Adult Education and Adult Learners

As I look around to see who might be considered an Adult Learner in my areas of influences I see potentially thousands of field workers who are trying to learn about safety and skills that they might use on the job in the petrochemical and oil refining industry. 

The learning community I support helps introduce and to develop the safety and skills of technicians and operators in this industry. However, according to Lindemann's quote on page 3 of the text, these thousands might not be classified as adult learners as his definition states "adult education more accurately defined begins where vocational education leaves off. Its purpose is to put meaning into the whole of life." a large majority of the training we provide is clearly linked to the vocational. There are some classes we provide on Leadership and on Safety Supervisor which might transcend this "vocational" status, but that Lindemann definition is a limiter for me.



I prefer the Rachal definition found on page 9, whereby he organized the purposes of Adult Education into the following categories 1) Liberal, 2) Occupational, 3) Self-Help, 4) Remedial, and 5) Scholastic. This view more accurately aligns with my own views and how I categorize adult education. In this schema then my own learning community occupies the occupational side of things as well as the remedial, and self-help, and potentially the scholastic as well.



In terms of the Liberal category, if we think of this category as advancing society and developing and promoting equality, I think we see that in this industry and community as well. Technology is commonly seen as an overwhelming and positive advancement in many parts of society. Many times people will show how technology has changed the industry by remarking on how much has changed due to technological advances. In our industry, the same thing can be said of "safety training." If you look at the environmental impact, the safe work practices, the behavior-based safety systems that are commonly promoted now, compared to refinery environments of the past, an observer would be shocked to see the differences. A tour of a modern-day, western refinery compared to a third-world or less advanced would show drastic differences in safety, environmental awareness, and respect and care for the worker. This shift has taken place in our industry already and we are further developing it every day with each training we provide.



When seen through the prism of Rachal's categories for the purpose of Adult Education I look around daily and see thousands of eager and willing adult learners all with varying reasons for coming to our organization and all leaving with at the very least some soupçon of advancement in their adult education resumes.



These past two weeks have had a heavy dose of definitions, I wonder are others in our class are having a hard time fitting these definitions into their own pre-conceived definitions of Adult Education?



How have you been able to square things with your past notions of what Adult Education is and what these new definitions are telling us?



Ross-Gordon, J.M., Rose, A.D., & Kasworm, C.E (2017). Foundations of adult and continuing education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ah Ha Moments with Micah

This week I got to have a long talk with Micah. Micah is an art teacher and is working her way through classes as I am. She posed a question regarding connection and engagement that I loved, "The idea of building a connection on a foundation of your insecurities and difficulties diminishes our accomplishments, makes our ah-ha’s seem less special, and (I think) can lead to a cycle and habit of negative self-talk."

For me, there can be nothing more pernicious and undermining to our ability to move forward positively as a learner, teacher, and humans than that tendency for "negative self-talk" that you describe in that passage. I don't know if I have it in me to re-write rule #4 specifically, but that passage resonated and made me think of a couple of rules that I promote within my teaching and leadership teams. 

The first I learned in the military and anyone in the military should be familiar with it. "Complaints only go up, positivity goes down." There are many variations of this with more colorful language but to boil it down, never complain about things to your troops, only show the positive side of things. If you have to complain, complain only up the chain of command. This has served me well both in and out of the military. Complaining down the chain of command starts a vicious circle of kvetching and a spiraling disgruntledness that is hard to slow. This could be one of the first things I promote within my new leadership cohort whenever I train a new supervisor or trainer.

The second one is "Celebrate and advertise your own wins because you might be the only one doing so." For a long time I worked behind the scenes and things got done and no one seemed to know how or why. It was only in the last few years in my career when I saw my direct reports acting in a similar manner and not getting recognition for their work that I realized they were modeling themselves after me and how I worked. I changed the model to ensure our work was recognized. If you can't recognize your own successes who's to say others might? It's important to be able to promote and advertise the positive aspects of your work whether through quick elevator pitches to the CEO in the hallway, at lunches or even at end of project parties. 

Perhaps not the best rewriting of rule 4 but what you wrote really hit me as something I saw in The Skillful Teacher as well, a tendency to navel-gaze toward the negative without the promotion of and illustration of all the positives that might be out there. Great post Mica!

