Leadership and Advocacy in Educational Endeavors

TEL 410

Lesson 6: Making Meaning

Assignment: Coding for Themes - Interview & Journal
Points Available: 60 Points

TEL 410: Lesson 6 – Coding

Arizona State University

Ashley Stahlhut
Original Codes

Key Themes from Servant Leadership:

Listening: Green

Conceptualization: Blue

Commitment to the Growth of People: Purple

Foresight: Orange

Journal Entry: Week 1, Date: Oct 19, 2021

Why did you select your advocacy issue?

While it took me a little while to be able to choose, I selected my advocacy issue because it’s
something that has really become a passion of mine over the past few years as I’ve gone
through my Educational Studies courses. I also volunteer for an organization that provides adult
education that I hope to find a way to be more accessible to people in communities all across
the Twin Cities through this Signature Assignment.

What are your thoughts and feelings about this project?

Initial thoughts are that I need to stay on top of the components of the signature assignment and
keep researching and brainstorming new ideas. My feelings right now are that I’m a bit
overwhelmed with the workload at the moment, but as the session continues and I get more into
the project I think my passion for my topic as well as figuring out how to structure the week's
assignment will put that feeling at ease.

What were your celebrations, setbacks, and unexpected outcomes?

I think the big celebration for me was being able to find a way to include something I’m really
passionate about into my coursework. I always have found that it makes it much easier to work
through a big project. The setback this week was getting behind a bit in my homework for the
week, but now it is very clear that I need to stick to a schedule in order to be successful in this
class and get the most from it that I can. I don’t really think I have any unexpected outcomes to
share for this first week.

What progress have you made on your advocacy project?

So far I have picked and done a bit of research on my advocacy issue. I have also taken a look at
some of the assignments in the next coming weeks so that I can prepare and structure my week to
be able to finish all of my assignments on time, and not find myself stuck for time on an
assignment that required more forethought and planning.
Journal Entry: Week 2, Oct 26, 2021
What are your thoughts and feelings about your Advocacy Plan?

It has really helped to really narrow my focus and my direction I need to go in the next few
weeks in order to execute my plan successfully.

How do you feel about the project you are developing?

I’m starting to feel more confident and excited about it! This is an area I can see myself working
in after I’m done with my degree so it feels like I’m getting that much closer to that goal.

What were your celebrations, setbacks, and unexpected outcomes?

The celebration I had was finding myself really starting to get into my advocacy plan. I did find
myself struggling a bit with nailing down my plan, but I did find the exercise we did to be helpful
in finally getting there.

What progress have you made on your advocacy project?

I now have made some goals and timelines for the project and have started to look at
organizations that I would start emailing this week.

Journal Entry: Week 3, Nov 4, 2021

How will your leadership style assist you in developing this project?

Practicing servant leadership, I believe, is at the core of working for a non-profit

organization and those types of organizations that are spearheading adult education in my area.
For myself I believe this leadership style has always come pretty naturally to me, numbers and
results honestly don’t hold any of my concern compared to how my team, or students, is doing.
By keeping this leadership style in mind, I think it will help me to be grounded in the reason I
chose to do this topic in the first place and to seek out resources and information that will most
benefit not only the project, but those who are meant to benefit from it in the end.

How does servant leadership relate to your plan?

As I touched on a bit on the prior question the values and characteristics of servant
leadership, I believe, are at the heart of the plan in that if I don’t act on those values the drive
and urgency to get this information out to the right people would be lost.

How do you feel about the project you are developing?

 Doing the literature review helped me understand the demographics of the communities
around me and pinpoint more areas where adult education would be most beneficial to the
members there. I’m still working on trying to get in touch with someone at the organization I wish
to partner with so that will be a big focus this coming week.

What were your celebrations, setbacks, and unexpected outcomes?

This week so far has been the hardest, more in terms of things in my personal life but it
did set me back as I was mentally not able to devote more time over the course of the week as I
would’ve liked.

