The HH Porject

Absolutely loved the Hope House article and especially enjoyed the pieces that dealt with the importance of the father having SOME SORT of role in their children's lives. I don't mind getting a little personal here, and I hope you don't mind either. My stepbrother has been incarcerated for around 5-6 years and has left his son  (Age 8) and daughter (Age 7) in the custody of my parents since the mother is also incarcerated. For the 8 year old son, life without a father figure is hard. I've watched my stepbrother absolutely ruin relationships with the caregivers (my father and stepmother along with myself, sister and mother- the children have a wonderful support system), his children and his friends. Hope House seems to offer something rehab and prison have not- a chance to help rebuild these relationships and legitimize his place as a father (he is so far removed from this position, I can't imagine this is even possible currently). I've heard his children use words to describe their absent father that mimic the images discussed in the article (deadbeat, he doesn't care that we exist viewpoint). To this point, I can really connect with the HH initiatives and can see where something as simply as mural painting/story telling can really present prisoners with new outlooks/chance to re-position themselves in their children's lives.

The story telling painted a picture of it's own- in particular, one father experienced a conceptual shift while explaining the differences of parenting from inside the prison to outside the prison. Since he had been "out of the lifestyle" (the lifestyle that landed him in prison) he was able to reflect on other ways of providing- being present in his sons life and no longer being sidetracked by fancy cars, females and money. Through reflection of life experiences, the learner (prisoner) has learned a valuable lesson- a lesson that for many, has transformed them from a life of guilt and shame to a life of empowerment and sudden ambition to want to rebuild relationships and be able to provide for his family.

Let's just hope these lessons truly carry over!

Failing better

I couldn't connect with the readings this week about graffiti and murals as text. I just couldn't get there this week for some reason.  However, Dr. Muth's paper was touching and gave me some great 1-2-3 project ideas, particularly about identifying my own bias and naming it as such.

But the thing that stood out to me the most in all of the readings was a brief mention by Dr. Muth that the inmates read books on tapes, and then send those books along with the recorded tapes to their children, so that their children can hear their fathers' voices reading them books, as they read along at home.  Gosh, I don't know why the mental image of that struck me so profoundly, but I really wanted to know more about this!  I want to hear an episode of This American Life about inmates reading books to a tape recorder, and then sending the book and the tape home to their kids, so that their kids can hear their dad's voice and read along.

I thought, you know, that's not the same as this kind of cuddling image that we conjure up about dads reading to their kids, but as a kid who grew up not living with her dad, I could see those recordings as being something that would have been hugely meaningful to me.  Hearing his voice, reading along with a story, sharing an experience even across however many miles. Disconnected, distanced, but somehow also connected, briefly close.

I couldn't help thinking about the Harlem Project and Baby College.  (There's a This American Life episode about the program, which is how I first heard about it.)  If you don't want to read any of those links, it's basically a huge ongoing research program that promotes the idea that reading with kids, and reading to kids, is hugely, wildly important to vocabulary growth, and that vocabulary growth has a big impact on kids succeeding later in school.  Some research even says that reading to infants actually has positive physical effects on their brains, by forging more neural connections.

So this week, I didn't do a great job of getting there with the readings.  But maybe I connected in another way, through a brief mention of fathers reading to their kids on tape recorders.

Testimonio: Bearing Witness

"Our writings [...] are the testament of our vibrant resistance, as our metaphors, code switching, theories, visions, and worlds - real and imagined - give shape, texture, and human depth to the history of our very presence and experience."
 - Elba Rosario Sanchez, Cartohistography: One Voice's Continent

I was very moved this week, reading about the murals that incarcerated fathers created with their children during the summer camp at Hope House.  I found it very interesting that in his article, Dr. Muth compares this courageous and vulnerable act to the Latin American literary tradition of testimonio, or bearing witness.  The act of testimonio helps those who are marginalized to find their voice.  Norma Klahn states that the most critical aspect of testimonio is "that voice which speaks to the reader in the form of an 'I' that demands to be recognized, that wants or needs to stake a claim on our attention."  It provides an opportunity for those who are invisible in a society to make their presence known.

