Taking the Time

"We don't take the time to meet one to one with others, to hear their interests and dreams and fears, to understand why people do what they do or don't do what they don't do." (Gecan, M., All Real Living is Meeting, Going Public, p. 21)

I couldn't help but pause as I read this statement.  This class has really done so much for me in terms of realizing the importance of taking the time to slow down and really pay attention.  Pay attention to the world around us, the world we may not know, and perhaps the world of someone else's meaning.  Text can be so powerful, and sometimes it is important to really step back, or perhaps step inside, to see if we are truly achieving what we hope.  When I began my project this semester, I truly began looking at the course and text I chose because I wanted to know why people "don't do what they don't do".  I wanted to gain a more comprehensive view of how people view the course, it content, its comprehension and what it represents. 

I began my journey by first reading the policy and online content with a more critical lens.  What I discovered was language that I'd read before, but was truly seeing perhaps for the first time.  Both forms of text were riddled with a feeling of power and language that conveyed fear.  Fear that was hoped to drive compliance; but was perhaps overlooked in its ability to also create the resistance encountered. I was also surprised to learn, as an employee, how much the training really didn't cover. 

We are held accountable for the knowledge of all that the policy includes, and yet the training only highlighted what the creator found to be of value.  There was so much that I had honestly forgotten (or perhaps had not seen); how many others are there potentially that are also unaware? 

Enlightened by what I had already discovered on my own, I was surprised by how much more insight the interviews provided.  I entered into each of these interviews with the assumption that all would be open and honest with me regarding the subject matter.  Each person that I interviewed one-on-one appeared to be very candid during the interviews and provided great insights as to how people struggled with digital literacy, literacy in the traditional sense, time insufficiencies for completion, and the effect that terms like "corporate" and "just get it done" really had on the true learning and completions that were taking place (or not taking place). My small focus group participants proved the most interesting of all perhaps however; not so much in terms of our topic but on a more personal level.  While the information gleaned from this particular interview was helpful in terms of my study, I was also provided a window into how I myself may be perceived by others within my organization.  During the interview one of the participants responded to a question with, "I'd rather not say" for instance, and I in truth was absolutely shocked.  I have known them both for quite some time and use to work very closely with them.  So to have one convey such mistrust (?) really caught me off guard.  I can only help but wonder now in how many ways one's position truly impacts the many things that go on within our workplace.  How power, or fear by association, can color so much of our world; often more than perhaps we even realize.

So as I conclude this semester, I can't help but feel as if I have only begun to graze the surface of this study regarding whether or not stated goals can be met through online training methods.  My opinion may have forever been changed as to whether or not completions (or lack of) can truly only be attributed to the illiteracies or struggles as defined by the traditional sense.  I have realized the importance of asking oneself; is it comprehension or awareness of where to go and find the information they may need that we seek to instill?  Because the answer to such a simple question can greatly influence the best choice in a course's delivery method and/or content.  I also consider a difference in understanding of online literacy in general; too many words on the screen can water down focus and perhaps comprehension.  So to ensure true learning when using this method, perhaps it's best to keep it short and sweet.

"We begin by covering some familiar territory in addressing the language and literacy barriers that discourage involvement, interest and engagement with the training in the classroom, but then we push further by examining the social practices of literacy outside the classroom that present quite a different picture.  The contradictions between literacy use promoted in idealized training sessions and literacy use on the floor are dramatic and offer convincing evidence for adopting a complex, socially situated view of literacy." (Belfiore, Defoe, Folinsbee, Hunter, Jackson, 2004, p. 196)

How I See It Now

 

When I started my 1-2-3 project I simply disliked my artifact, found it to be of little value, and something that needed improvement.  It was just the tip of an iceberg.  As I started my research into my artifact it became bigger, more powerful and something that needed to be abolished; it took my instructional assistant away from me, it gave me no valuable input and I grew to truly despise it.  It was a large iceberg ready to destroy my trip.  By the time I was done my research the hate had become exhausting; I was ready to throw up my hands and say it just doesn’t matter.  I had come to wonder if in truth my artifact had no value?  Had it been simplified so many times over the years that it had become inconsequential?  Was I just going to be plotting a trip around this iceberg and dealing with the waste of time?  This was where I was at the near end.

So I reflected back and wondered again had some of my interviewees been as blasé about the whole thing as they had seemed?  As my study ended I had taken the electronic version of my artifact to my supervisor and she had like it, she’s planning on implementing a similar example next school year.  I walked away feeling something good might evolve from my work.  Yet, I did ponder Dr. Muth’s questions about my interviewees… Did loyalty to the system prevent me from hearing the whole story during my interviews, or did I miss something?  This week I went back to three of my interviewees and showed them the new form.  After a brief explanation of “my project went well”, “thanks for your input” and “look how things might change, maybe electronic” I just sort of casually tossed out there “what do you think?”

These new encounters could not be called interviews, but I needed to see reactions, to see if I had misread cues from earlier.  I got three different reactions:  First - “Oh, glad to help, looks like it might apply to the IEP more,” this from the general education teacher that had expressed that she taught many individualized students and filled out many un-individualized forms.  She seemed receptive; maybe I had read her correctly.  Second – “Electronic? Hmmm, who is inputting this?” this from my instructional assistant.  She was looking at the work load, logically concerned about her duties.  When I said that “was undetermined at this point” she finally looked closer at the form, and thoughtfully nodded her way through the sections.  Without poking into her brain again, I assumed she weighed her duties and the needs of the students and decided she would do her job as she always did as she respects the system.  Third – “Why change it?” this from the general educator that completes the forms in the mailroom.  When I shrugged he looked down at it.  “Electronic might be easy”, he added.  I can’t help but think his initial reaction was true, and his follow up question was to satisfy my need for him to speak.  He scanned the form and handed it back.  I still don’t know where he stands; his apparent lack of concern still grates on me.  If he feels more it's secret.  He’s just going to do what needs to be done by the system.

Now I ask myself if it is possible to discredit full conversations with a 30 second recap?  Probably not, but in this day and age when people are told by the media to feel lucky that they have jobs, do people resist the system in silence?  Probably; I suspect they were silent with me even in our 30 second recap.  The things in the workplace that I don’t agree with I do anyway, and those things that I value I seek to do well.  I use the existing artifact because I was told to by the system, now I am hoping to see a change in the future so what I silently resisted can now have value for me.  Maybe I've found a way to melt some of the iceberg down, live with it and maybe I'll eventually come to stake a claim in the change.