What progress have you made on your advocacy project?

Doing the literature review really helped me pinpoint a few areas I wanted more
understanding on for my project, specifically demographics of the communities around me and
where adult education would have a huge impact. I’m still trying to get in touch with someone from
the organization I wished to partner with, so I may have to make a plan B in case I can’t connect
with them in a timely manner.

Journal Entry: Week 4, Nov 9, 2021

What are your thoughts and feelings about your Elevator Pitch?

At this point I am currently still working on my Elevator Pitch, I’m a bit of a wordy person
normally so I am struggling a bit to make the pitch effective, succinct, and within the time period
allotted. I feel that I’m starting to get it figured out after some thinking and rethinking. I think what
this assignment has done has really helped me to consider what I think are the most important
ideas and goals for this project.

How do you feel about interviewing someone about your project?

I’m not necessarily nervous about actually interviewing someone, but I am still struggling with
trying to get in touch with someone that I would be able to interview with and not be crunched
for time.

What were your celebrations, setbacks, and unexpected outcomes?

Though my elevator pitch is taking longer than I had hoped to get polished up, it has really
helped me to reframe my goals and “whys” for this project. The biggest setback right now is
tracking down someone to interview.

What progress have you made on your advocacy project?

In between working on assignments this week I have been browsing around different advocacy
groups websites to learn more about adult basic education and who they are serving and how they
connect with the members of their communities.

Journal Entry: Week 5, Nov 19, 2021

Please share your thoughts about your interview. Did you learn more about your
advocacy area? Did you gain greater insight about your project? Did you find value in the
interview process?

I really enjoyed my interview, I was able to get a perspective on some things that I had not
considered as well as learned more about the organization as a whole as well. Also got me
started on the way to a volunteer opportunity in ABE so I’m really excited for that as well. I did
find value in the interview process, even though asking someone to do one was a bit nerve
racking! But what I learned far outweighs those feelings for sure.

Was it challenging to find Community of Practices for your Advocacy Focus?

Surprisingly it was, one of the only ones I really found was related to the Department of
Corrections and while I think that education in that regard is very important it isn’t really related
to what I am working on with my advocacy project.

What were your celebrations, setbacks, and unexpected outcomes?

The biggest celebration for me was making a connection with Mariah, a volunteer coordinator
who works for Literacy Minnesota not only as a future volunteer but as a resource for any
additional questions I have about working in Adult Basic Education. I was setback this week by
the rapidly changing hours of light and cold which in turn really affects my overall mood and
mental health so it was harder to focus this week.

What progress have you made on your advocacy project?

During the interview I was able to learn some information that helped me to rethink some of my
ideas for my project and how the overall product could be more effective.

Interview Transcript:

Ashley: Yeah, it's just like a few kinds of the questions to kind of maybe give you some
background on like the assignment itself. So we were just asked to try and solve an advocacy
problem. So mine was actually. Kinda more revolving around getting access to adult education,
which I think is that when you had said that you kind of focus on anyway, right?
Mariah: Yeah. So I, I focus on one part, one like small, not small, but one private kind of piece of
the pie of my job is. Connecting folks throughout the state with adult education programs,
through our adults, through our adult literacy hotline. And so that's the portion of my work in
general. I'm our volunteer outreach coordinator working on connecting prospective volunteers
like you with programs in their area.But one aspect of my work also includes student outreach
and answering the adult literacy hotline.

Ashley: Gotcha. Yeah, I think so as far as my questions, I think they still relate to that. Hopefully
they're not completely out there you know, but if they are…

Mariah: I'll let you know.

Ashley: Okay. Sounds good. So then, yeah, just the first question I have then I guess is in terms
of connecting with students, what do you find to be kind of the more effective ways that you've
found to be able to connect with potential students, I guess, through the hotline or maybe
experience?

