to add to MaryAnn's excellent insights, key question that arise for me focus
around a person's ability to listen, to know what it is she or he knows and
doesn't know and how to ask questions to get the information s/he needs to
have in order to make well-informed decisions.

There are plenty of people with knowledge of the field who are not good
managers, plenty of good managers who don't know the field.  We all know
that.  In my view - as MaryAnn wisely suggests - it's not a Yes or No
question.

If a manager knows nothing about adult learning but knows that s/he needs to
learn key pieces about it in order to support the agency, then fine.  If,
however, a manager refuses to listen or learn - no matter how gifted he or
she might be - the agency might survive financially, but what will happen to
its soul?

Again - there are rules, exceptions, individuals -- it really does depend on
what's going on in a particular agency.  My own experience has been that
Professional Managers without content knowledge can do great good or great
harm.  It's a complicated set of questions, which people here seem to be
acknowledging.

Janet Isserlis 



> From: MaryAnn Florez <mflorez at dclearns.org>

> Reply-To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List

> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>

> Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:53:24 -0500

> To: 'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List'

> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>

> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3344] Re: managing programs for adultEnglishlearners

> 

> One of the program directors in this area that I know and highly, highly

> respect, has no background as a teacher, and I think her only adult

> education experience has come from her work with her current organization.

> What she does have are skills and knowledge in fundraising, board

> development, systems management, strategic and program planning, and

> outreach and community development.  She is also smart enough and secure

> enough to surround herself with next tier managers and coordinators who do

> have specializations and excellent skills in instructional planning and

> execution, curriculum development, and volunteer management.

> 

> Meeting and working with her has made me think twice about what that

> connection between managing and teaching could/should/doesn't necessarily

> need to be.  I don't think it's a black and white answer.  And if you asked

> me to decide between two coordinator candidates, one with teaching and

> experience and one without, all other things being equal, I would still

> choose the one with teaching experience.  But I think like many things, it

> depends on how all those skills and experiences come together in a

> particular person, AND I think it depends on the program in question, and

> what its needs and peculiarities are.