Unique Adult Education Programs - Group 2

Background

        Goodwill was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1902 by the Reverend Edgar Helms. Reverend Edgar Helms was a Methodist preacher who was determined to help the impoverished residents of Boston. He collected used household goods and clothing from families that were well off in the Boston area and in turn had members of the impoverished area repair those goods. Upon repairing the goods, the goods were resold or given to the workers who mended the goods. The workers were trained on how to care and repair the damaged or gently used goods and the Goodwill family was born. In 1910, the non-for-profit organization was incorporated but the organization did not become Goodwill until years later.

       Today Goodwill International is a multi-billion dollar non-profit organization that serves the needs of families with physical, economics, or social barriers all across the world. The work of Reverend Edgar Helms has vastly outgrown the Boston area and the agency is now housed in 24 different countries with multiple regions and is looking to expand to others. Goodwill has vastly changed since it was origination and has improved the quality of life for millions. It no longer simply provides jobs and industrial training; it provides the members of its community with computer skills, free GED classes, free personal finance preparation, housing, scholarships, childcare, etc.

        Goodwill Big Bend, Inc was founded on June 1, 1965 under the operation of Roland B. Charron. Charron was a retired Air Force Colonel and the perfect person to run the upstart of the new branch. Originally the branch operated under the St. Petersburg, FL Goodwill Industries Suncoast region. This meant that any collections that were collected that needed repair where sent to St. Petersburg’s workshop. When the first Goodwill Big Bend store was officially opened it only employed six people. A few years later Goodwill Big Bend had a solid foundation and became its own region by opening the Perry, FL store. In 1989, Goodwill Big Bend opened its doors to its first apartment complex that provides safe and efficient housing to members of the Tallahassee community with disabilities. In 2001, Goodwill Big Bend’s Mabry Career Training Center provided its first computer training course to the community. Since then Goodwill Industries Big Bend, Inc. has opened countless more stores, provide countless hours of trainings, has over 270 apartments that it manages, and maintains its 501(c) 3 non-for-profit status.

Educational Purpose

       The mission of the regional Goodwill Big Bend is “to provide job training, education, and employment to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment, helping them to reach their fullest potential in supporting themselves and their families,” (Goodwill Industries Big Bend Inc., 2001).  Currently, Goodwill Big Bend provides multiple services to the members of its community. Goodwill Big Bend provides child care services job placement services, resume writing, interview workshops, Ticket-to-work, computer courses, finance workshops, business smart courses, etc.

Educational Perceptive- “A hand up not a hand-out”

         Goodwill Industries- Big Bend Inc. exemplifies four of the five major progressive principle of adult education.  They provide their clients and members of the community with a broader view of education that exceeds that of the liberal view. Even though it is not an institution of higher education, Goodwill still provides education services that aid and contribute to broadening the knowledge and skills of community members and employees. With some of the programs and services Goodwill offers, it focuses on the needs on the learners and their past experiences to assist in developing and expanding on skills and concepts. When a retired school secretary comes in the doors of a Goodwill looking to learn how to use a computer, Goodwill develops her individual case plan based off the skills she would already have like typing on a type-writer.

        It is Goodwill’s motto that the agency is a “hand up and not a hand out.”  It is a goal of Goodwill Big Bend to allow students to flourish through their individualized case programs. At Goodwill, community members are not lecture on the content that is to be learned, but are exposed to teachers that are there to facilitate their learning experience. Much of the learning that occurs at Goodwill is self-directed. This means that the community member that wishes to take-part of Goodwill services must be willing to do their part to learn and retain the content, skill, or knowledge. Goodwill knows that for some that this is a very difficult task to do, so for special case loads a job coach or an assistant is assigned to that individual to ensure the best possible learning situation.

            At Goodwill, its services are a means for social action and social change. As technology and the job market changes, the members of the community must be equipment to meet those changes. Despite social, economic, and physical barriers members of the community are learning to transition with the changes of society through the adult education services Goodwill is providing.

Learners

       All members of all walks of life utilize the services of Goodwill. At the Goodwill Industries Big Bend Mabry location many of the participants are displaced workers, under-employed workers, single-parents, and advanced in age worker. Some of the participants have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, some are convicted felons, many are on federal assistance like SSI and SSDI, a few have college degrees, while others seek services for GED. The ages range from participants varies.

Implication: What we can learn from this organization

      Working with this organization has been a lifelong learning experience. This organization is very rooted in its community and has only the best interest for the members of its communities. This organization shows how adult education can occur in all individuals regardless of race, creed, gender, age, or ability. Every person has some form of ability and what one does with their ability determines their success in life. The programs offered are provided to the members of the community at little or no cost. The funds generated for the programs are from other member of the community, donations, and federal dollars.