Mariah: Yeah, for sure. So I'll just give you a little summary of what the adult literacy hotline
does since it's one of our main tools. So at Literacy Minnesota, we have our own learning
centers called Open Door learning centers, but then we also have a grant through the
Minnesota Department of Education that serves all of Minnesota. And so one of our main
responsibilities through the adult literacy hotline is to serve as a hub for prospective students
looking for courses. So even if we're not necessarily linking them with an open-door learning
center you know, maybe a student calls from the Osseo area who is looking for a program and
maybe they're looking for GED in the mornings. And so then we have a team of operators who
answer the phone, put the student's zip code into our database and pull up options that might
match what they're looking for.And so we get calls from people in Brainerd and Marshall,
Minnesota, and also the Twin Cities Metro area, and a number of us are bilingual and able to
answer phone calls and Spanish as well. But we also use an interpreter line when we are not
able to serve somebody's language needs so that our priority is getting them the information
that they need.

So that operates 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday, but then we also have a Google voice
text system. And so people can also shoot us text messages, asking for information and we
respond to voicemails as well. So that's how the adult literacy hotline works. And yeah, I mean,
we get hundreds of calls and I think that one amazing thing about Minnesota is that it has a
really broad network of adult education services.

One challenge is that people don't always know where to start and they don't necessarily know
which program near them offers the services that they're looking for, or maybe they went to one
program and it wasn't quite what they were looking for and they needed another option.So we
try to be like a liaison between prospective students and community programs, school district
programs, et cetera.

Ashley: So, yeah, I mean it sounds like all sorts of tools and resources. It's not just kind of like
one thing you have to use. It sounds like if there's a way that you can try and get them into
something, like there's a way that, you know, they can, you know, reach out to you in some way
and actually make that connection too, which is really cool.

Mariah: Yeah. And so I would say that our main student outreach is actually advertising the
hotline. And so we want to make sure that people know that that number is a resource. And so
we've done every door, direct mailings through the United States postal service, where we send
out like mass flyers with like, here's our number,here's where you can text us. Here are the
services we offer. So we did a campaign about that. We do flyering in public spaces that were
less relevant in COVID times, but we also have done email campaigns to their stores and
grocery stores and charter schools and public schools. And we asked people if they'd like to
receive our mailers or flyers to share with patrons.

So we also try to do some of those sort of old school methods, like paper flyering and being
visible in addition to. Recently, we did some radio ads, which was cool and it was exciting to
see. How we worked with a radio station in the cities that mostly works is almost entirely
Spanish speaking and has a large Latino audience and after that, we got a lot more Spanish
speakers calling the hotline, which was fantastic. So we try to be intentional about outreach and
reaching and who we're not. So yeah, casting a very wide net sounds like trying to go to
community events when we can. So yeah. I don't know if that gives you a broad sense of what
we do, but yeah.

Ashley:Oh, definitely. So then yeah, you kind of answered them my second question, at least
part of it. My second one then was in terms of what the demographics of students you see in the
programs and has it changed at all in any way?

Mariah: Yeah. Good question. So I wouldn't feel confident speaking to that like in specific terms,
cause I don’t have the numbers. And it really depends on the part of the cities or the parts of
Minnesota. And so usually student demographics are reflective of immigration trends. And so
that being said, there are plenty of students who are U.S. born.So I think that in the Twin Cities,
we see a lot of East African students and Somali students. But in other parts of the state, the
migrants may be more from Central or South America. It just really, it really varies on migration
trends and where folks are establishing community throughout the states.

Ashley:Yeah. That makes sense, I guess. I hadn't even thought of that. Yeah. That a lot of the
people could be, you know, just born here. I think my automatic thought was just, oh, a lot of
people that are immigrants, but yeah, that makes sense that a lot of people here would also
take advantage of classes. Why not?

Mariah: Yeah. Plenty of people are working to get their GED. Yeah. And they're also like more
folks than we would think who didn't, who struggled in the K through 12 system or who were
pushed out of the K through 12 system and didn't learn how to read. And so there are also U.S.
born adults who have literacy skills too, that they want to work on to achieve their own goals.