Testimonio is typically presented in the form of a narrative or a novel and centers around an event or series of events in the life of an individual (or of a community, with one individual acting as the voice of the community).  One (in)famous example in Latin American literature is called I, Rigoberta Menchu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoberta_Mench%C3%BA), and tells the story of a poor, indigenous Guatemalan woman who was also a prominent human rights activist.  Despite the term testimonio being used predominantly to describe the written word,  I can see the part of the essence of testimonio in the murals that have been created by these families.  Like the writers of this unique genre, they use the media of art and performance to take hold of their identity as a family and to voice their hopes, dreams, and desires for the future.

I cannot imagine the pain that these families have been through.  Often such tragic experiences make individuals feel very alone.  This can be especially difficult for children, who may feel isolated from their friends and family because they do not have the emotional maturity to articulate their strong emotions. In that sense, they may feel invisible.  On the other hand, the father also deals with his own insecurities.  He may have been absent from his children's lives.  In that sense, he is also invisible.  Through creating these works of art, they become a witness to each other's lives and to their shared family story.  Together they will find their voice and created a shared history of their presence and existence.

Sociocultural Outlook

I very much liked Dr. Muth's perspective on the prisoners and reconnection with their children.  It took a very positive sociocultural perspective on a very sensitive subject.  I think this appeals to me because ultimately it ends in some form of action or plan moving forward (as he ended the paper).  The power perspective on these issues seems to get bogged down in blame and responsibility as opposed to action and solutions.  Thank you, Dr. Muth, for exposing me to this program and these issues.  Remind me never to get locked up.

Graffiti needs an intervention

I couldn't help it! My photocopy of Conscientizacao is filled with comments all over the margins.  I found myself using the keywords from the handout Dr. Muth gave in class about Reading Against or With the Text.  I found a lot of legitimizing and reification (in Dr. Muth's words, making something so great, you can't question it).

My own opinions about grafitti can come from having grown up with it all my life in New York City. Graffiti (mostly tags) polluted the landscape on trains, building facades, and literally any canvas available, whether it was a seat on the train, or the sidewalk.  For me, graffiti has always been categorized as vandalism and it was quite challenging to see it another way.

Though I fully understand the value of graffiti art and it's genealogy as stated in the article,  I continue to consider the majority of it as a selfish act; in other words, many graffiti artists create art to propagate their name and not to 'conscientizar', or critically reflect.

Even before reading this article, I had my own opinions about Sao Paulo's graffiti.  Sao Paulo's architecture is colored with graffiti tags, graffiti art, graffiti sentences, graffiti 'everything'.  The endless traffic allows you time to observe the city's landscape and to view how graffiti interferes with the sterile structures of the buildings.  The juxtaposition of the graphics on such bland canvases (cement walls, someones garage door) just screams: "can we get noticed?"  I understand that the article was getting at just that; how people who had little ability to read and write used signs to shape their environment and to communicate to others their social and political role.

My question is: Do you have to communicate your social and political role as a graffiti artist on my fence? How far is too far? Though it may be on my fence/wall/garage door, I still consider it art...just clandestine art!

What was most appauling was the last picture of the man creating graffiti with piles of trash surrounding him. "Zezao affirmed a desire to bring social awareness and action to the community.  He says: we see all the trash that accumulates in the city, and no one seems to care. But when you paint there, it calls attention to the trash, then someone happens to come by and clean it up."

My response to that are many.  

Zezao, keep thinking like that, and your country will never change expecting others to pick up YOUR garbage.  Keep investing time in painting pictures on someone else's property and protesting about what does not get done.  You talk about civic responsibility? Well, if you are so famous, instead of painting around the garbage, why don't you rally people from your community and pick up the garbage that you yourselves created? 

Incarceration's Impact on Students

Dwight's story of how his incarceration negatively impacted Ebony resonated with my experience as a teacher. One of my best students (a white, female sophomore), came to class one day looking ill. I thought she might be sick, so I asked her if she was OK. I can best explain our interaction through dialogue.

