I met with the women, but then decided I did not need to pay them because it would be only a one-time short visit.

Another point of confusion was my desire to meet only with the women in the class. Sally had told me the classes included men and women. Therefore, in both the invitational letters to the site and to Sally, I purposefully made it clear my desire to have the conversation only with women learners. Unfortunately, that point of information also did not get conveyed to the teacher so some minor tension existed about pulling the male learners out of the classroom.

After my conversation with the teacher, she seemed satisfied enough about the project to allow me time with the women. She decided to pull the men out of the class and work with them separately in the library. The class had been in the middle of doing math. The teacher re-entered the room while saying something like, "OK, the men have to leave because Mev is going to meet with the women students." All the students initially seemed confused but the men eventually got up and went to the library. The teacher prepared a place for me in the front of the classroom at the teacher's podium, and she left. The room was arranged with clusters of tables. I sat at one of the clusters where most of the women were already sitting and asked the other women in the room to join us around the same table. They seemed reluctant to enter into a circle. They seemed to be uncomfortable with my willingness to sit with them. They clustered at the other end of the table from where I was sitting.¹⁰

DDespite the confusion, the teacher allowed me to have until the end of the class period, which gave us close to 80 minutes. After explaining the conversation circle process and their options if they chose not to participate, one of the women, in a manner suggestion suspicion and challenge, crossed her arms and asked assertively what I wanted from them and what kinds of questions I would ask. After explaining the conversation circle questions and summary process in more detail, all of the women decided to stay for the conversation.

It took them awhile to get into the conversation and one woman (the challenger) dominated much of it for the time she was in the room. However, as my questions continually reflected their conversation, the more interested and responsive they became. As they talked about their own interests and problems, the more ideas they were able to discover about what might interest them in terms of reading materials. When the conversation stalled, I pulled out the suitcase of books and materials. The women were extremely interested in the books and spent some time looking through them&endash;each woman taking the books on topics of interest to her. This jump-started their own conversation and gave them some fresh ideas for what they would find interesting to read, especially as they realized their individual interests were not represented there. As the conversation seemed to be slowing down, I asked the women if they would be willing to write some answers to the question sheet I had prepared. They all responded except for one woman who had to leave early for an appointment&endash;the same woman who was dominating the conversation. After she left, the other women seemed to talk more easily and comfortably.

After the conversation circle, the teacher and I talked some more about the situation. During the time of the conversation circle she had an opportunity to read the letter I sent to the students. She said she was upset when she realized what was happening because she would have chosen a different class to participate. She explained the class I had spoken with was multi-ethnic and what she called "very low-skilled." According to the teacher, they would do whatever I told them but they would not speak up or have much to say. The other class she had in mind might have been more productive. They were a higher level and the women in that class had more issues. They were predominately a women's group and she thought they would have a lot more to say.¹¹

I mailed the summaries but did not receive any returned responses by doing it in this way. I do not know if the teacher passed the letters onto the students or not. During our conversation, though, one woman had said she would like to see the WE LEARN web site and she likes to use e-mail. She indicated a willingness to correspond some more on these issues, however, she has not responded to my emails.

ABE Site summary of conversation circle notes as provided to learners

(This is the summary that was sent to the learner participants for their approval. This is an "unapproved" summary as I received no responses from the learners about its accuracy.)

Mev Miller came to our class to talk with us. We had received her letter only a short time before class. We did not have time to read it before she came. We were doing math when she arrived. Our teacher went into another room with the men in the class to keep working on math. We stayed with Mev to talk about reading and reading materials. She said we could stay and talk or continue with math if we wanted to.

We asked Mev what kinds of questions she had. She said she wanted to talk to us about what we like to read. She wanted to know about what we would like to know about. Mev wanted to know what we would like to read if it was available. She also gave us a form with questions about reading that some of us filled in.

This is a summary of some of things we said. Mev did not tape our conversation and this summary comes from her notes.

 * We don't have much time to read. We'd rather listen to music. Our free time is spent cleaning and listening to music while we clean.

* I like to read magazines like Mademoiselle and Country Living.

* I don't read much. I just want to get my GED so that I can get a better job and get off the 3rd shift and spend more time with my daughter.

* I don't want people to bother me when I'm in the tub. I use that time to relax and sometimes I'll read horror or mysteries. I like them because you don't know what will happen next.

* It would be good to have a book on how to get your children to clean their rooms without mother telling them to do it. How do you get them to do chores without bribing them with money or without yelling at them? I don't always want them to think mommy will do it.

* I plan to be a nurse. But I don't know all the kinds of nursing there are, like pediatric nursing. I want a book that talks about all the different kinds of nursing and what they are.

* I want a book on beauty products and a woman's point of view about how to use them and what works. I want consumer information and real women's experiences, not just advertisers telling us what's good.

* I had a kidney transplant and would have liked a book on that and the experiences of other people.

* I would like a book on laws and my rights and what to do if my rights are violated.

* I'm interested in history.

* We had a discussion about violence in the workplace and on TV and in the movies. There's too much violence. The women in the circle agreed. One woman said that one of the reasons why she likes mysteries is because something good comes of it. There's usually a point. But then she also asked in general where are the morals of this society?

* One woman was also upset that there's so much violence in the workplace. She doesn't want to read about violence in general. There's a lot of problems in the workplace that would go away if people would just follow their job descriptions. She doesn't want to get involved in the business of her coworkers. She and her coworkers complain about violence in the workplace. It's not her place to deal with it though. Mostly, it should be taken care of by the supervisors. It's a concern but not one she wants to read about.

* I want something about what to say if my child tells me he's gay. How should I respond? This could also be a book about how to talk about sexuality in general. (Other women agreed about having books on how to talk to kids about sexuality.)

* Why do kids think their parents embarrass them? Why is it embarrassing?