Ashley: Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. I hadn't even considered that it's a good thing to think about.
Yeah, totally. So then I guess in terms of the courses and programs though, how do the courses
that are offered in the program, how do they improve the lives of students?
Mariah: Yeah. That's really far, far reaching, I would say I think that it depends on what they're
studying. So if somebody is, are you specifically asking about English as a second language or
GED or is there a specific area that you want me to speak to?

Ashley: I guess kind of more less was like learning those skills, maybe the impact that can be
seen. You know, within their family, within their community, you know, having learned English,
what does that do for them? Does that, that kind of sense maybe.

Mariah: Yeah, it does. So I think that there’s a lot of ways that we could debate the paramount
importance of English in our society. Right. Should it be as important as it is to live a successful
dignified life? No, it shouldn't be right. Like there should be a lot more ease and a lot more
diversity of language. English is both this incredible symbol of status, but also this tool that you
need to succeed. Right? All that, all that being said, these are the conditions we’re with, right?
And so what it means for folks when they gain literacy skills and when they learn English, as I
often say, as an additional language, because a lot of folks already come in, speaking several
English is their second. It means better chances at job opportunities with higher pay. It means
being able to be a self advocate in medical settings, in legal settings as a parent at parent
teacher conferences, it means being able to read literature, literature that comes home with your
kids about a field trip coming up. It means being able to talk to a representative in your union
about your labor conditions. Like there are all of these ways that you're able to navigate and
build a more stable life. And for folks who are studying for their GED or learning literacy skills for
the first time that's a huge deal, right?

As far as opportunities for continuing higher education, opportunities for promotion in careers.
And I also just think that for families like children are learning in school, like family literacy is, is
a really amazing and powerful thing. Like being able to read with your kids, being able to
connect to their learning experiences. So, yeah, I think a lot of people I talk to are also just really
excited about the community that education offers this, but education offers. Some folks have
students from all across the board. Some folks had PhDs in their home country and some folks
have never had access to formal education. For some people, this is a long journey of
education. And for some people, this is the beginning of that story for them. And so that in itself
is really motivating and purpose giving for, for a lot of people.

Ashley: Yeah, totally. You kind of catch everyone at their needs and where they're at. That's
really cool. I think that what definitely attracts me to adult education is everyone's in such a
different place, but you know, they come together kind of for that one purpose. It's kind of cool.

Mariah: Yeah, it is. It is awesome. And, and you know, people who were born into your
community and people who were, who come from other places and have a whole different
journey to Minnesota, but yeah. Then you do end up with lots of stories and lots of life
experiences. And it's, it's really exciting to be alongside people as they learn in that.

Ashley: Yeah, definitely. So this question, I guess, is more kind of on the volunteers themselves.
Do you notice, or have you found it on. Well, let me actually say that for volunteers. Do you find
that maybe more generalized? I guess I should say, do you find that they tend to come kind of
within those communities that they're volunteering and, or do you think that, or do you see that
they come from outside? So I guess, especially in the Twin Cities, you know, are people going
up to North Minneapolis or somewhere else, for example, or, you know, vice versa.

Mariah: Yeah. Good question. It depends. Most volunteers look for a volunteer role that's within
their community. That being said, I think that it depends on where there's a need for volunteers.
Programs have higher needs than others and so some volunteers are willing to, to travel to
where they like, okay, great the program in my community isn't looking for folks right now, but in
South Minneapolis they need folks. And so I would say most volunteers would rather volunteer
in their own community, but are willing to travel if there aren't needs in there and their immediate
vicinity, not all volunteers can, some folks are like, I need to be able to take the bus. Let's find a
spot near where you live. I do think that one big area of growth in adult education is
volunteering. If we think about the community, not just as geographical, but as its people's
backgrounds and where they come from is that in general, volunteers in adult education are still
primarily white. And so, you know, do they reflect the community that they're serving through
volunteering generally. No. So the question of like, are they part of the community often
geographically? Yes. But as far as reflecting the audience less so, and that's an area of growth
in the field.

