The education and career path for adult learners is often nonlinear. Like a spiral staircase, you might find yourself coming back to the same point on a circle — to the same organization, or to the same people — but on a different plane than before. Similarly, as adult educators, we can never predict where … Continue reading Reconnecting and Intersecting within Adult Education
Many of us choose to work in adult education to advance economic and social opportunity through education for adults whose limited foundational skills hold them back. Most of us recognize that foundational skills alone do not guarantee economic success, but they do improve the odds as an essential milestone in people’s education journey. In the … Continue reading What does commitment to equity and anti-racism mean in adult education?
English Now! learning circles like the ones offered at the Thomas Jefferson Adult and Career Education (TJACE) program are multi-level, learner-led groups for English language and digital literacy practice. Last spring when the TJACE learning circles migrated quickly to a distance learning format, we found, through trial and error, that the flexible learning circles model … Continue reading Six Tips for Hosting Virtual English Now! Learning Circles
Where Did We Begin? How did you come to teach in adult education? Was it “sideways” like many? Did you start out with a different career and somehow get connected to adult learners and were hooked? Adult educators are a diverse group with a range of backgrounds in a field that lacks common teacher preparation … Continue reading We’ve Come So Far: Returning to Fall Classes
Adult educators have long looked to Washington State for inspiration. The Washington Integrated Basic Education and Skill Training (I-BEST) remains the Cadillac of Integrated Education & Training (IET) models, replicated in the Accelerated Opportunity initiative and continuing in states across the country. As of July 1, there is yet another reason to admire Washington’s Basic … Continue reading How Washington state is centering equity and justice in adult education
One question that drives our work is, “Can we make adult education accessible, affordable, and open doors to opportunities?” The answer comes in many forms from many different voices. After three days at the 2019 National College Transition Network Conference, one thing is clear: enabling adult learners with college and career readiness requires all hands … Continue reading 4 Big Ideas from the 2019 NCTN Conference
Adults enrolled in adult education programs are among the most vulnerable and hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic: low-wage workers in the front line of the service sector, preparing and delivering our take-out food, stocking our warehouses and grocery stores, taking care of the elderly and ill. Much like children and youth now needing to … Continue reading Pandemic Pivots
By Sherry Lehane Math in ESOL Coursebooks Did you ever start a home do-it-yourself project and suddenly realize you were in over your head? Maybe you didn’t have the carpentry skills or the right tools to do the project? This is how I felt many years ago when I attempted to teach math to my … Continue reading Making Math Meaningful in the ESOL Classroom
During a recent webinar about the importance of teaching about the census in the adult education classroom, a participant said this: “If I bring this topic into my classroom, my students will leave and not come back.” That’s how afraid some people are—and also how much misinformation there is—about the 2020 Census. During the webinar, … Continue reading Stand Up and Be Counted: Preparing Students for Census 2020
For many high school students, taking the step from high school to college is a natural one. But most adult education students face barriers that make the step feel more like a leap: not knowing what program is a good fit, being unaware of critical financial aid or scholarship information, or missing the personal success … Continue reading Backpacks to Briefcases: Taking the Leap to College
