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Resilience:Stories ofAdultLearningA learner voice co-productionEdited by Tara Furlong and Keiko Yasukawa

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningCopyright 2016 text under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NCND, on which more information can be found /4.0/All Rights Reserved Copyright 2016 image various authorsAll Rights Reserved Copyright 2016 cover Designing Futures LtdFirst published in the United Kingdom in 2016RePAL, Sysondale, Anslow Lane, Rolleston on Dove, DE13 9DS, UKhttp://www.rapal.org.uk/A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British LibraryISBN 978-0-9513407-1-4 (e-book .epub)ISBN 978-0-9513407-2-1 (e-book .mobi)ISBN 978-0-9513407-3-8 (pdf)ISBN 978-0-9513407-4-5 (paperback)Also online at http://www.designingfutures.uk/resiliencePublished by RaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacies),supported by ACAL (Australian Council for Adult Literacy) and Festivalof Learning

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningForewordTcollection of learner stories, in their own words and with some helpfulcontributions by tutors along the way. It is testimony to the resilience ofhuman lives, the critical role of lifelong learning, and how adult literaciesweave through our journeys, visibly and invisibly. The editors thank each of thelearners and their tutors for contributing, Festival of Learning for supporting, andRaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacies) and ACAL (Australian Council forAdult Literacy) for publication.HIS IS ALottie Napangardi RobertsonWhat is resilience? It is our capacity to deal with difficult situations.Twenty years ago, my husband, my family and I travelled toLajamanu. Before coming to the Granites, our car broke down. It hada radiator problem. So we didn’t have much water and we started toget upset because we had little ones with us. Our water supply startedto get low and also the food was all eaten so we didn’t know what todo. We didn’t want to spend another day, so we decided to make abig bush fire so that the people from the Granites could see thesmoke and so that someone will come and help us get back home.An hour later someone finally came and brought us back toYuendumu. So next time I take my grandchildren I must make sure wehave a vehicle that is in good condition and always let families knowahead when we leave the community.

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningContentsContents5Introduction12Tutor Perspective: Margaret Khan14Tutor Perspective: Margaret Khan15Tutor Perspective: Margaret Khan17Tutor Perspective: Lucinda Murray19Tutor Perspective44

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningTutor Perspective: Jasmine Hossain47Idea Store Learning49Tutor Perspective: Nicola Crawley54The Reading Agency ‘Reading Ahead’62Tutor Perspective: Amanda Derry78Tutor Perspective: Amanda Derry80WEA81Tutor Perspective: Brian Marden85

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningTutor Perspective: Samantha Sherwin96

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningTutor Perspective: Ros Bauer117

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningTutor Perspective: Maria Szende141Tutor Perspective: Brigid Montgomery146

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningTutor Perspective: Annette Less166Crisis168Lead Scotland171St Andrew’s Birmingham176Tutor’s perspective: Jonathan Small179Tutor Perspective: Sarah Freeman182Weston College with HMP Services187

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningTutor Perspective: Alan Hester189Tutor Perspective: Sarah Potter195Tutor Perspective: Clare Miles202Parental Perspective: Lynne Watkins206Foxes Academy209The Project Team215RaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacies)218ACAL (Australian Council for Adult Literacy)218Festival of Learning219Glossary220Index221

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningIntroductionLcollected from across Australia and the United Kingdom,and include voices spanning much of the earth. The anthology originated intwo national adult literacies organisations whose members wanted told thestories of the resilience of learners and the value of developing literacies throughlifelong and lifewide learning. The contributors were keen to inspire and reassurepeers into participation, and to thank the tutors and institutions who helped changetheir lives, who travelled and supported them during their learning journeys.IEARNER STORIES WEREwriting, many learners realised increasing confidence,supporting children and grandchildren, and opportunities in current and futurevoluntary roles and employment. Learners experienced the therapeutic benefitof social, creative and learning activity, as many worked through trauma andtragedy, through every form of loss, ill health, difficulty, disability, addiction, abuse,disruption, instability and struggles through state interventions, to learning in thelater stages in life. For reasons of care, a small number of stories have beenanonymised or used pseudonyms. Each story has been tagged and indexed withthemes, which makes them searchable as well as browsable in the e-book,paperback and website versions. There is a Glossary of common acronyms. Thewebsite includes a small range of multi-media contributions, including transcripts.Most learners appeared to be eagerly bridging the digital divide.N PRESENTING THEIRFOR THE DIVERSITY of learning provision which exists, the response to our call isinspirational. In addition to large adult, further, vocational, higher educationand charitable provision, we have encountered a phenomenal range ofcommunity activity which builds in learning and outreach work. These may be inschools, neighbourhood groups, religious organisations, or outdoor forest school orallotment plots. We have contributions generated in offender learning, securecare, supported housing, retirement care, and special educational needs expertise,which build towards independent living.Ehope will find readers who identify, and stories that illuminatethe challenges and successes of others. As we read the learners' stories, wesee unfolding in front of us the rich personal and intergenerational benefitsthat are afforded through adult learning provision in diverse sites and diversemodes. We hope you enjoy and disseminate our anthology ‘Resilience: Stories ofAdult Learning’.ACH STORY WE