Background

            Past programs that I have been involved in that have a goal of educating adults have focused on development of individuals within their communities. I enjoy being a part of programs where the main goal is for the adults in the organization to empower others through education and support. I have been involved with the alumni committee for a chapter of my sorority as well as the Girl Scouts organization. I feel that these organizations both attempt to make the adults involved better leaders and community members by encouraging the pursuit of service to the community or intended recipients. Community service is very important to me, not only because of the potential educational opportunities for myself, but also because of the chance to help others with challenges in their own lives. Because I do not have much experience with more formal programs geared towards helping adults improve themselves through education, as opposed to self-improvement through community involvement, I chose to research the Maine College Transitions Initiative.

Educational Purpose

This particular program, Maine’s College Transitions Initiative, is a competitive grant program that focuses on assisting adult students with the transition from high school or community colleges to four-year colleges (Ruff, 2011). I found this study to be interesting to me personally because I know many students who have taken the non-traditional route, and I believe it is an important yet difficult transition for some to make.  The Maine Department of Education is in charge of the program and provides funds over $800,000 every year (Ruff, 2011). Approximately 1,300 students enroll in MCT each year at multiple Adult Education program locations across the state (Ruff, 2011).

The MCT program began because much of Maine’s population, 75%, is without a bachelor’s degree (Ruff, 2011). This is an especially large problem because Maine has lost nearly 28,000 jobs over the last decade, and the employment opportunities remaining require a level of education most citizens do not have (Ruff, 2011).  Adults who have lost their jobs use the MCT program to receive assistance in furthering their own education in hopes this will improve their employability (Ruff, 2011).

Educational Perspective

            The program is helpful for individuals who have just received their GED, have recently graduated from high school but do not feel ready for a four-year college, or have been out of the education system for some time (Ruff, 2011). MCT locations offer career planning, assistance in the admissions and financial aid processes when applying to universities, and technology instruction – a large factor in why some adults do not feel ready for university life (Ruff, 2011). For older individuals who have not taken classes in many years or worked in an office, technology can be a difficult obstacle to overcome (Ruff, 2011). The MCT program provides multiple programs to instruct on the topic and incorporates technology into their courses (Ruff, 2011).

Learners

Students involved in MCT programs may be older or younger, recently graduated or out of school for many years, but the one thing they have in common is a lack of understanding or preparation for applying to and attending a university (Ruff, 2011). One student was quoted as saying the MCT program, “gets you ready for this thing you want to do in life,” (Ruff, 2011). Students may be referred to the program by career counselors, teachers, or admissions staff at universities from which they have been denied entry (Ruff, 2011).

Implications

            While surveying the students about their experiences with MCT, the author found that many of them had a very clear direction in which they wanted to pursue their education and career goals and named the career guidance opportunities at MCT as a particularly helpful aspect of the program (Ruff, 2011). The students also reported an increased sense of self-confidence and awareness of the opportunities available to them (Ruff, 2011). I believe these aspects of the program indicate positive growth for this demographic of Maine’s society. Maine has likely seen an increase in the number of qualified individuals applying for employment around the state, and a higher percentage of bachelor’s degrees among its citizens. I believe these results implicate a positive future for the state of Maine because so many of its citizens are finding themselves happier, more self-confident, and employed.  The fact that MCT focuses so much on survival skills in addition to academic courses is, I believe, a big part of why their students are so successful. Many of the programs cost little to nothing for the students as they are funded by the state and public grants (Ruff, 2011).

Table 1. Summary of Unique Adult Education Programs
	Program 1: Goodwill Big Bend	Program 2: Maine College Transition Program
Locations	International location; regional- Goodwill Big Bend	Across the state of Maine
Educational purposes	To provide educational service and trainings skills to adult with physical, social, and economic barriers.	To help adult students in need of further education make the transition from community college to a four-year university.
Educational perspectives	“A hand up is not a hand out!”	The MCT program supports the educational goals of adults across the state.
Learners	All ages and all walks of life that are displaced workers, under-employed, convicted felons, have a disability, etc.	Adults without the necessary education to become employed within the state of Maine.
How was the program organized	In 1902 by a Methodist minister who wanted to improve the quality of life of others.	By individuals looking to improve employment rates for former factory workers.
Implications	Adult education can occur in all individuals regardless of race, creed, gender, age, or ability. Every person has some form of ability and what one does with their ability determines their success in life.	Over 1,300 students receive education through this program every year. This program helps students further their careers and find meaningful employment outside of the factory industry. This will, I believe, help the state continue to prosper as more of its citizens become happier, employed, educated individuals.

References

Goodwillbigbend.com

Ruff, L. A. (2011). Successful Transitions to Higher Education: A look at Maine's College Transitions Initiative. Adult Basic Education & Literacy Journal, 5(3), 182-185.