* How do I talk to my daughter about getting her period, about body changes, about boys and sex, or safe sex, or no sex, and about having babies? (Many of the other women in the group spoke on this as well.)

* If girls were more involved in sports they wouldn't have time for boys. Sports keeps them away from boys. I want some books too on being a tomboy.

* I was always sick so I never had any friends. A book on how to make friends. And how people should treat other people who have illnesses.

* Why do men think they have to protect women? Why can't women fight their own battles?

We also spent some time looking at the books Mev brought. They were samples of books that other women literacy students have written. There were also books about topics that some women in other literacy groups said they were interested in. One woman was especially interested in the book called Daycare and Diplomas¹² and the one about miscarriage.

We have never really been asked what we want to read or what we would like to read. Mostly we just read what the teacher assigns. That's what will help us to get our GEDs. The teacher knows best what we should read to get our GEDs. (Women seemed reluctant to say whether they liked those readings or not.) Mostly we just want to get our GEDs and be done.

Mev gave us a form to fill in that had some questions on it about what we like to read. We spent some time filling them in. This activity and looking at the books helped us to think of other reading materials that would interest us.

* I'm into math, not writing. I would be interested in something on finance and accounting.

* One woman talked about her experiences about her kidney transplant and her size. She's tired of people bugging her with questions (like, why doesn't she drive, when will she have kids, why doesn't she date). She wants a book on kidney disease. It should tell people what to do for her and how to treat her like a normal person. It should tell them not to treat her like a kid. It should tell them how hard it is to make friends because of her size (people think she's a kid because of her small size).

* I would like a book on how to talk with children about school violence. What happens if they get shot? How do we keep our kids safe in school? Women in the group mentioned that Catholic school might be better, but maybe not. Several women in the group shared this concern.

These are answers we made on the question sheet Mev gave us.

1. If you feel like reading something, what would it be?

* Non-fiction books
* books about teen mothers who stayed in school
* women's health
* magazines like Glamour
* about parenting and children

 2. What resources help you to make sense of your life?

* How to get an education and stable financially
* going through the experience of life

 3. What kinds of materials would you put in a resource room?

* Books for teens, kids and adults, teen parenting, sex, cooking, decorating, STDs, violence and all kinds of different things. also magazines.

* Experiences, facts

4. What topics or subjects would you include in a resource room?

* Why people have a hard time in life
* Domestic violence
* Rights
* Health
* Sex (all types)

 5. What is your experience with reading?

 * I like it sometimes. Reading is the easiest when I have nothing to do and I am bored.

6. What are some of the things you have read that you really enjoyed?

* Non-fiction books

* Books about baby's and children because I have a baby that is one and my oldest is three so that would interest me a lot.

My Reflections on ABE Site

* Communication: Though Sally did a lot to help me establish contact with this site, I perhaps left too much up to her. At some point, it would have been good for me to make direct contact with the ABE director and / or teachers. This may have alleviated some of the confusion about times, classes, expectations and so on. Also, I did not clearly understand the relationship between SABES and ABE Site. I had mistakenly assumed they were connected programs. This was a learning curve for several of us. My lack of understanding about the relationship between SABES and the ABE program perhaps muddied the waters. My inexperience with doing research and negotiating with all the parties was also a factor. Also, Sally was relatively new in her position at SABES and was still learning the intricacies there as well.

* Work value - teacher power: Just before the class period was over, the teacher re-entered the room and said to the students, "Well, it looks like you had a good séance"! In the moment, my reaction to that statement was mixed. On the one hand, it seemed to be an attempt at humor and trying to make light of an uncomfortable or unusual situation. Taking it personally, though, it felt like perhaps she was not regarding our conversation or my work seriously. Perhaps I was being too sensitive. I also wondered if the students felt their work in that 80 minutes was also insignificant.

This teacher also questioned the value of talking with this particular group. It was slow getting the conversation started, and I attribute this to a number of factors:

* They did not know I was coming.

* They had been interrupted from math lesson.

* They did not know me and they were unprepared for what I was doing.

* They were used to being in mixed gender situations and may not have often had opportunity to talk. Silence worked for them.

* The conversation circle posed a new set of questions for them which they needed some time to consider before responding.

However, they did eventually open up to some extent and seemed more responsive to me than their teacher might have expected. They indicated that no one had really ever asked them before about their reading preferences. The teachers usually assigned readings and never really asked them what they would like to read. Since they were in a classroom setting, they also figured they needed to read what was assigned so they could get their GEDs. They were reading because they were in school or taking classes and, therefore, it made sense that the teacher would know what they should read -- regardless of whether they much liked it. As they talked, however, they discussed several things they wanted people to understand (e.g. about having a debilitating disease) and what they wanted to read or know more about. Also, they preferred talking about some things rather than reading about them -- they wanted the choice not to read!

* Payment: When I initially began to think about doing this dissertation project, I wondered about exploiting the time of women learners and thought about coming up with some form of simple payment or monetary form of appreciation. However, because I did not have the financial resources for this&endash;and no way of knowing how many women would ultimately participate&endash;I simply ignored the problem. I was not prepared for how quickly this issue would confront me. I realized I may need to address it again in future settings, however, this was the only site in which payment came up as an issue. As WE LEARN develops over the long term, though, compensation for learners will be something to consider and address.

* Recorded archive: Initially I had come prepared with recorder and permission forms to tape this conversation. In the moment, though, I decided against taping this conversation circle. Because of the initial confusion and the extent to which the women were unprepared for my presence, it felt to me that pulling out a tape recorder and negotiating the consent forms would be too disconcerting. In some ways, this may have been a more a reflection of my own (dis)comfort level with the situation as much as my concern for the learners' perceptions. Because it was one of the first real conversation circles with learners, I was still unclear about how to navigate all the consents within such a short period. I worried about the methodological research legitimacy of this decision. However, I also decided it was better to trust my instinct and to understand this decision as a consideration for location and participation. Therefore, the conversation summary comes from notes I jotted while we were talking and my journaling immediately afterwards. Sometimes there are real practical problems with research methodologies and protocol. I was willing in that moment to sacrifice methodological consistency and rigor for the sensitiveness of the situation.

