2/18/15 Federal Way Branch Library Workshop Sarah

Federal Way Branch Library
February 18th, 2015
3:30 to 8:00pm

We had a group of about six kids and two adults. At the beginning, we were all kind of milling around. Since this sort of makes me nervous, I started suggesting to other volunteers that they take out this technology or that, or show this or that, which I hope wasn't too bossy. Sometimes it's hard to know what role to take in a project where there is a communal/decentralized structure.

I used the laptop from KCLS to work with an adult student on MS Word, while the other adult student was using tablets with the kids. After kids went to story time, the other adult came over. The lack of ability to download anything to the training laptop was difficult, but my laptop didn't recognize the mouse, which was more difficult. I'll be sure to bring a couple of laptops from Casa Latina next week, just in case they want to work on MS Word more. I'll also try to figure out how to change the language settings on MS Word.

I made a flyer with their input. Then I asked one of the women, who'd been working with me the longest, to make a flyer. She did it seamlessly. She took careful notes and was a quick study. Her daughter warned her that their version of Word at home was different, so hopefully she'll be able to translate the skills she learned to her computer at home.

Next week is our last week in Federal Way. These two women have been attending consistently. I will be interested to hear from them what worked for them and what didn't. It will be good feedback for our process at Douglass-Truth and Lake City.

1/7/15 Workshop Casa Latina Sarah White

On 1/7, Esteban presented on antivirus software and file-sharing/backup software (Dropbox) to the adult literacy group. Freddy and I were available to offer help and support.

I also found out that our order of tablets arrived! I'm wondering if we will be able to use any of the tablets on 1-14? I'm also wondering if I could borrow one next week to play around with and get used to the interface?

Each student had their particular interests and challenges related to the topic. Making the second half of the class productive seemed to require 1-to-1 support or 1-to-2 support. The difficulty I had in the MSF lesson was also that students required a great deal of individualized support. When thinking about writing the lesson plans for Capstone to be used by future volunteers, I'm wondering about ways to write them such that one volunteer could work more easily with up to 10 students (this is sort of an arbitrary goal, but it seems reasonable). I'm still playing around with different ideas. I'm thinking of the possibility of a model that looks a bit like fearless cards - step-by-step instructions for different tasks that students could pull out and use with the help of a friend? And perhaps trying to "formalize" pair work a bit? This actually seems "weirder" in a small, friendly class. In a slightly larger class it doesn't feel awkward to assign pairs.

A lot is happening in other classes that is related. Next week I'll be working on an outline of my deliverables for Capstone. The first draft will be due the 18th, and the final due the 25th. At some point between the 18th and the 25th, it'd be good to run the document past Ivette. I admit that I kind of feel about Capstone documents the way that I used to feel about grant reporting: we run around like crazy to make it work in the real world, and then make it look on paper however it needs to look on paper to appease the Masters of Bureaucracy. That being said, I don't want to completely brush off the process because I would like a minimum of headaches come Spring.

I am also participating in a TASCHA research seminar for the Myanmar Information Laboratory. I've been tasked with a "Lit Review" of sorts: finding digital & info literacy curricula from similar contexts with a focus on smart phones and making a series of recommendations for librarian-training workshops. I think some of what I learn will inform the lesson plans I write up for my Capstone.

01/22/2015 Casa Latina Workshop Ivette

Location:     Casa Latina                 

Describe Context – Working in the Adult Digital Literacy workshop today.  4 women attended and the topic was creating business cards. 

           

Date:1/21/2015

Name: Ivette Bayo Urban

List things that happened today:

Left UW campus late which meant the mobile group arrived at Casa Latina at 5:10.
Sarah had computer lab set up and only 3 women in attendance at that point.
Checked in with mujeres and they wanted to explore making business cards.
Brad finished setting up the adult tablets.
Klarissa and Willa were able to unfold the ipad minis and new apps with the youth as well as do origami.
We had another Mujer show up, she had already created her business card but unable to print because she lacked the right paper.  
3 of the 4 women completed their business cards during the time in the class.

In the news:

Our Feb schedule and flyers were delivered to Casa Latina.

List Action Items from workshop:

• Print and deliver business cards to women next class.
• Email Gilda calendar for Feb workshop and topics.  
• Go to MSF to share information about the Latina Tech workshops and Feb.
• Make a tech inventory list inside of the bins, laminate and tape.
• Update website.

