Dignity and the Man in the Middle: Update Houston #2

I have been contacted by readers who want to hear more about how Houston is doing with the transition and what the transition looks like through the Literacy Lens. (See Nov 29) I can already see the next blog on this topic as part of the Houston picture involves the fact that our community was already under-serviced prior to this cut. The reality of technology replacing face-to-face service also carries literacy concerns which pile on top of all the literacy issues discussed below.
 

First, related to the worker transitions, let me say that all the service providers, provincial transition teams and elected officials are very present and aware and attending multiple meetings. Everyone has the best of intentions as they tackle this worker transition phase. Sometimes those best intentions don’t work for those wearing the hardhat.

In Literacy World, we talk about “The Man in the Middle.” The MM is the learner or student or in this case, the transitioning worker. We know everything about our work depends, not on the funders and their needs and wants, not on our organizations’ needs and wants, but rather on the Man in the Middle. The workers, male and female, is why we are here. We must earn their trust and their confidence. If we mess up, they will not come back.

Sometimes I think we have the best job in the world. We get to talk to folks and learn not only what they need, but what skills and talents they already hold. We often find out pretty interesting things about folks that you may not know by looking at them. All of them have a story. And we get to hear that story. When we do our job well, we get to listen to their stories and provide them some hope and dignity around the skills and knowledge they do have.

Right now, in Houston, it is the transitioning workers who are our Men in the Middle. And yes, there are women in this mix as well. Our mill worker (MM) is starting to feel a little lost as he runs around the community, attending town hall meetings, making appointments, writing resumes, collecting business cards and brochures, and placing phone calls. He is doing everything in his power to make sure his transition is as smooth as possible. He is a little fragile. He is told, by one service provider he will need to do an assessment for reading, document use and numeracy. In LiteracySpeak, this would be a TOWES type Essential Skills assessment. He is given a number and a website and told he needs a computer with certain specifications. His computer at home is not up to the task. He finds out through “word of mouth” that he can come to the college and we will help him get set up in our lab. Our adult basic education instructor is given strict instructions, by the other service provider, NOT to assist the workers in ANY way with the assessment. Not even the fragile ones. It would supposedly bias their results.

The tutorial at the start of the assessment has a baby-faced Sponge-bob style computer walk the test taker through all the special moves required for this particular assessment test. How to use the mouse to cut and paste, highlight and so forth. (Do you recall the first time you used a mouse?) When the real assessment starts, Sponge-bob is long gone. The questions relate to workplace materials so language is no longer childlike, the documents have excess information and distractors, and chances are good that the first answer that comes to our Man in the Middle is obvious, but perhaps not correct. The answer then needs to be formatted in a way the computer understands. How do you write 68 cents when they give you a box and a $ sign? $0.68 or would $.68 work? Certainly $68 would be wrong, but for our worker who does not have a computer, I wonder how long he searches for a cent sign, or feels confused that the answer is in dollars. Many of these workers do not use computers, “if they can help it”. MM is already stressed. One more parameter to add: time. This is a timed test of 90 minutes. Up goes the stress. Training dollars are at stake. Unfamiliar surroundings. Unfamiliar media. A test. Timed. High stakes. All adding to our already stressed Man in the Middle. What are the odds that the test score will reflect the actual skills of the worker?

Don’t get me wrong. Assessments are necessary for both the Man in the Middle and the service provider. Workplace essential skills do provide an idea of how the worker is able to apply his literacy skills to workplace situations. I am not convinced that for these workers, at this time, this testing format is appropriate. What is being assessed?

There are alternative assessment methods. They involve conversations, checklists and discussions around the Man in the Middle’s current skills in his current workplace. They give the assessee a voice and dignity. I know that the literacy practitioners I work with could spend a couple of hours with a worker using free printable materials from Human Resources and Development Canada, the creators of “Essential Skills”, and be able to identify the worker’s skills much more accurately, and within context, than a complicated computer-based test that, through its design, increases anxiety and stress.

How are the Houston workers doing with their transition? Some great. A few have challenged exams and worked through Prior Learning Assessment portfolios to the point that they have achieved an Adult Dogwood Certificate (BC Grade 12). In these cases, families, practitioners and the Man in the Middle are proud and empowered to move forward. Is there another job out there for them? We all have our fingers crossed.

Others have shown up for the online assessment and been so stressed, that I am convinced the results will be impaired. Another gentleman was told he would require computer training, so he was slotted into a special transition-worker beginner computer course 6 weeks from now. Six weeks is a long time to wait for someone trying to be pro-active. He then became our Man in the Middle as he independently sought computer help for before and after the upcoming computer course. I watched as he used a calendar to calculate his strange shift sequence so he could determine when his first days off (on day shift) after the holidays would fall. Extraneous information inadvertently included a 2015 calendar. Document use: Level 3-4. I was excited as I could see he will learn quickly. He graciously exuded thanks. Nice, but unnecessary.

When your job disappears, out from under you, through no fault of your own, it is not the piles of papers, the Seven Important Steps, the computer assessment or the fancy brochure of services that will save you. What will save you is the compassion and understanding of the people in your community who are working alongside you in your transition journey. As service providers, we all need to keep dignity as part of the process. Is there an online assessment for us?

 

For anyone who would like to try the TOWES test, this print sample gives you an idea of the complexity.

http://www.towes.com/media/7478/towes%20sample%20booklet.pdf