Caroline Center - Baltimore, MD
April 18 & 19, 2001

According to their website, Caroline Center is a learning and career center for women located in Baltimore City, MD and sponsored by School Sisters of Notre Dame. "The mission of Caroline Center is to enable unemployed and underemployed women to find work in a career with potential for growth and advancement, thus creating a future full of hope for themselves and their families." The Caroline Center program utilizes small classes and individual instruction, computer training, open discussions, workshops, internships and field trips for training in clerical/secretarial, health care, child care, and house repair. Caroline Center also produces a regular newsletter. Periodically, they produce a publication called Caro-Lines that features writings by their students. Several of the learners in the WE LEARN conversation circle had contributions in the Spring, 2001 issue.

This is some additional and incidental profile information I learned about the learners from our conversations and from my visit there.

* Many of the women learners are in various stages of recovery and sobriety. Women are not permitted to participate in Caroline Center's programs if they are active users. Mandatory drug tests are administered to the participants once a week.

 * Because of its curriculum and focus, Caroline Center can be considered a workplace training program rather than a literacy center.

* Along with the curriculum mentioned above, Caroline Center does offer women the opportunity to work towards their GEDs. Not all women participate in GED testing, however.

* Women attend these programs for a short period of time -- just as long as it takes them to find full-time work. They participate for as few as three months and as long as one school year.

* There are also some paid job opportunities for the women at Caroline Center itself.

* All the women are expected to help at the end of the week with general "clean-up" of the site -- sweeping floors, cleaning boards, preparing drug test kits, re-arranging furniture, etc.

* About 90% of the women who participate in Caroline Center's programs are African-American. This has much to do with the location of the site in East Baltimore. There are no immigrant learners or ESL classes at this site.

* Many of the women have access to personal email accounts through Caroline Center.

* Because this center is run by Roman Catholic religious women (School Sisters of Notre Dame), the center has an open atmosphere for expressions of spirituality and religious convictions. Many of the women in this conversation circle spoke of their interest in reading spiritual and devotional materials.¹³

I first became aware of Caroline Center because the Executive Director, Sr. Patricia McLaughlin, is a friend of mine.¹⁴ In 2000, I met with staff members at Caroline Center who had participated in the Spring 2000 literacy workers questionnaire. Pat agreed to arrange a conversation circle. She thought I could meet with two classes working on improving their reading and writing, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If women agreed, I could return the next day for a second conversation with a combined group of both classes.

First meeting: On the day of my visit, there was a last minute scheduling conflict. Instead of two separate groups, I met with both classes together in the afternoon. I would have one hour with them. Pat and I arranged the room.¹⁵ I placed the food and drink¹⁶ I had brought on one tables and set out the suitcase of books on another table. When the women arrived, Pat and I greeted them, encouraged them to take refreshments, and I answered their questions about the reading materials.¹⁷ When everyone had arrived, seated and settled, Pat introduced me and explained to them participation in research activities gives them the opportunity to be the expert at something and to teach others something new. Also, it often helps future students and Caroline Center in the long run.

At Pat's suggestion, I had sent a letter prior to my visit introducing myself and the project. I started by asking them if they had a chance to read the letter. Because of their schedules, many of the women did not receive the letter until the day of my arrival. Several said they had read some of the letter but many had not read any of it. I went through the preliminary information and explanation, they all chose to stay for the conversation circle.

After the circle round of introductions, I reflected on some of what they had said and posed more questions to further the conversation. Unlike the previous group, they warmed up to the conversation quickly and spoke more with each other rather than only to me. Some women commented on what other women said in friendly and joking manners and questioned each other or built on what each other said. Several times the conversation veered into what might have been considered off-topic tangents but these moments providing interesting information as well. When the time ended, I asked if I could return the next day and they agreed.

Second meeting: To prepare for the second conversation, I listened to the taped conversation and jotted some notes. As I reviewed them, I saw some general themes emerging. I organized these themes on poster-size post-it notepaper and wrote individual topics and quotes under each of them. We met in a different room the second time, which had more room for moving around. I hung the notes on the walls for the women to see as they came into the room. Under each note, I also placed another blank post-it (see Appendix Post-it Pictures). As women entered the room, they looked at the sheets and made comments like, "Wow, you did this from what we said?" or "I said that!" and other similar comments. The women arrived one at a time over 15 minutes so as they arrived I asked them to write some responses to the learner questionnaire.¹⁸

When everyone who was going to had arrived (about half the number of women from the previous day), we started to look at the sheets together.¹⁹ By way of editing this "summary," I asked them if there were items that they wanted to change or delete. They did not want to make any changes. I then asked them to review the lists and make additions. Their conversation got animated as they chose a place to begin. As they talked, I wrote down their additions on the blank sheets under the similar themes. They would focus in one area then move back and forth. If the conversation stalled or if their thoughts were not clear, I'd ask clarifying questions or questions to elicit more information about what they had already said.

About 20 minutes before the end of the period, I turned their attention to the sheet about their proposal to write a book about the women at Caroline Center. They had been adding suggestions to the list and I asked if this was a project they really wanted to take-on. Though they all seemed interested, one woman in particular (RS) emerged as the natural leader/point person for it. We discussed ways to move it forward and made some decisions about how to proceed next. I agreed to make a flyer about the book asking women to write their stories for it. The interested student (RS) agreed to post it at the Caroline Center and to give copies to the women who participated in the conversation circle as well as other students. Some of the other women agreed to talk it up and to write something. They would also create a committee to work on it. (RS) and I kept I contact for awhile but the book never happened.

