Woods Mill Adult Education Center - 2009 Words

Introduction The National Commission on Adult Literacy (2008) states that â€Å"High quality instruction is essential to foster student retention and produce successful outcomes†, yet, adult programs, like many low-poverty school districts, encounter difficulties obtaining high quality teachers (p. 13). My opportunity to work in this class at Woods Mill made it clear to me how important high quality instruction is to all types of students from pre-school up through adult programs. In the short time I spent at Woods Mill Adult Education Center I had a chance to see two styles of pedagogy; one which taught me more about what to do as a teacher, and one which taught me more about what not to do. For this paper I will review one of those two†¦show more content†¦In addition to the classrooms, there are several libraries with computers that students can go in and work outside of the class setting. Some students used these rooms to take the practice GED, progress tests, or work independ ently (or with a volunteer) to work on subject areas they struggle with. The Literacy II class was made up of Hispanics, African Americans, Caucasians, and Asians. Alana, an African American, was the teacher in charge of this class. She was one of three teachers and the only African American staff member at the school. Because attendance is not mandatory as it is in public school, the students’ attendance seemed fairly erratic. Many of the students were parents themselves and there may be adult issues such as child care, transportation, time constraints, and a lack of confidence in their ability to learn that may have prevented them from coming to class consistently (Thomas, 2008, p. 27). The largest attendance I observed in class during any one session was about 8-9 students. However, the Literacy II class was given on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I was only in attendance on Tuesdays for 7 weeks so I cannot make a well-informed observation in that regard. Sometimes students spent their entire classroom time in one of the libraries taking practice te sts or doing other work so I have to also take that into account. The students’ ages ranged from late teens through their 40s. Many of them work in