Guest Blogger for NaNo - Alex Cole

I've been working hard to find some other viewpoints that I can share with my readers for the upcoming National Novel Writing Month challenge that begins November 1. I have found some guest bloggers who have agreed to share their NaNo prep and NaNo writing adventures. 

Earlier this month when I released my compilation of short stories I heard from my Number 1 Fan, Alex Cole (my cousin). Alex has always been curious about writing and has in the past asked about my writing process. I convinced him to try NaNo out and to share his experience with me in blog posts. Here's the first!

This first sample he's sent me belies his capabilities and experience. Having graduated from West Point and served as an officer in the armored cavalry,  . . . not to mention being a new father, . . . he certainly has more than 50,000 words worth of stories in him. I look forward to his next post and seeing what he produces!

Well, I guess this is happening. I am gearing up for my first National Novel Writing Month, which means I have no idea what I am getting myself into. I don’t think I wrote 50,000 words in four years of college. But I couldn’t say no because Dick was so enthusiastic about it. His optimism and motivation are infectious, but I hope he knows that he has to keep me motivated and accountable as the month rolls on. 

 

This type of endeavor is not typical for me. I am a very private person, so the idea of being vulnerable and putting a creation out into the world is terrifying. This will be a growth experience, and I’m already starting to broaden my horizons. 

As I start to brainstorm ideas, I am learning that the things I want to write about are the things that normally excite me. I am an avid military history student and find myself looking to the past for inspiration. However, I’ve surprised myself as well by considering other genres and finding story ideas in mundane things around me that are not my normal passions. 

I have also started thinking about my writing skills, finding my writing voice, coming up with an ideal story structure, character development, etc. I’ve even been asking myself questions like, “Can I realistically and convincingly write from the perspective of a young woman when I need to? Can I write about something I don’t know about? How do I learn to do that? How can I relate and connect to readers that are very different from me?”

I’m certain I am not the first NaNo participant to ask these questions of themselves, so I am in good company. So far, this journey has also brought me some joy and a new hobby to pass the day, which I am thankful for. More to follow.  

Never Complain Down

My friend and colleague Micah asked me about a mantra I use . . .  and it's a worthwhile subject to continue forward with. Her question was: "Do you think if leaders only show the positive side to those they lead, that the people under them will feel less connected with the mission/vision/goals? Or would you saw that this is more situational?"

In the military, the rule to only complain and push positivity down was somewhat set in stone and was primarily there to help with motivation. Why have the privates in an infantry fire team hear the complaints from their leaders and have absolutely no capabilities to make any changes, either with the mission or with their careers and lives? We were all kinda stuck there for four years, best to make the best of things. And as leaders, we shielded our teams from the negatives they couldn't change. 

Now that I'm in the business world I've kept that mantra around although its a tad more nuanced. I think it's more about sheltering and shielding my direct reports from the negative and emphasize the positive, rather than excluding them from mission, vision, and goals. I think now, I may express the negative to my teams, and help them craft their own message to the troops beneath them, but I always try to keep a positive spin on things. Who wants to work for a place that's filled with negativity and drama?

As Micah mentioned, it's probably more situational. It's a rule of thumb. Now that I'm a senior leader at my organization I find myself being more realistic with my supervisors than I was with my teams when I was just a supervisor. I feel certain my direct reports do the same and will probably follow in my footsteps. I'll say that my leaders tend to follow the same mantra. They might be realistic in their threats, opportunities, and weaknesses but not to the point that it's complaining to me. Price of leadership perhaps?

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

So, I haven't written much about first lines lately, because as I've said, I'm not reading for fun as much, and who really wants to hear a bunch of first lines from books on the theory of adult learning. But, first lines are still quite important, and I always look for them. 

The warm California sun greeted Butch Conner as he stepped out of his truck and onto the sands of Salmon Creek Beach. It was the first day of a long holiday weekend, and a perfect morning to grab his board and head out for a surf. Most of the other local surfers had the same idea that morning, and after 30 minutes or so, Butch decided to leave the crowd behind. He penetrated the water's surface with long, deep strokes that propelled him away from the pack and over to a stretch of beach where he could catch a few waves away from the crowd. 