I mailed summaries and correction forms to all the women in the conversation circle and received three replies with limited changes but a few additions. Some women wanted to keep in touch by email but my messages have received no reply and some of the addresses have now expired.

Caroline Center Summary conversation circle notes as provided to learners

Our conversation circle met twice. The first day included women from two classes that came together. The second day involved only the women who wanted to participate or who could come for more conversation.

On the first day, we took turns introducing ourselves. We also said something about what we like to read or how we feel about reading. These are some of the things we said:

Books we have read and authors we like

* Magazines
* Spiritual books / devotional / Gospels / Bible / Daily Meditation books
* Modern Woman Magazine, Oprah's magazine
* Adventure books
* Four Sisters fiction stories
* Book by Kareem Abdul Jamal
* Color Purple and other book by Alice Walker
* Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back and other books by Terry Macmillan
* I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and other books by Maya Angelou
* Books by Iyanla Vanzant, especially the book about her life
* $20.00 bill
* Pop-up books
* The posters on the walls at Caroline Center and the other spiritual readings about women that they give us
* and other signs and posters on the street and on the buses
* Books for "dummies" like Computers for Dummies
* Push by Sapphire
* Source Magazine
* Suga
* Right On

 General Comments about Reading

* Most of the women in the group read with their children. For some, this is the only time we read.

* "I will read if I have to"

* RS suggested that younger women in the group need to read more than just children's books. Maybe it would help them get into reading if it was more about their daily lives.

* "I read all types of books. I love to read."

* "There's nothing sicker than having a book that you have to look up the words in the dictionary every 5 minutes."

 Topics or Book Subjects We Want
(Note: only about one-third of this list came from the first day. The majority of suggestions came from the smaller group on the second day)

* Books that enhance our vocabulary
* "Daily lives" -- things that happen every day
* True stories and interesting books
* Pictures
* How to improve your credit
* Books with simpler vocabulary that helps to break things down
* Stages of children's development and behavior (but refer to list on books we don't want)
* Jobs, benefits, how to find a job with good benefits
* How to make enough money working at home
* Breast cancer issues for African American women
* STDs. AIDS, syphilis, herpes
* Sickle cell anemia
* Asthma
* Diabetes and high blood pressure in African Americans
* Heart attacks happening to young people
* Babies with arthritis
* Babies having babies
* Abortion / choice
* Gay stuff
* Passing kids through school even if their work isn't good
* Domestic violence
* Child molestation
* Book about fear of driving
* Creative things (stories and activities) for girls 12-16 that tell them things like not to have sex, not to use drugs, staying safe, staying in school, no boyfriends at the age of 10
* Runaway teens
* Patience - knowing what to say at the right time
* Books on the way you say things and how to present yourself
* Mothers & daughters or Mothers & sons
* Grandmothers raising kids -- better than foster care; stress on grandparents; mothers need to take responsibility for their children
* When to stop having kids --  this is NOT the same as birth control
* Abuse of the welfare system
* Drugs in the community; how to get the pushers on the corners to go away
* Book on respect

Books we DON'T want

* How to make friends

* How to become a "better person"

* Parenting books that tell you how to raise your child - "No one can tell you how to raise your own child" (though books on stages of development and behavior would be useful)

* "Don't want people to give me books on how to improve myself."

* Don't like people to read to me !!! For example, if someone thinks there's something I should know about and they just start reading to me, like out of the newspaper or something.

 Other general ideas

* Book club

* Don't like Oprah's books club it costs too much money (some of the women also just don't like Oprah) We would rather use the library.

* We get our books from Waldenbooks, from the library, from a friend's house

* If a movie is based on a book (like Color Purple or How Stella Got Her Groove Back), the book is always better than the movie. It's better to read the book. If you see the movie, you have to read the book after. Or if you read the book first, sometimes the movie ruins how you thought about it.

* About writing - I can put words together but it's hard for me to get them onto paper. I don't know where to put the periods and stuff

* You always have to read the small print so you know what you're signing. People get burnt if they don't read it all, especially law stuff and social services when they tell you to sign at the X_____ before you can read it.

We also talked about these things (general things we talked about on the side)

 * Women who can't read at all

* Working at home

* Staying clean and sober

* Parenting issues

* Writing essays for the GED - what the topics are and how hard it is

* GED and math problems - how the test is very different from what we learned at Caroline Center and how they will change the test next year to include calculus

* Friends controlling us

* How we talk to the drug pushers in our neighborhood and how they disrespect us by selling drugs while we're walking our children to school or to the bus

Ideas for a book about women at the Caroline Center

Women in the conversation circle had the idea that we should write a book about women who go to Caroline center -- a book about our lives. We were very excited about this idea. We would like to read a book about the life experiences of women who attend Caroline Center. If a book like this had been given to us when we first came here, we would have liked that. It would have been helpful.

These are some of our ideas about what could be in this book and what it would mean to us.

* I could read about women with experiences like mine:

* Women who don't know math
* Women who don't read well
* Women who want to get their GEDs
* Women who want to get off welfare

* I would like to write my own story

* To know about our different backgrounds

* We can write our stories but we don't need to use our own names.

* It should have lots of pictures

* It would be divided into sections and chapters

* Some women might not want to write their own stories or would find this hard to do. Maybe someone could interview them or maybe they could narrate it on tape and someone else could help them to write it.

* Single parent experiences

* Growing up in their communities

* Survivors of drugs / alcohol

* Getting our independence back

* Dedicated to the Sisters at Caroline Center

* Why are you here (at Caroline Center)? What was it like before you got here? What's it like after you came here? How are you different? How is your life different?

