Yes, that is one of the challenges of working with adults with such 
stressful lives-- but while these issues are difficult, I believe it is 
important that we continue to have expectations that learners WILL 
accomplish something and not just use the class for group therapy.    
It may just be a page or an activity or participating in a 
conversation, but the expectation is that they will do something.

and I want to note that in my messages I stress persistence as opposed 
to retention-- retention smacks of us hanging on to them, while 
persistence, the term used by NCSALL, indicates that the learner has 
chosen to persist.   Rlobin

-----Original Message-----
From: Katrina Hinson <khinson at future-gate.com>
To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov; julie_mcKinney at worlded.org
Sent: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 12:21:53 -0800
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] health, stress and learning struggles

I think it's just these kind of issues that no amount of statistical 
data ever
covers  - especially when it comes down to NRS reporting etc, but these 
are very
real issues faced by many of our older and younger adult students 
alike. These
issues affect every thing from individual attendance to long term 
retention
numbers. I have a student in my class as well whose mother has 
alzheimers. It
takes a great deal of her emotional strength just to deal with it on a 
day to
day basis let alone have anything left over to think and comprehend 
with. Add to
that, the student also has a child under a year old with asthma.   A 
person's
health, and the health of those around them, I feel, directly impacts 
his or her
ability to learn. If you're concentrating so much on a pain or 
discomfort you
have, there is no way you can fully concentrate on the material you're 
trying to
learn.  If you're worried about your loved ones, you can't focus on the
learning. I think looking at these barriers and
  trying to find ways to overcome them is a very important and real 
issue for all
of us.


Regards
Katrina Hinson


>>> julie_mcKinney at worlded.org  >>>

Hi Robin and others,

One thing that struck me in the article was how health and home stress
issues affected people's learning. For example, Anna Maria had the
hearing problem and the mother with alzheimers, and Henri was
preoccupied with his prostate cancer. It seems that health issues for
the learner and the learner's family can be significant barriers to
learning.

Any more ideas for assessing and addressing these types of problems?

Thanks,

Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org

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