Me: Are you OK?

Her: No, last night my mom got locked up.

Me: Oh, I'm sorry.

Her: It's not your fault.

I had no idea how to respond. The topic had never come up in any of the case studies in grad school, and I was clueless as to how many of my students were separated from a parent by the prison system. Also, I had no idea about this student's home-life. Did she have another parent or care-giver at home? Only her mom was listed on the information card I had students fill out at the beginning of the year and since she was well behaved, I (regrettably) had never called home. I spoke with her counselor who told me that her mother has been in and out of jail often and that she would probably be home once she posted bail. The next time I saw the student, she told me her mom was back. Fortunately, this student was resilient and the ordeal did not seem to impact her academic work, but it surely impacted her emotionally.  

Telling Stories through Murals

I truly loved reading "Murals as Text", it was so enlightening and parts of it were very emotional. There was a quote from one section that really spoke to me,  "Telling stories is one way in which storytellers may position themselves in relation to their families, their communities, and the larger world ... Rushdie (2005) argued that becoming part of the family involves learning the family’s stories... Families are about storytelling, and ... stories are a badge of family membership... (323)". I sent this article to my Aunt in Texas with the above quote highlighted. My Aunt is retired, but still takes classes and work shops at the University of Texas. She is currently taking a writing class called "Writing your Life Stories and Family History" it's based on a system of guided autobiography. I think that most people have a natural tendency to want to share their history, in this case, my Aunt is writing a shutterfly type book for her grandchildren with pictures and stories about their parents when they were younger. Even though this and the murals are two very different literacy events, they share the same theme and purpose. The intent in both is to share memories and open dialogue about the family and relationships in the family - past, present, and future. My Aunt is going to share this writing with her class - I'm sure they'll have a lot of great insights to share.

Working through questions

Honestly, I have been breathing the all-consuming Capstone project lately (and my final reflection and my digital story) and haven’t spent as much time on the 1-2-3 Project as I would like. So I am going to use this space to work out some of my questions. One of the things I have learned in completing nine (!!) in person interviews in the past week for Capstone is that bringing a set of broader questions with room for more specific probes (in italics) really works.

We drafted an intro that we use to explain to the interviewee and I have modified for this project. While I will not read it word for word in the interview, it helps to have it in front of me.

As you may recall, this interview is part of a project I am doing for my Literacy and Diversity graduate class to examine the role of the Travel Authorization form at VCU. While I will be taking notes today so I can remember all the good points of our conversation, I want to assure you that our discussion will remain confidential. In my final project, I will remove your name and will attribute comments to your role (“fiscal administrator,” “director,” etc.). 

1. Name and job title. 
2. How long have you been working at VCU? 
3. Please describe your role. 
4. What is your experience working with the travel authorization form?  Any knowledge of the history? What is your role in the process? Who completes them in your area? What training have you had? What information do you need to know to complete it? Approve it? Where do you go for policy information? (To whom?)  
5. What is working well with the TAF? How has Chrome River changed the process? 
6. What can be improved? 

If you have suggestions, please let me know! I really want to know what to ask that will lead me to the good stuff.
I think the information I am looking for is some historical background and how one’s role (privilege?) plays into how they feel about the TAF. So far three people have agreed to an interview: an office manager (completes these for over 200 travelers), fiscal director and a faculty director who has lots of experience with traveling.[ETA: I just emailed two people requesting interviews next week: a contact from Lauren, an administrator who just did a TAF for the first time, and an employee who has frequently traveled as both a classified and faculty employee who can bring a unique perspective. I am certain I can work out my questions in the next week.]