* How do you feel about yourself?

* What gives you motivation and encouragement?

* Are your goals different since coming here? Like deciding to go to college?

 
Ideas on how to get the "Women at Caroline Center" book written

We will work with Mev by email. Mev will coordinate it.

Mev will make a flyer and RS will make sure everyone at Caroline Center gets it.

RS will talk about it with women and will help to coordinate.

Some women will get together to make a committee to work on it and to edit.

We will correspond by email.

Women who want to write something will write a paragraph about what they want to do and email it to Mev.

Mev will try to come back in late June or early July.

My Reflections on Caroline Center

* Active summary: The use of the poster-sized post-it notes worked as a creative way to involve the participants in creating the conversation circle summary. Not only could they visually see their own words, but they were able then to generate additional discussion from them. This was an effective way to involve women in the summary writing process. As an after thought, it might have been a more participatory process if I had let them work in small groups together with their own sheets to write or draw their own summaries or additional suggestions.

* Using basic language: For me, learning to be a writer of plain/basic/simple English has been difficult. On the one hand, women learners need to understand what they are being asked to participate in. Explaining it simply and directly in a letter was perhaps the hardest writing I have had to do. Their responses -- too many words, too much about me -- indicated that this particular letter did not work well. Discovering how to write about the process in simpler ways eludes me. Training materials for accomplished writers about how to write more simply without patronization and dumbing down may be a tool for WE LEARN to consider.

* Creating materials: This group of women got very excited about producing a book about their experiences at Caroline Center. The women in this program have a real affection and connection to their program as well as gratitude for what it means in their lives. They wanted to write about their experiences and share them with others. They thought a book about their lives and stories could be helpful for new women coming to the center to help them know they are not the only ones going through whatever struggles they might be having. Though the women tried to make it happen and Pat was supportive, this book did not develop. The women wanted me involved and time and distance became primary factors in our lack of achievement. It is possible that if I had been in town, we may have been able to pursue it more effectively.²⁰ Also, Pat informed me (RS) had a health crisis that kept her home for a period, and she was working full-time and taking a writing course. If we had involved some teachers at the Caroline Center, perhaps the writing project could have become part of a class project. Overall, though, I found the women's energy and interest in this project to be energizing and positive for me and my thoughts about women-centered literacy materials. Given the opportunity with enthusiastic learner energy, time, and leadership, projects like this could flourish. 

Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning - St. Paul, MN
May 3 & 10, 2001

Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning was perhaps the largest program that allowed the conversation circles. According to their website, the Adult Education program is a division of the Saint Paul Public Schools Community Education department. Administrative offices for all programs -- including Adult Basic Education, Adult Diploma, GED, Workforce Education, Special Needs, English Language Learning, and Family Literacy -- are located at the Ronald M. Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning.

The Mission of the Ronald M. Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning is to empower individuals and families through establishing a diverse collaborative of literacy providers and others which will facilitate learning experiences that ensure literacy skills for self-enhancement and active involvement as decision makers in a diverse and complex world. (Hubbs website - http://www.commed.spps.org/adult.htm )

It took me several tries and avenues of contact before I connected with someone at Hubbs about the conversation circles. Eventually I received a call from Donna Lindstrom, one of the teachers. She did not believe learners would volunteer for a conversation circle on their own time. She needed to create an opportunity to fit into the curriculum and happen at a time when learners would come as part of their regular school day. This would provide learners not only with an additional learning experience but would also satisfy their necessary credits. Because of these factors, Donna suggested that I do the conversation circles within the context of a Women Leading Through Reading book group. Women learners could then be invited from a couple of different classrooms during the designated time, preferably in a morning time slot. She would talk to other teachers at Hubbs and I should try to call Claudia Bredemus, Curriculum Specialist, who would give final approval.

Claudia agreed to have a conversation circle during a regular class period on a weekday morning. She arranged with two of the teachers (Donna and Eula) to have learners come to the conversation circle. We agreed that I could meet with the learners at least twice. Then, depending on their response and interest, I could also facilitate a book group with them until the end of the semester. In total, this would give us about 6 sessions. When I asked her whether the learners would receive their credits, she indicated this was not a problem.

Prior to the first conversation circle, I sent copies of the "introduction" letter I had used with ABE Site and Caroline Center.²¹ I asked her to give them to the women so that they would be prepared for the project. I also sent a site consent form to her. On the agreed upon day, I asked Claudia if she had received the mailing. She found the site agreement too overwhelming -- it took her by surprise and she thought it was too formal.²² Claudia also thought my letter to learners had too many words on the page so she never gave it to them. She said the best thing to do with teachers and learners was to keep it simple. Additionally, Claudia did not think it was necessary for learners to sign a consent form as long as I kept all names confidential. She thought it was fine to tape record the learners with only their verbal agreement as long as I maintained confidentiality there as well.

First meeting: Claudia showed me the room where we would meet -- a staff conference room. She then showed me the classrooms from which the students would be coming and left me on my own. Before each session, I needed to go to the classrooms and remind the teachers to send the women learners to the conversation book club.

That first day was a bit chaotic. Donna sent her learners ahead to the meeting room while I was busy meeting Eula's learners. They were arriving slowly (and late) so the learners from Donna's class made it to the meeting room wellahead of me. They must have been waiting for some time because there was an intercom page for me to get to the classroom right away. I passed Donna in the hall on the way and she thought the learners might start to leave if I didn't get there soon. Also, some of the staff seemed concerned about them being alone in the room without a teacher. After we all started to settle into the room, a staff person knocked on the door and pulled me out of the room. He wanted to know who I was, what I was doing there, and who had arranged for the time and space. It's a big center with lots going on so it seems they monitor as much as they can, when they can. Unusual events or situations needed to be explained. It also seemed that there was some anxiety about a room of learners during a class period without a teacher. Unfortunately, by the time this all happened, we only had about 40 minutes left of what was to have been a 55-minute hour.

