Faces of Adult Learners' Week 2001
The promotional campaign for Adult Learners Week 2001 featured four faces. Together with the four faces from the Adult Learners Week 2000 campaign they represent something of the range of experiences, goals and people participating ion adult learning in Australia today.
The people featured in the campaign are real people with real stories to tell; they are not models or actors. Their stories are below.
Paul
Paul left school in Year 8 and wound up living hard on the streets. In a world
of crime and despair, Paul was soon drifting without clear goals, easily lead
by peer pressure. Living this way, Paul had little prospect of a happy or fulfilling
life.
Then one day, he decided that he wanted to turn his life around. This revaluation led to his decision to enrol in a Certificate in General Education at Blacktown District Community College.
Initially Paul found the study hard going but he persisted. He spent long hours in the park completing his homework or reading his course books. His aunt Mary and a friend, Joe Bronowiccki, helped Paul settle into the life of a student, and gave him tips on how to succeed.
At the end of 1999 he achieved a Certificate I in General Education for Adults. In 2000 he enrolled in the Certificate II course as well as a Certificate course in Information Technology, both of which he successfully completed.
During this time, Paul moved back home with his family and was able to focus more clearly on his future. Having enjoyed the Information Technology course, he now intends to undertake further training in this area at university. Ultimately he hopes to join the army as an information technology specialist.
For his achievements in learning, Paul was the winner of the ALW2000 award for Outstanding Learner (NSW). [See also ALW awards...]
Adult learning is for all adults, regardless of age or prior learning expediencies. It is never too late - or too earlier - to embark on a lifelong obsession with learning. TAFEs and Adult Community Education Centres offer a variety of courses to suit a variety of learning goals and learning needs. As Paul's story shows, no matter how bad the situation you are in, with determination and help, learning can turn your life around.
Denise
Denise is a mother of four who had not studied for over twenty years.
She enjoyed school but then the realities of life - family, money and
work - all got in the way.
Once her children had started primary school, Denise wanted something else to do with her life. She wanted to be more than just a mother working part time as a sandwich hand. She and a friend came across a course brochure from her local community college. They looked over the brochure together, picking out the courses they would like to do.
Denise decided to enrol in a course in childcare as this was something that she enjoyed and wanted to pursue. Denise recalls that on her first day she was very nervous and remembered thinking to herself, 'What have I done?'. By the last class of her course she had grown so fond of study and of the friends she had made that she didn't want it to end.
Denise found studying while being a mother to four young children hard going, but she says she just put her mind to it and her determination got her through. She was determined that she would obtain a career that was more satisfying than her job as a sandwich hand.
As well as gaining her employment in a field that she loves, Denise's achievements in study also won her the Adult Learners' Week Outstanding Learner Award (Victoria). She was nominated for the award by her Course Coordinator who praised Denise's commitment to study and her positive attitude to learning. [See also ALW awards...]
Learning has changed Denise' life. Before she enrolled in the course she was timid and uncertain of herself. Now, she is relaxed and confident. Learning helped her realise that there was more to life than being a wife or mother; through learning she discovered that she could also have her own identity.
There are many opportunities to learn skills that will allow you to return to work or to start on a new career. There are long and short courses available which are offered part time and in the evenings. As Denise's story show, with determination, even a full time mother of four can obtain a valuable qualification and gain entry to a fulfilling career.
Alan
Now aged 63 and retired, Alan worked for much of his life as a security
guard. Seizing upon his retirement as an opportunity to develop new skills
and interests, Alan enrolled in the University of the Third Age, a community
learning organisation, to learn French and to play the recorder.
Although enjoying music all of his life, Alan had never learnt to play an instrument or learn to read music. "When I started with the University of the Third Age, I had no idea what the little black dots meant" he recalled - now he can read music quite well.
He has also learnt how to play the recorder and enjoys participating in the University of the Third Age recorder group which is made up from a wide range of people, most with little prior musical experience.
Alan did not want to end up like his father, or indeed, many men of his own generation who, when they retire, simply become frail old men sitting in their gardens with no contact with the world. In his retirement, Alan wanted to continue to grow through developing new friendships and talents. Alan says that using his retirement to learn new skills has changed his life and he is as active now as he ever was.
Retirement does not need to mean an end to life, but it can be a beginning. There are many community learning organisations that offer a range of learning experiences for beginners of all ages. There are also many other learning opportunities, such as voluntary guide programs at museums, or bush walking groups at a nearby national park, that offer all sorts of learning experiences, for little cost and without involving sitting at a desk and looking at a blackboard. And, as Alan's story shows, it is never too late to start learning.
Alan's U3A recorder group
Zahra
A few years ago, when Zahra first moved to Australia from Iran, she couldn't
speak English at all. Simple, everyday tasks, like buying food from the
shops, was a nightmare. She found that she couldn't convey her wishes,
and did not know what people where saying back to her.
Now aged 44, Zahra speaks English beautifully, thanks to determination and participating in classes run by the Adult Migrant English Service. The classes taught her how to read, write and speak English with confidence, as well as tackle everyday life in Australia. Her classmates came from all over the world and all of them, like her, were adults who couldn't speak English.
Zahra left school at an early age and never dreamt that she would have the opportunities that returning to study has offered her. Returning to study, learning a new language, and making good friends, Zahra now has the confidence to dream. She dreams of undertaking more study and embarking on a whole new life in her new country.
Zahra was eager to become involved in the Adult Learners' Week 2001 faces campaign because she wants to inspire others in her position to do what she has. She believes that everyone, especially Australians of non-English speaking backgrounds, should participate in adult education as a way of gaining strength and confidence and through this, open up a world of possibilities. Learning in the way that Zahra has, is also a great way of meeting other people in similar situations and to share stories.
There are many opportunities for Australians of different language backgrounds to become involved in learning. English language classes are filled with people from all over the world and from all age groups. Some people coming to this country think that they are too old to return to learning, but it is never too late - or too soon - to learn English. As Zahra's story shows, mastering a language