September 2014 Monthly Summary

Jennifer Warrner: I commented on Jan Miller and Ross Reynolds' monthly summaries in Group 1.

Sarah Smurr commented on: Troy in Group 5 and Darcey in Group 4
Carrie Clymer Comments in Blog: Nina's September Summary and Sarah's September Summary

The semester is moving very quickly, and I find it hard to believe that it is almost October!  To this point in the semester, the main work on the group project has been selecting groups, creating the group blog, and finalizing plans for the Leading Adult/Community Educators assignment. Once our group was established, Sarah Smurr quickly created the group blog. I was very grateful that she did that for the group! This is my first blog experience, so it would have taken me much longer to create a blog! The first component of the group project was actually an individual assignment, so each group member was responsible for writing her own History of Adult/Community Education paper and posting it on the blog. For the Leading Adult/Community Educators assignment, all of the group members have been communicating via email to determine how we want to divide the required components of the assignment and what educators we want to profile. We decided to divide into pairs and each pair work on researching one educator. One group member will then combine the research on both educators into the final paper and create the required table. We were able to identify two educators to research for the assignment.  A deadline was set for each person to have her work to the group member who will combine the paper. Once the paper is complete, each group member will be responsible for submitting it in Blackboard and on the group blog. At this point in the group project, there have been no challenges.

Next month will be a busier month for the group project.  The leading Adult/Community Educators paper is due in early October, and the Unique Adult/Community Education Programs paper is due near the end of October. After the first paper is completed and submitted, we will have to develop our plans and ideas for the Unique Adult/Community Education Programs paper. I look forward to working with my group on this project for the rest of the semester!

Sarah Smurr Summary

Project Goal: Comprehensively explore adult education from different aspects

Group Make-up

The first aspect of adult education our groups will explore (as a group) is Leading Adult/Community Educators.  We have four members in our group with very good communication speed and clarity and strong decision making mixed with flexibility.  Our group is working very smoothly and efficiently.  I also really like the balance of our group.  Whenever there is a need, someone seems to step up and take on a leadership role.  I do not yet feel like one person is managing the group, although it seems like Jen may be rising to that role.  I really appreciate Jen’s proactive approach and give her organization props.  She also has a very positive tone via email, which makes me happy to hear from her and work with her.  My only worry is Carrie getting connected to the blog.  There may be some technical issue going on with her.  I hope to resolve that with her this week.

Project Process Summary

Jen emailed the group with a plan of action.  Since there are four of us, she suggested we divide into pairs and tackle two educators that way.  We all quickly and thankfully agreed.  Everyone was also open to working with everyone and topics were also very flexible.  Nina wants to do Madame C.J. Walker and will work with Carrie.  I suggested Rachel DuBois and will work with Jen.  Jen also plans to take on the role of compilation, so we will send her our individual efforts by Saturday and I will compensate her efforts by doing a bit more of the writing/research of DuBois. 

Next steps

I want to resolve the blog/Carrie issue by Thursday.  I am at the end of a “session” which is like a semester for my teaching job (we do two sessions in every semester).  I am very overwhelmed and overworked right now with no down time.  I’m mostly just trying to survive and do whatever is most pressingly on my plate.  Thank goodness for Jennifer.  I usually would be way ahead of the process by now, but haven’t actually even started working on this (sorry Bo!).  My boss also asked me to babysit her kids on Friday, which I now regret agreeing to but feel like I can’t back out.  I plan to do a lot of work on Saturday, but I don’t want to give it to Jen too late in the day.  I will do it as fast as I can but will probably give Jen a heads-up about this situation in case she doesn’t read my post.  (smile)


Nina M. Monthly Summary

     Throughout this month - I have felt very fortunate to discover that I have three wonderful group members that I will be working with this semester.  Sarah was quick to create the link for our blog, and Jen was kind enough to get the ball rolling on our assignment.  I was at first excited to suggest researching information about Madame C.J. Walker and her beauty correspondence school...at least, until my children told me they learned about her in school.  Now, I am concerned that everyone in my group will have already learned about Madame C.J. Walker during elementary school and not find her history interesting enough for the assignment.

    This month has been a challenging month as I am still trying to adjust to my new work, school, and children's school schedules.  I am enjoying all the information I am learning in this course and know that I am thankful to have this opportunity to learn so much about Adult & Community Education.  So far,  I really enjoyed reading about the historical significance of "Highlander Research and Education Center" and feel that having the chance to learn about this program served as an eye opening experience for me.  Knowing that adult education can serve the purpose of creating positive change, gave me hope that this is a field of study that truly make a difference.

    Though I have hope and have learned much about this educational program - I am still filled with questions and concern regarding the future of Adult & Community Education.  This is a profession which is fortunate enough to be introspective and willing to grow and change with the natural ebb and flow of community needs.  But, with the budgeting cutbacks in our society and the need to rationalize the existence of programs under corporate and government sponsorship - how do we make sure that the education programs can continue to exist and provide the services needed in our society for years to come?

    I am sure that as I continue to learn more this semester, I will have better insight in the growth and development of this important field of study and know how I might have the opportunity to make my own contribution towards its growth.

By: Carrie Clymer

September has flown by and I can't believe it is already October. The semester will be over before we know it. During the first month, the class determined the groups and set up the blog for the group discussions. Sarah was wonderful with quickly setting up the blog and I am so very thankful for that. This is my first time using and interacting with a blog. As everyone can tell, I need a lot more practice with using the blog. Hopefully I get better soon!

I was placed in a group with three wonderful women that are great to work with. For the first part of the group assignment, Jen emailed the group to get the ball rolling. Jen proposed we split the work into two groups. We decided to team up and email our individual work to Jen by Saturday. Sarah and Jen will work on Rachel DuBois, and Nina and I will work on researching Madame CJ Walker.

So far in this semester, I am feeling very overwhelmed and scared, but I am hopeful this feeling goes away very soon. I am looking forward to the rest of the semester with you all.