Though Claudia had made arrangements with the teachers, the learners had no idea why they were being pulled out of class to meet in a separate room with an unknown new person. Nothing had been explained to them. The teachers had only mentioned that I was going to do some reading with them and to ask them some questions. Some of the learners seemed unsure and reticent about this arrangement but went along with it. Others seemed unconcerned -- even happy to have a change of pace. As we settled into the room, I explained the purpose and process of the conversation circles. Though perhaps skeptical, they all chose to stay. There were seven learners participating. We proceeded with introductions and conversation.

About midway through the conversation, I showed them the suitcase of reading materials. The women responded with great interest to them -- several of them asking if they could borrow or buy some of the books from me. I used this as an opportunity to ask if I could return next week to continue the conversation. I also asked them if they were interested in having an on-going book discussion group. They were excited about this idea and had specific suggestions for how we should proceed. We discussed specific titles (Hate Hurts, How Stella Got Her Groove Back) and they made suggestions for types of other books I should bring for their consideration (chapter books, larger print, African American, mysteries, etc.). I would bring the books to the next session, so they would decide on something to read together. They wanted to read a full book and not just short article pieces. They agreed to then meet as a book club until the end of the semester.

During the course of this conversation, two additional suggestions surfaced. One of the women discussed how she had only recently learned how to read. She was so excited that she went and bought a bookshelf. She wanted to fill it up with good books she could read and call her own. She asked me to make a book list for her of some of the books I had brought, but she also wanted me to include recommendations form the bookstore. She also said that there should be commercials on TV about books. This became the catalyst for suggesting a small project. We discussed how the book group could collectively write a review about the book they read together. They could then make it available to other learners at the site via the computer-generated announcements seen throughout the center on TV monitors.²³

After we finished, I went to find Claudia and asked her to arrange for the room for the next few weeks as the women decided to go forward with a book discussion group. Claudia seemed both surprised and pleased.

Second meeting: Seven women participated in the second group though three of them were new this session. Again, it took a bit of time to get settled and organized&endash;a 55-minute hour ended up being only about 40 minutes of real work time. I explained the purpose of the conversation circle to the newcomers and asked them to introduce themselves in the way we had done the previous week. The women from the first meeting also briefly re-introduced themselves.²⁴

I had planned to review the notes from the previous week but their excitement about looking at the books and making selections put that item temporarily on hold. Based on the interests from the first week, I brought books to consider for the book group. I barely got the bag on the table before they started grabbing for them. The choices included:

Some of the women, as indicated by their informal conversation and enthusiasm, were excited about reading -- some of them obviously active readers. We spent some time looking at each book, discussing what it was about, assessing the difficulty of reading, thumbing through them for format. Some women seemed more invested in the decision than others. We narrowed it down to two choices and finally decided on The Skin I'm In. Though a young adult book, it seemed to be a good reading level, short enough to accomplish in the remaining weeks, and about a topic of interest to most of the women in the group. They also decided that rather than read in between sessions, we would read together each week as far as we could go and discuss the content as we went along. We also discussed how they would get the books and how women would pay for them. (I offered to get them at half price from the bookstore thus costing each of them only $3.00.) For those who couldn't afford it, they could borrow the books from me since wewould be reading together each week. Even though a couple of women decided to buy the book, they asked me to keep it and bring it back each time to class for fear they would forget to bring it on their own!

I also gave them a copy of the book list I had made according to their request. At the same time, I showed them some copies of catalogs²⁵ from book clubs I found and asked if they presented a good format for them. They did not like the idea of mail order catalog book clubs -- because of the requirement to buy so many books. However, they did like the colorfulness of them and the way the books were described. There was still some concern, about whether they would be able to read the books advertised. The catalogs did not do enough to explain reading level or print size.

After this discussion, I provided the summary from the previous week. One of the women in the group, a confident reader, read most of it to the class aloud by herself. I asked the women to make comments about its accuracy by responding to the question sheet I provided. (They all agreed it was fine and had nothing to add or change.) At this time, since they were in the process of writing and reflecting, I also asked them to fill in the demographic sheet and the general questionnaire about their reading preferences. I did not demand that women participate in these writing activities. Two of the newcomers did not participate in this activity at all. Those who filled in the questionnaires did so only partially. This may have been for several reasons: lack of interest, lack of time, general distraction in the room (some women were conversing while others were concentrating on writing), and confusion about the questions themselves.

For the next 4 weeks, we met together as a book discussion group. We met for two weeks, then skipped a week,²⁶ then we met one last time during the last week of the semester. Unfortunately, for the week I was gone, the women were not permitted by the center to meet on their own and self-facilitate the reading group. I asked if this would be possible and was told, no, that some of the women are required to report in as a condition of the education. So, for that week, the women returned to their regular classrooms during this period.

For the 3 times we met as a book group, only 3-5 women attended each time&endash;not always the same women (though 2-3 of the women were fairly consistent). I have no real information about why this happened. One woman mentioned her child was sick. Another mentioned having to go to arrange for taking some computer classes. I overheard some of the women talking about one of the women who only came to the center one day (our second meeting) and never returned. Others apparently just stopped attending classes altogether.

Each book group generally lasted about 40 minutes. Sometimes the women just needed to relax into the setting, having time to chat with each other. Some of this discussion was friendly banter while women were eating whatever food (lunch) they had brought. But sometimes the conversations included information sharing. One such conversation centered on how chicken pox was going around and the women recalled their own experiences with it as well as shared some mothering advise on how to deal with it. I did not directly call them to order in these conversations. It seemed integral to bringing them into a community that could then read and converse together. Either they would end the conversation on their own and get to reading or they would take their cue from me when I picked up the book.