  Things to look up, check out and explore:

•  Set up meeting and site visit for Douglass-Truth Branch
  

Describe an important an evocative social interaction that happened today:

 

On campus today as I was preparing for the UW class a colleague stopped and asked how things were going.  I said great, shared some information about the diverse students I am working with and the tentacles of the project, including capstone teams, little free library and so forth. The colleagues says something along the lines of, "sounds like all you are doing is volunteer management."
At the moment she said it, I knodded and went on my way.  But as time passed I realized the perception that this work is not seen as neither teaching nor scholarship first (though definitely elements of that cannot be questioned) but as community work first.  And I started to think about that and the realities embedded in this vision of community work, community partnership and the heavy lifting needed to level the playing field, if you will and restructure the power and privilege to its rightful location.  Now I totally get that on the surface, it may appear like that is ALL I am doing, but just a little focus and dialogue and there is so much there that can go unseen, unnoticed and undervalued.  Similar to the work that marginalized populations do on a regular and constant basis with trying to making ends meet, learning multiple forms of navigating the world, inside, outside, within and around the power structures and learning to not only manage but to thrive, despite the patholigization of the "how" they manage it. 

Describe a success.

We managed another day in dialogue, being mindful and present (even if it was a bit messy and not as organized as I would have liked). 

Describe a failure.  What fell through the cracks?

Given the things on my plate, I realize I am currently better suited to support the project by a secondary facilitator role than as the lead.

Despite having done the workshop on business cards in the past, I felt as though my personal stresses of the past few weeks took a toll and I did not engage the women in the critical dialogue as I would have liked, have imagined and have done in the past.  While we were still able to accomplish our task, I had not anticipated the added stress with the technology - nothing that I tried to accomplish with technology was working and I was totally frustrated.  I wanted to work with my mac, the platform that was familiar and that I knew how to navigate well and this was not the case. 

What surprised me the most?

Despite my technological cluster mess in front of the Mujeres - I think there was some unintended learning that took place.  I think that I performed the role of frustrated mujer using technology better than I ever have and granted it was not just a performance, but a genuine 'nothing is working for me' kind of day.  Several students had to intervene and help with troubleshooting, including issues that I know how to troubleshoot myself. 

Reflections

I recall a Mujeres Sin Fronteras meeting months ago in which the person leading the workshop, a woman of the community,  was performing this same patholigization of Othering, the imaginary women they were describing, as we were discussing ways to learn and grow related to comfort zones and moving beyond them.  It is hard not to perpetuate this sort othering, unintentionally, as a way to talk about personal development.  But until you have walked in someone elses' shoes and carried the weight of all their identities, values, and responsibilities we need to take a step back and see that we always only have part of the story - there is always more, a lifetime, a generation, intergenerational things of more.  

I recently read an article on historical trauma and I could not help but take into account the  unseen and unrecognized violences that women face. 

According to Schuler*, there are four main categories of gendered violence and they occur in 3 main contexts:

Four Major Categories of Gender Violence:

1. overt physical abuse
2. psychological abuse
3. deprivation of resources for physical and psychological well being
4. commodification of women

Three Contexts:

1. Family (through socialization in hierarchical relations) 
2. Community (i.e. social, economic, religious, cultural institutions) 
3. State (policies and laws, military and police)

In the past few weeks, I have been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting about the coping mechanisms that we as women in particular have and make to handle stress and life challenges and prioritize information as it relates to our current situations.  This is something that I can theorize through my lived experiences as a young, unmarried, single mother who wanted nothing more than to provide a better life for her son.  Here we are, 19 years later and I'm still finding ways to cope and provide balance even in the absence of it.  We all have personal coping mechanism though we don't employ them in the same way, at the same time or necessarily for the same reasons since we are in fact individuals.    

I often hear people say in passing, 'I don't know how he/she does it, I couldn't do xyz'.  I too have been guilty of using this phrase, but when push comes to shove, we find ways to move mountains and make things happen that need to happen in order to survive and even thrive for ourselves and for those around us.  

The women at Casa are luchadoras.  They are inspirations of hope, love, courage and sincere desire. Each day I am amazed at the willingness to step outside of their comfort zones and work towards a society that is a little more just than the one we inhabit.  They are caring, insightful and provide a space in where I can be my whole self.  Where the priorities and challenges I have as a mom, are applauded and celebrated, and not seen as a crutch.  

They are similar and different to the women in my own family, to the women whose children I have taught in middle schools, and similar to the newly arrive Cuban immigrants from my days working at IRC Miami.  They have a 'CAN DO, MUST DO' attitude and no matter the challenge, are willing to sacrifice and fight to accomplish what they feel is in the best interest of their children.  

Being part of this invisible community, of this unspoken network of madres luchadoras, is humbling and eye opening.  Being part of this community means that reflections of our own work and sacrifice seem insignificant compared to the love, opportunity and responsibility we have on our shoulders.  

*Schuler, Margaret (1992).  Violence against women: An international perspective.  Ch. 1 in Margaret Schuler (Ed.), Freedom from violence:  Women’s strategies from around the world  (pp. 1-45).  NY:  OEF International, Unifem. [NOTE: pp. 1-18]