Transformative Art and Time

My mind is alive with ideas after reading Dr. Muth's “Murals as Text”. The Hope House program sounded so incredible through Dr. Muth’s descriptions that I also went to their website and watched a video. I found this video from last fall on their home page: http://www.hopehousedc.org/

The stories of connection and possibility continued to inspire me. It makes me want to try to develop a similar art program for the clients of Safe Harbor and their children.  I know that art therapy with children has become one of the tools in the social work field. Women often come into the house with so much emotional work to do to rebuild their sense of self after being in an abusive relationship; the children’s healing can sometimes become secondary.  I think researchers are still studying the implications for the children to have witnessed their parents (or adults) in their household being physically or emotionally abused. Can the healing and transformation through art happen alone, as a solitary experience? Can you heal in tandem with another person after a traumatic event? Or does the healing slow down if one person isn’t ready to move forward? There is a paper just waiting to be written from observing/interviewing the Safe Harbor clients and how they experience life in the shelter.

Another idea that was compelling in the “Murals as Text” chapter was the concept of timescapes. I wonder if I might have created a timescape without knowing it. Can “ordinary” terms create an echo through the universe? Or do the words/art need to re-create a past moment to capture the past, present and future implications? Do you need to change the meaning of the words or the experience – the way the landscape changes slightly with each passing year? Let’s take Thanksgiving dinner, a family tradition for most Americans, as an example.  Can food become the medium to create a timescape?  Can you remember the countless times that you baked an apple pie for your family? Then you think forward into the future dinners and know that you will try again (and again) to find the perfect blend of ingredients. Is the recipe the literary event? And is the family gathering at Thanksgiving the social experience? But this example does not hold the possibility of a transformation, as described through the HH mural project. Family traditions tend to remain similar over the years, although sometimes you may lose or gain family members through the passage of time. They are not usually transformative in nature. Maybe it needs to be a more significant family tradition, such as the handing down of a wedding dress from generation to generation. That day in itself can be a transformation, so perhaps that would be a better example. The dress could be the representation of art and the wedding is the social experience. Am I getting closer? Or is it such a rare occasion that a true timescape occurs that it may be very difficult to find other examples?

Grounded Theory

My generative term for this week is “Grounded Theory (GT).”  This term was used in Dr. Muth’s paper “Murals as text” and I was curious about its meaning and whether or not it could be helpful in our 1-2-3 Projects.  A Google search of the Internet resulted in two findings I felt were worth blogging about. The first a briefing on ground theory and the second an article on “The Future of Ground Theory.”

 The briefing was developed by a Dr Lynn Calman (University of Manchester, England), titled “What is Grounded Theory.” http://www.methods.manchester.ac.uk/events/whatis/gt.pdf  The briefing states that GT may be defined as “the discovery of theory from data systematically obtained from social research” (Glaser and Strauss 1967: 2). The briefing goes on to provide the history and development of GT, its features, data collection methods, etc.  Due to due to the requirement in our 1-2-3 Project, Part 3: Discussion Paper, the slides on “Theoretical Sensitivity” caught my attention.  Key extracts from the slides are:

·         Researchers will become theoretically sensitive by immersing themselves in the data and trying to understand what the participants see as being significant and important.

·         Concurrent data collection/analysis allows the researcher to become theoretically sensitive to the data.

·         Finally, Glaser and Strauss (1967) indicate that theoretical sampling is the process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyses his (her) data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop theory as it emerges (Glaser and Strauss 1967: 45).

In Part 3: Discussion Paper, we are required to “theorize the findings from and conclusions to your mini study. This theory work should be based on readings and generative themes from the course, and authors should be cited appropriately.”  Sounds like the ground theory method could help fulfill this requirement? 

 

Last but not least, I also found the article “The Future of Ground Theory” by Barney G. Glaser very insightful.  http://groundedtheoryreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/GT-Review-vol-9-no-21.pdf 

 

Glaser is one of two sociologist credited with the development of the Ground Theory method.  Published in the “The Grounded Theory Review,” Dr. Glaser elaborates on many aspects of ground theory to include the fact that this methodology typically attracts “experienced practitioners seeking a better understanding of the social patterns that underpin the behaviors they encounter in their work – those high impact access and controllable variables (Glaser & Strauss, pp.245-249) that suggest better ways to mobilize often scarce resources to resolving issues or leveraging opportunities.”  As a practitioner, this statement really resonated with me and I am attracted to GT’s inductive/"bottom up" approach to theory development.