The women decided we should all take turns reading aloud. We decided on about a page each. The women enjoyed being read too by me and some of the other women were comfortable and willing to read for longer periods, sometimes a whole chapter rather than one page. The women who read aloud easily would sometimes become impatient with the slower readers. A few women clearly had difficulty reading aloud, not only because of their abilities but also because of their personal insecurity. Even with these insecurities, though, all the women participated, even if just for a short period. They might wait to go last but they did not choose to pass.

In one case, a woman (K.) talked about how reading out loud was very uncomfortable for her. She has a hard time because she gets nervous. Other women encouraged K. to read to her children as a way of practicing. They advised her to keep reading aloud and eventually it gets easier. I told of my experience with a learner (M.) in another group who had a similar problem. I explained how M. would try to read fast which only caused her to make continuous mistakes. M. equated reading fast with reading well. That other group encouraged her to slow down and take her time, which she did. After a few weeks of practice, M.'s ability to read out loud improved considerably. The women in the Hubbs group especially liked this story and thought it was good advice. One woman (Tr.) in particular talked about how she couldn't read aloud in the past and now, with practice, she's doing it much better. Because of these stories, K. accepted this advice but then also used it as an opportunity to talk about how she has no support from anyone in her family to get proper education. They won't help her with her reports, especially a sister who has an education. They contradict how she raises her son, giving him mixed messages about expectations. The opportunity to talk about these concerns allowed K. to think broadly about her reading and education in relation to her experience.

As the book group continued to read each passage aloud, women would help each other along if they stumbled over or missed words. Sometimes we stopped to discuss a word or to clarify what was happening. Because the book was written in youth street language and conversational style, it presented cultural challenges for the immigrant women in the group. Some sections had to be explained or interpreted (e.g., "bull in a China closet," "standing on one leg like a flamingo," "it cost a Benjamin"). It was also interesting that some women would change the street slang into "proper English" as they read out loud. After reading one or two chapters, the group would stop and review what was happening (content understanding) and reflect on whether it compared to their personal experiences. For example, in one section of the book, the main character is asked by her teacher to write about an historical event as if she was a participant in it. They revisited a conversation from weeks earlier about their own history reports they had written. They had mixed reactions about how the technique described in the book might have worked for them individually.

At our fourth session, I brought some blank journaling books to the women. It was a gift to encourage them to write about their own lives. The women seemed happy to have them -- one woman started writing in it before we left the room that day! Because of the journal, one woman talked more about her experiences. She talked about how her family is always into her stuff and how hard it is to keep her thoughts private because they take or break into her journals. She talked about how she would hide the journal differently this time.

Unfortunately, we did not complete the chosen book by the end of the semester. At our last meeting, they seemed a bit more focused because it was clear we could not finish it in class. They wanted to get as far into it as they could. In total, we read about half way through it. One woman was disappointed because we did not finish. The women who bought the book for themselves said they would finish it on their own during the summer. They all seemed curious to know how the story ended. In their evaluations, the women thought the book group was a positive experience and one they might like to repeat.

Initially, I had chosen Hubbs as a possible site because it has a reputation for serving large numbers of immigrants from Asian countries. As it happened, this conversation circle included no Asian learners. Hubbs also has a large number of Deaf learners. Though I initially had some contact with the director of the Deaf program, we were never able to follow through to make a Deaf conversation circle happen.

Hubbs Center - Summary conversation circle notes as presented to learners

Things we have read and authors we like

* Action stories
* Mysteries
* Horror (we like horror because we know it's fake)
* Stories - scary stories books - mysteries, books where people that killed somebody in them and you have to figure it out.
* True stories - based on someone's life or real experiences
* The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardener
* Maya Angelou
* Books by Katherine Woodiwiss, esp. The Wolf and the Dove
* Books about children - how to care for them & child development
* How to prepare to have children
* Books on pregnancy
* Stephen King's books
* Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe
* I like reading all different kinds of books.
* "dark" books - like Stephen King's books are "dark"
* I watch this video called Rainbow - it's about African voodoo stuff. I really like it.
* Books with bigger type and simpler words. It's ok if we don't know all the words. But we don't like those books with the words are real big in half the sentences!

About Romance -- romance novels aren't as trashy as people say they are and the picture on the cover is sometimes nothing like the book. Sometimes the book only has one scene and it's at the end!

Historical romances -- romance stories that also have history in them - like one about Harriet Tubman but its about the couple on a farm who helped her with the Underground Railroad

Poetry -- but it depends on the kinds of poem (like not the real long story ones). It's better if it's shorter

General Comments about Reading

I don't like to read retarded books.

I don't like to read boring books.

I like to read books where I have to guess what's happening like, oh what's going to happen next.

One woman thought if we don't read different kinds of stuff then we won't know what interests us.

One woman said she just learned how to read. It was hard because in school everyone thought she was stupid. In 6th grade, the teacher put her in group 6 (a harder group) and the kids made fun of her. She tried to tell her mother who also didn't help. So she gave up. But now she just finished reading a 216 page book and understood it. (everyone applauded)

We talked about how we read but just can't put it together. We don't understand what all the words mean and don't understand what the reading is about.

Reading is hard. And if the material is boring then its really much harder. When it's like that, we don't want to do it.

About reading romances: "Because when I first started reading them when I was a teenager and it was all about sleepover teen nights and then the librarian came in high school and she said - here I got a book for you and you'll like it and she threw it in my lap and I thought to myself I'm never going to be able to get through that book - there's no way on earth I'm going to read that book but then I sat down and read the prolog and then I just went through it until I was done. And then I got hooked on her and I read all her books."