Once Butch had paddled a good 40 yards away from the other surfers, he sat up on his board and bobbed up and down in the rolling swells while he waited for a wave that caught his fancy. A beautiful teal wave began to crest as it approached the shoreline, and as Butch lay down on his board to catch the wave, a loud splash behind him stole his attention. Butch glanced over his right shoulder and froze in horror at the sight of a 14-inch, gray dorsal fin cutting through the water toward him. Butch's muscles locked up, and he lay there in panic, gasping for air. He became hyper-focused on his surroundings; he could hear him his heart pounding as he watched the sun glistening on the fin's moist surface. 

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - Travis Bradbery & Jean Greaves

So, for an adult learning and leadership book, non-fiction, it's not a bad start. And it only gets more exciting when the shark starts toying with him and trying to eat him. Emotional Intelligence is an area that I'm really looking forward to digging into. I read about it years ago, and I'm looking forward to finding out much more. 

Meaningless Goals and Everyone Gets a Trophy

I took a look at my NaNo labeled posts, and truthfully, I'm surprised there aren't more. My first post was in 2009. I think I've done the challenge five or six times. I know I've completed the 50K words four times. What's sad is that all the history of my work has disappeared from the NaNo site. 

I was chatting with another writer on NaNo the other day and she was reminiscing about old school NaNo. I remember it well. That first time I did it (2007 see here for proof!), the national site was just opening up. I think it might have been the second year. The site was very bare-bones. There was a profile home page, a chat room or two, and a place to paste your document to get your word count verified. 

That was the only award or way to "win." You got to 50K words and you "won" the challenge and got a silly certificate that said, "you're a winner." I remember thinking "that's it?" I remember thinking that "winning" didn't have much value if it was so easy to cheat.  

The other day I was talking about generational differences in our society over the years that might have contributed to the social unrest we see. This is an interesting crew I was talking to as one worked as a cop for many years and still works for the government in security. (Funnily enough, he and I served in the exact same platoon in the Rangers! . . . just separated by 3 years). The other person in the discussion group is a professor in academia. So his views are far different. We discussed that this is the result of an "everyone gets a trophy" mentality. 

I look at the NaNo site and WOW can you ever see that! Now, not only is the "winning" of the challenge undervalued, but you can add dozens of other free "achievements" and "badges" to your profile. You want to feel good about your writing? Don't worry about writing 50K words, just give yourself a badge for "signing in" or for being an "outliner." Not an outliner? Give yourself a badge for "Working without a net." Want both? Sure! 

Its gotten only more ridiculous and meaningless over time. I think that's apropos when discussing the social unreset we see too. But then again, perhaps I'm an old fuddy duddy.

Love those Covertly Deep Songs

 I rarely listen to country music. I find there are two or three typs of country music. There are those that are treacly and stupid. Then there are some that are formulaic and you can't tell them apart from the song you heard just the song before. 

Then every now and then there are those that hit you deep in the heart. These are the songs that make you think that country music writers and singers are the true troubadours of our society. They make you think deeply about past loves, and current ones. Maybe you begin to think about future loves and potential losses. 

Building Trust (or perhaps Demo-ing it)

So the amazing story of AJ and Hakim continues (see here, here, and here). Now, I don't really care about the story or the outcome, it's just amazing to see that the story doesn't die and that it's surreally not ever going the way I would expect!

So, I was sitting in my office this morning when I got an email  . . .yet again . . . from AJ the other day and he asked . . . again, yet again . . . if I had gotten a chance to speak with Hakim. 

"No," I told him. "I haven't heard from Hakim."

This was when AJ said something I didn't expect. 

"Well, did you reach out to him?"

I almost dropped the phone. Again, for those just joining this conversation, Hakim failed to show up for a call and since then has done the absolute bare minimum to try and re-start our conversation. Worse, Hakim is the one who wants my help, and yet he does less than nothing to try to either repair the problem he's created or to continue to build the trust needed to move forward. From my perspective, this could be the most absurd business relationship I've ever been a part of.