Ashley: Yeah, definitely. I would agree with that. So then talking again about the nasty, C word,
the COVID word, how did your programs adapt to be able to serve students during the
pandemic or even, I guess even still now, really.

Mariah: Yeah. So I've been at literacy Minnesota for about a year now. So I can speak to the
last year of the COVID response and do my best to just speak to what I know that they did prior
to my time at the organization. Literacy Minnesota ended up transferring all of our courses
online and providing virtual learning experiences for students through both synchronous and
asynchronous offering. So like live in class, but also online learning modules that they could
work through and study independently. One really important aspect of that was of course
technology access. And so there was a huge push to secure funding and work in partnership
with library systems to get folks devices because studying on your phone is hard.

And literacy Minnesota with our Open Door learning centers. A lot of this response you can see
reflected throughout the state as folks tried to make online learning possible both through things
like general digital literacy skills around how to email, how to like join a zoom meeting to how to
you know, at general technology skills, both for teachers, students and volunteers.I think that
was a field wide thing. It was not just students that needed to work on their digital literacy skills.
Plenty of students could run circles around some of us. So, yeah. And so that was a big thing.
Let's see. And I mean, I'm thinking if there is, that was the oh, moving training options. So
Literacy, Minnesota is responsible for volunteer training. And so we moved all of our training into
live webinars and they still are right now. We're still not doing volunteer training in person.
Mostly because we actually found that people seemed to appreciate the accessibility of the
virtual format. I think that that's now the moment the field is in with COVID is how do you, how
do you keep people safe? How do you provide excellent learning experiences? And how do we
not lose the gains that we made as far as accessibility, right? Yeah. It's hard. It's a hard
question to answer, right?
Ashley: Yeah. My brother's girlfriend. She, you know,it was her first year teaching that they had
to go through all this and I'm like, I couldn't even oh my God being a math teacher for 6th
graders online. But I mean, she ended up being basically like, the tech for all of the other
teachers and she's like, some of them could barely get into their email and then they're
expected to just, you know, have to pop on and just start learning online.So I feel like, yeah,
there was like that huge ripple effect of, you know, versus even just formal education to, you
know, online learning classes or things like that. Just all of that. Kind of learning everybody else
had to do to kind of figure it out and keep those standards up. It's insane.

Mariah: Yeah. Well, we've been able to do that thankfully since then, but it was a huge ask for
everybody, and I think people did an incredible job considering. And now it is, it is tough to
figure out. What do you sustain? What do you, what do you let go? You can't expect teachers to
now provide both necessarily or if they do then something's has to give so, right.

Ashley:Yeah, yeah. Kind of in that gray area now, I suppose.

Mariah: Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

Ashley: So then I kind of wanted to touch on the mission statement and a little bit too, and kind
of I guess your thoughts on it and how the programs itself reflect that mission statement. And if
you think that they do or you believe that they do in your opinion?

Mariah: Oh, yeah, no, you're totally fine. You just froze a little bit. So I was going to say that little
flag I'm like, your face is frozen, but your face is frozen, but I can, you can hear me. Your face is
frozen, but I can hear you. Okay. So yeah, I think that Literacy Minnesota's work definitely
endeavors to reach our mission statement. I think that I'm looking at the area. I'm looking at it as
we talk just to make sure I'm not missing any pieces. I do think that literacy work can play a
really powerful role in, in advancing equity in our society. I think that. And this is me, speaking of
my own perspective. I also think that in adult education, we do need to continue to grapple with
the colonial legacy of English, language learning and, and the impact that that still has. And, and
I think that just as our state and our society have been going through a racial justice reckoning.
I think adult education is experiencing that as well. You know, what are the, what are the power
structures in place and who has, who has agency in this system? And just making sure that we,
I think that it is like our prerogative to continue to try to think beyond. Like the white savior
complex continues to work towards ways of education that are truly transformational and truly
center students, students, student voices, right?