We talked about reading history books. Some women don't like to read history books because they're too boring. However, one woman said she DID like to read history books. Some of us only like to read certain kinds of history books, like history about African Americans. But one woman said that sometimes it's hard to read stuff about slavery because it's too painful. It's too hard for her because it hurts her so much. She cries when she reads it. It also brings up certain fears.

("It's like when I was in the 5th grade and the teacher really didn't like me. and if I didn't like to read it she really made me read it, you know and I just didn't have any interest in it and I just couldn't do it and she'd say read this book and it was always all this stuff over slavery and I couldn't. I would just leave out the classroom and sit out - because it hurt. I like a whole lot of cultural things but I just did not like slavery, I don't know. I can't read it. It paranoids me.")

We don't mind reading if it's something that really interests us.

The teacher's never ask us what we want to read. They just give it to us and we read it. If it's something we want to read we have to find it out for ourselves.

Some of Oprah's books are ok but a lot of them are too hard.

Topics or Book Subjects We Want

* Books about African American women
* Children and child development
* How to care for children and to see how important they are
* Psychology
* How to deal with life's problems
* Mev asked what we think about books on women's issues but we didn't really have much to say on that.

 Other general ideas

There needs to be commercials about books. (Like there is for beer and cars and stuff). The commercials should say what are good books and tell about why.

To find out about things to read: we ask people. Some of our teachers told us about certain books. However, the people in the bookstores are not so helpful. They mostly don't know anything when you ask them. (They say like, "Maya who?") You can't get the proper help there.

We find books at the library. The librarians in downtown Minneapolis are very helpful ("…those are my girls there!").

They should have a book class so that they can show you all the different kinds of books there are.

It would be good too if we had a list - like those book club lists they send home from school with the kids. It would tell about the book and what it's about and the price and we could order it. It would have a combination of adult and children's books.

We also talked about these things (general things we talked about on the side)

We talked about the history reports that are due soon. Some are harder than others. One woman is having a hard time doing hers because she doesn't want to read about the topic. Another women has lots of information for her topic, but she just thinks the person is not very interesting.

We talked about some of our educational goals. Some women are in the diploma program. Some are working for their GEDs. One woman has her high school degree and is improving her skills so she can go to college.

One woman talked about her dream to start her own business that will provide tutors for children in their homes. The tutors would not be expensive.

One woman wants to be a lawyer.

One woman want to go into computer programming but may end up in some form of health care.

What Our Group Decided to Do

We will meet next week. Mev will bring a summary of our discussion and we can add to it or change it.

We want to do a book club. Mev will bring some more ideas for chapter books and we will pick one to read together as a group. We will decide together what the book will be. We can read together and we can read to ourselves. Then we will talk about the book.

"You know what. I have an idea - if you just bring in some books about the topics like what we're talking about and we just decide on that book and we can get together and we can read the book and we can take turns reading and read by ourselves and at the end of the book we should just say what we thought about it felt about it at the end of the book."

My Reflections on Hubbs Center

* Consistency of learner attendance: Throughout my work on the dissertation project, I have encountered a number of researcher studies focusing on the motivation of learners and the attrition rate of learners in programs (Fitzsimmons, 1991; Flannery, 1994; Martin, 1990; Wallerstein, 1984). This group exampled some of these issues. Each meeting was attended by different constellations of women each time. Several women I only saw once. Not one woman attended every single session. A few were reliable while most had erratic attendance. I do not know the individual or collective reasons for the sporadic nature of the attendance. However, for both the conversation circles and the book group, it made continuity difficult to maintain. This only caused me to wonder how attrition rates could be a problem for involving learners in creating women-centered literacy materials or developing learner produced writings over longer periods. I think there is not a solution to this (necessarily). Rather, what is needed is an awareness to know this will happen and to accommodate with flexibility varying levels of consistency.

* Ambient conversation: This group also very easily developed a culture of ambient conversation. Some might accuse me of not taking control of the group or of being an ineffective facilitator, especially during the books groups. Perhaps I could be accused of being a liberal white (racist) teacher²⁷ since it might be claimed I did not hold the group to high enough learning standards. The quality of my facilitation or directional skills could be evaluated. In any event, reflection on teacher power in relation to participatory practices needs some consideration here. On occasion, when the conversations did get going, the women sometimes self-facilitated, especially when challenging each others' perspectives on certain issues or trying to gain understanding on certain points. In those moments, I chose not to interact to allow them space for critical discussion and leadership among themselves. For an example of this, see Appendix Hubbs Transcript.

* Resistance: One conversation provided some additional insight into learner resistance and motivation (Appendix Hubbs Transcript). Based on this conversation, in addition to challenging teacher power and control, I would argue there might be additional emotional aspects to resistance. Though the student started with simple excuses&endash;I don't want to; I don't have the time; I owe money to the library so I can't check out books&endash;these may have been considered acceptable schooled reasons for not completing her work. However, for this learner, the issues ran much deeper&endash;to a place actually stirring grief and pain. In the literature I have read on resistance, I have not seen this recognized as a possibility (Campbell, 1992; Davis, 1994; Gowen, 1992; R. Millar, 1998; Tisdell, 1993). In some cases, there may be additional circumstances relating to experience, emotion, or grief that rarely have opportunity for exploration. In this situation, resistance was not necessarily to authority but rather to the pain and grief of personal experience. As Jennifer Horsman (2000) has pointed out, learning is impeded for women who currently live in or are still healing from trauma. What of learning that actually creates such pain? What gets named or dismissed as student resistance or lack of responsibility may be grounded in human experiences needing additional exploration and critical conversation.

* Learners as participants: None of the learners in any of the conversation circles to this point had been well-prepared for this project to be a part of their class. In all of the groups, I clearly told women could leave if they did not wish to participate in the conversation circle. Though they consented to staying in the room and participating, I wonder about the true voluntary nature of thi