"Well, no, AJ," I told him. "I didn't reach out to Hakim. I've been busy with some other stuff and it's his project, not mine so I really think it's up to him at this point."

"Well, I told him I'd try and set something up."

So, that's the point of this post. Throughout this entire ordeal, AJ has been using the trust he built with me over years to help broker this side deal between me and Hakim. Hakim has already ruined the chance he had to build trust. 

AJ, has a trust to spare with me, but that might be going away rather quickly. Now it seems that he's leveraging his trust to help Hakim. Worse, and this I have absolutely no patience for, he's being lazy. He is brokering this meeting through the laziest way and using the least effort possible. I knew that Hakim was a flake and I couldn't rely on him. Now I wonder if AJ can be trusted. 

The conversation ended with "Well, if you get a chance you should really call him." 

I will not have a chance. In my mind the relationship is done and building it back up to a point where it could move forward would take far more effort than either AJ or Hakim have displayed up to this point. They are starting from behind the starting line now. This is the fourth time AJ has tried to get this together. 

Then there is that thing about habits that I wrote about (here). We as humans get into habits and for different people we express tendencies that once set hang around insidiously. Hakim is in the habit now of waiting for me to call him. AJ is in the habit of people doing the work for him. I'm in the habit of thinking this is ridiculous and can't wit to see where it goes. Hard to break those habits once they form. 

I've heard from Hakim just once. I've never seen a lazier business person.

I am actually looking forward to seeing if this continues cause I just can't imagine it will!

NaNo Prep

 So, I freaked out the other night when I started planning some more for NaNo. Why? Cause I was supposed to find some time this week to write a bit. Did I? No. Why not? No idea. Why's this bad? Cause it's about to get worse.

The past few weeks I've been between classes. I had a week or so off and I wanted to take advantage of that. I failed. That transition time has come to an end, and now I'm looking at the amount of work I have during November and I'm FREAKING OUT!

Additionally, I thought this class ended the first week in January. The professor told us that nope, we would get it all done by the first week in November!!!

Work too is busy. Tons of projects all being run at once with no sight of letting up. Then there's the daily hoi polloi of school for kiddos, soccer for one, clubs for the other, family chores galore, and did I mention I'm doing a running challenge? Thank goodness that's almost over. But the only time I could find for running yesterday was 5:30 in the morning! Guess who was up at 5:30 running in the rain. 

November is a perfect storm of busy. 

I'll get through it. I have a plan. I spend two or three days (sometimes four) driving to work. Each drive to work is one hour there, one hour back. That's a lot of time to listen to music, listen to podcasts, call people, etc. Guess what else that time is perfect for? 

Right! Dictating novels for NaNo. 

I've done my first test. I'm completing the transcription tomorrow. I will say this, there is nothing quite so dorky as composing and writing a novel out loud as you drive. Dork or not, it will get done!!!

NaNo Prep

 So, I freaked out the other night when I started planning some more for NaNo. Why? Cause I was supposed to find some time this week to write a bit. Did I? No. Why not? No idea. Why's this bad? Cause it's about to get worse.

The past few weeks I've been between classes. I had a week or so off and I wanted to take advantage of that. I failed. That transition time has come to an end, and now I'm looking at the amount of work I have during November and I'm FREAKING OUT!

Additionally, I thought this class ended the first week in January. The professor told us that nope, we would get it all done by the first week in November!!!

Work too is busy. Tons of projects all being run at once with no sight of letting up. Then there's the daily hoi polloi of school for kiddos, soccer for one, clubs for the other, family chores galore, and did I mention I'm doing a running challenge? Thank goodness that's almost over. But the only time I could find for running yesterday was 5:30 in the morning! Guess who was up at 5:30 running in the rain. 

November is a perfect storm of busy. 

I'll get through it. I have a plan. I spend two or three days (sometimes four) driving to work. Each drive to work is one hour there, one hour back. That's a lot of time to listen to music, listen to podcasts, call people, etc. Guess what else that time is perfect for? 

Right! Dictating novels for NaNo. 

I've done my first test. I'm completing the transcription tomorrow. I will say this, there is nothing quite so dorky as composing and writing a novel out loud as you drive. Dork or not, it will get done!!!