Ashley: Yeah. Kind of more of a partnership rather than. Yeah, that kind of complex, it's like, oh,
I'm here to help you rather it's like, let's get where you want to go and what you need, you feel
you need.

Mariah: Yeah. Right, right. And what, and what styles of teaching do we center and how, how.
Creative. Are we in how we think about different ways of learning and different ways of learning
in different cultures and, and recognizing that the United States education system is not that
there's not one right way and that is not the only. And so I think that adult education is definitely
in a moment of what it would look like to really center student voice and to really. Meaningfully
and equitably do literacy work. So I don't know if that answers your question.
Ashley: I would say so. Yeah, I think so. And I mean, it kind of touches back to what you're
saying about trying to attract more of those, you know, more people that are reflective of the
learners themselves.And hopefully, you know, as time goes on and things like that, hopefully
that'll kind of change. Kind of like balancing that out a little bit. So you get more of a, I guess
more of a, I don't know if authentic is the right word, but more of like the experience that would
be maybe even more beneficial than what, you know, we're able to, or are able to at this point,
maybe from our perspective.

Mariah: Right. Right. So, yeah. That's my general stance.

Ashley: Let's see. I was gonna say, I think we actually already touched on one of the questions,
kind of talking about all the different ways that you've reached out or literacy Minnesota reaches
out. So then I guess the last question then is how, and I guess in what ways has technology
helped Literacy Minnesota find and connect to students in the right programs?And I think we
kind of touched you, you kind of touched on that even a little bit too with the hotline and, you
know, the different forms of outreach, I suppose. Is there anything else, I guess you can add to
that?

Mariah: Yeah, I think that the hotline and the Google voice texting system for outreach to, for
student outreach, those are definitely ways that technology helps us. I mean, we're able to keep
an educator resources library online that folks are able to download and use in their classroom.
We're able to reach teachers and volunteer coordinators and prospective volunteers through
zoom webinars where you and I are able to have this conversation right now, so, so easily, even
though we're probably a 30 minute drive from each other. And so I think that we're able to reach
students and then we're also able to reach folks who are in direct support of students. And we're
able to do that statewide. And I think that that's one thing that literacy Minnesota has, has
faltered in the past. It's like, how do you make sure that folks in Detroit Lakes get access to
service just like folks in St. Paul do. And, I think that through the build-out and expansion of
online training methods, we're able to make sure that volunteers that do end up in classrooms
are really prepared to support learners in a culturally competent and knowledgeable way.
So that's, that's a big one. Other programs we've done, we've done some of this, but things like
WhatsApp and Google voice teachers are able to stay in close and compassionate contact with
students. And, students are able to reach out to their teachers and say, Hey, this is what's going
on, this is why I couldn't come to class, or I need support on this assignment. And of course
there are boundaries teachers often use like there are like a separate Google voice number for
all of them, for all of their contact and things like that. But you know, we're talking. About adult
students here with work and children, and some of them are caretakers or they're being taken
care of like they're all of these different experiences. And I think the fact that people are able to
use technology to maintain connection and communication with the people in their adult ed
program is so crucial to them feeling like they have agency in their life.

Ashley: Kind of, yeah, definitely more of an active role in it versus yeah. Kind of being that kind
of passive student that just kind of is like, you know, sits there and listens and so yeah
technology is super important.

Mariah: Yep.
Ashley: I feel, yeah, definitely the last year. It's if it's taught us anything, it's how we can use our
tools and what we can change about those tools. For sure. To, if anything, I feel like a
compliment to what you can do in person.

Mariah: Right, right.

Ashley: Sweet. Well, yeah, that was pretty much all the questions though!

Mariah: Okay. Awesome.