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningBrett Whiting, TAFE East CoastWorth the Read, 19/4/2012All my life I have had an illiteracy problem and it was one of thehardest things to overcome in my life. It's like walking down a pathand you hit a brick wall that you can't go around or you can't goover. I have done everything that I want to do in my life besideslearning to read and write.For years I was a single parent bringing up two boys. It was hardwhen it got time to help them with their homework. I always wanted togo back to school or TAFE to help myself but my kids came first untilthey left the nest. So I had a little break for a few years. Then I had atalk to my job provider and she told me how to do something about it.I told myself, “what the heck, I will have a go at this.”It was hard at first, getting my mind around the books. I put my headdown and went for it. Reading and writing started to get easier for meand before I knew it I was reading a book. I never thought I would dothat but I'm reading now and I'm enjoying this for the first time in mylife. I'm finally reading and writing like there is no tomorrow. It has evenopened up new doors for me to explore.It has changed my life for the better and it has been the second bestthing that has happened in life. The first has been my boys, and theyhave been encouraging me as well.I can now write my teacher this essay and it comes so naturally. All Ican say to my angels is thank you from the bottom of my heart, youhave given me a new outlook on life and it's great!

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningA Peak From Behind, 14/12/2015Since I left the TAFE class, I went on to do more study. I did a Cert 2 inAuto and followed up with Cert 2 in Engineering, passing successfullyin both. All this time during the courses I had a column in the localnewspaper. I have been a member of a local sporting shooters’ clubfor quite a few years now, and I am involved in the weapons licensingside of things. I’m now in training to be a TA (trainer assessor) for QLDfirearms licensing. I get a kick out of helping people do their testbecause we ask if anyone has difficulties reading or writing. We willalways get a couple, so I sit with them to help. I tell them I canunderstand what they’re going through because I was once like thatmyself.I understand why my angels do what they do because I enjoyhelping people out who I was once like. I hope they can make it asfar as I have with their reading and writing because my future islooking bright.Tutor Perspective: Margaret KhanThis student embodies the essence of resilience in his learning. Thestories have been written three and a half years apart. The first waswhen Brett finished in his TAFE LLN (language, literacy and numeracy)in 2012, and the second has been written this week to show where hislearning journey has taken him since then. He continues to attend acommunity literacy group, seven years after taking the first tentativesteps.

Resilience: Stories of Adult LearningAndy Marsh, TAFE East CoastText interpretation as read by student,When I started in 2008 my self confidence was low and my will to writeforms and documents was no good. My social interactions withpeople was not good but now it is good. My social interactions withpeople has improved and there has been an overall improvementwith my reading. My overall confidence has improved and I writedocuments and forms.Tutor Perspective: Margaret KhanI have chosen to send you the unedited version of Andy’s storybecause his learning journey commenced seven years ago with alearning difficulty in evidence (he struggled to write most Dolch wordswith letters in the correct order). Andy’s hand-written text wascompletely unaided, and even though he still has literacy difficulties,to reach this point has taken him seven years of faithfully attending a

Resilience: Stories of Adult Learningweekly literacy community class. He does not miss a week. This showstrue resilience.Rayleigh Burke, TAFE East CoastJason Sauer, a young man who has been to “hell and back”, recentlycame to Gympie TAFE to talk to us and to share his life experiencewith us. Jason wants to become a motivational speaker. We were thefirst audience to hear his life-changing story.Like many young guys on the sunshine coast, he was surfing, snowskiing and partying with his mates and by the time he was sixteen hehad a problem with substance abuse. He wasted many of his yearsmoving in and out of re-hab.Following a fight with his girlfriend on Christmas day 2010 Jasonrelapsed on heroin. He overdosed on a friend’s floor and wascomatose for more than fourteen hours causing a lack of oxygen tohis extremities. Jason was fighting for his life. The decision was made toamputate his legs above the knee to save his life. Bouts of depressionand further addiction followed. At his lowest point he consideredgiving up on life. Then salvation in the form of a Facebook friendsaved him from hell. Jason connected with the friend who was in anadaptive bobsled driving school in Park City, USA.Today Jason is fitted with state of the arts microprocessor knees andprosthetic legs, as well as skier and bobsledder gear and he is basedat the National Ability Centre, USA.