WE LEARN 2009 Conference Stronger Leadership and Literacy: Empowering Women to Action

Research and Advocacy

2009-03-14T18:59:00.001-07:00

A key theme at the WE LEARN 2009 Conference was the connection between research and advocacy. Between sessions and the work group discussions, many people had great suggestions about how research and advocacy can work hand-in-hand. What are some important things to keep in mind as we move forward?

WE LEARN Values 4: WE LEARN Acts Through Participatory Practices

2009-03-03T21:17:00.001-08:00

Draft:

1. We believe in the inherent wisdom of every individual to transform themselves and their world through the duality of their existence as both learners and facilitators of knowledge, literacy, and language, inside and outside classrooms.

2. We support collaboration rather than competition and interdependence rather than isolated independence.

3. We are committed to analyzing, and working towards balancing, power dynamics between women and men, learners and facilitators, within all aspects of WE LEARN and our communities.

4. We support and utilize various holistic approaches for decisions and activities that are based on the collaboration and equal participation of all members in any educational and working setting.

5. We base our mission, vision and values on the needs, perspectives and interests identified and decided upon by our membership.

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WE LEARN Values 3: WE LEARN Works Towards Justice and Equity

2009-03-03T21:15:00.000-08:00

Draft:

Social justice involves doing rather than being done to.

1. Social justice is about sharing power, creating equity (vs. equality), and moving with a collective, shared sense of responsibility.

2. We believe that all people can act to identify, understand, and address social injustice/inequalities, challenging the dominant dialogue/norms.

3. We encourage and support anti-oppression movements (especially those addressing sexism, racism, heterosexism, and classism) to consider basic literacy/education as a factor for full participation in movement building.

4. We support feminist/womanist perspectives that demand equity and justice for women and girls in all matters of self, family, community, and society.

5. Our work includes and values differences; differences are not deficits. The past does not define who you will be in the future but the past can be fuel for the change process. We believe that all people are both learners and teachers; we look for the promise and potential in everyone.

Include??
6. We believe women ABE educators must also have opportunities for self-determination and full participation. Women educators should have quality work places, equitable compensation, and continued professional development.

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WE LEARN Values 2: WE LEARN Supports Social Change

2009-03-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Draft:

1. We believe that women who lack education are often left out of conversations of how to make social change. We believe that all women, regardless of educational achievement, can contribute to leadership and vision in the movement for women’s equity and justice.

2. We believe that the exclusion of women from access to power and participation is a form of oppression. We know that 40% of women in the U.S (50%+ worldwide) have limited education or literacy. We believe that investing in women's education is a necessary step ending all women's oppression and creating equitable communities.

3. We believe that women's adult basic/literacy education is a key site for social change and building an inclusive movement in two ways:

a. Systemic change and societal transformation requires individual development and transformation. Women in adult basic/literacy education have the opportunity to develop their own skills and personal self-esteem in order to more effectively contribute to systemic social change.

b. Adult basic/literacy education can directly contribute to movement building. Movement building in adult basic/literacy education involves: creating critical learning environments that make use of women-positive/inclusive materials and methods, fostering women’s leadership, and involving women more directly in the development of theory and action related to social change movements.

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WE LEARN Values 1: WE LEARN is Women Centered/Women Positive

2009-03-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Value Statement Draft: WE LEARN focuses on the issues, needs, concerns, viewpoints, strengths, and wisdom of women.

1. We value women's voices, experiences, and viewpoints.

2. We seek to empower all women through personal growth, self-determination and community participation.

3. We centralize women's ways of knowing that nourish the mind, body, and spirit. We recognize that learning happens in every aspect of women's lives, not just in the classroom.

4. We believe women need safe and healthy spaces to share their stories and experiences and to use these as a basis for learning and action.

5. We believe that all women, regardless of education or literacy achievement, must have access to plain language resources about women's lives and issues.

6. Women deserve educational resources that reflect positive views about our strengths, achievements, and creative possibilities. We value the development and use of women centered
and women-positive curriculum and lessons.

7. We support and celebrate women's successes, both small and large, both personal and academic.

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WE LEARN Vision Statement

2009-03-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

Draft: WE LEARN seeks to build a just society and healthy communities. Therefore, we focus on education, specifically the basic literacies women need to gain access to systems of power and to achieve personal and community empowerment. Women’s pursuit of multiple literacies gives visibility to our experiences as women, sustains our on-going desire to learn, encourages critical thinking, and provides the support and information necessary for reflection, understanding, and action to change our current situations.

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WE LEARN Mission Statement

2009-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Current Draft: WE LEARN is a community promoting women’s literacy as a tool that fosters empowerment and equity for women.

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Theories and Definitions

2009-02-11T17:28:00.001-08:00

How do you define leadership? What are the qualities that one needs to be a leader?

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Educator Leaders

2009-02-11T17:27:00.003-08:00

How do we develop educator leaders? How do we support those who are already acting as leaders? How can educator leaders help shape awareness of women's needs in literacy education?

Student Leaders

2009-02-11T17:27:00.001-08:00

What are the ways that women learners take on leadership roles? What kind of support would allow more women learners to take on leadership roles? What ways is their leadership visible? In what ways can that leadership be made more visible?

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Finding the Center

2009-02-11T17:26:00.003-08:00

What are the different feelings that women have about leadership? How can we talk about them?

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Civic Participation

2009-02-11T17:26:00.001-08:00

What are the connections between leadership and literacy, and liberation and empowerment? How would you define those terms? How do you support those connections?

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