How the “Busy Intersection Model” Functions in Boom and Bust

So far in this NW Literacy Lens blog, we have talked about different models for education and learning which are currently being explored across our region, and how the boom bust cycle is affecting folks with literacy challenges. Now I want to look at how the busy intersection model can work in northwest communities facing booms and busts.

Right now the northwest is a complex place in terms of economics: a rollercoaster through geography and time. If I do a word map across the northwest, it sounds like this: bust, bust ’n boom, bust, boom, boom, soon to boom, bust. For some of the communities, a word time line would sound the same: bust, boom, boom, bust, near boom, bust, boom. I think it would be fair to say that each community in the northwest has felt the full impact of the boom and bust cycle, at least once, over the past 30 years.

 

To look at the busy intersection model, let’s start with the Boomervilles. Adult education rolls with the economy. In times of boom, adult learners enter into the intersection to improve their skills to get a better job. We have seen cycles where, as soon as a student was enrolled to work on upgrading courses, they got the better job, without completing the course work. Right now, in some of our communities, a resume is all that is required to attain the first job that is then “flipped” as experience for their next resume and further employment quest. You can see how the “full service” busy intersection is able to work with this short-term learner and how they can re-enter in a year, or in a week, to meet each immediate goal, or to work on the longer term goals. The Navigator will know that there is a long-term goal, which may be sidelined while work is available, and that the goal will undoubtedly evolve as the learner moves through life. While many of us in the literacy field may bemoan the boom economy that disrupts our adult learners’ education, we all recognize work is a place where literacy skills will develop; people do learn on the job. Jobs do give people hope. For someone without credentials, first and second jobs are key, the work experience and work references are crucial.

And then there is the Bust Town. As we have already talked about in this blog, many of the “bust” workers look to the educational institution for guidance in their next life steps. They also require resumes, and for older workers, this is likely the first resume in their career. They require a Navigator to discuss their options for educational upgrading, credentials and services. This group of workers is diverse in the amount of time they will spend in the intersection. Some will only touch down for the resume, but others are going to find they have the time to commit to full on upgrading or retraining. One exciting occurrence during the mill closure (bust) is the number of workers without Grade 12 who are able to use prior learning assessment and course challenges to attain a BC Adult Graduation Diploma.

Prior learning assessment and challenges are no short cut and not for the faint of heart. The school districts and colleges that enter into prior learning assessment take on rigor and accountability demands such that often institutions charge large fees for this work. Navigators who understand learning outcomes, workplaces and life, can assist adults to challenge and credentialize their experiences. And that is where the excitement comes in.

Literacy level is a very messy and complex zone. Literacy skill level is not directly related to years of formal education. As we all know, you can attend formal education for years and finish with few skills. Or you can attend formal education for only a short time, and yet hold many high level skills. So much depends on what you do with the rest of your time: volunteering, playing music, building things, working on projects, learning stuff. What we have experienced with our current mill closure is that many of the workers, who got “boom” jobs before finishing Grade 12, 30 years ago, used that good job and good pay to support an active lifestyle of playing, helping, building, creating: in a nutshell learning.  

When they come to see the Navigator, if she recognizes the potential for a PLA challenge for the Adult Graduation Diploma, the workers are excited, overwhelmed and dead serious. A lack of Grade 12 has “haunted” some of these folks for over 30 years. That piece of paper takes on the persona of a personal holy grail. And when all the hard work of challenging exams and documenting experience pays off and the piece of paper arrives in the mail, they are ecstatic; now the world recognizes that they are not dummies. (A future blog topic: The Piece of Paper)

 

 

Remember, even in our busy intersection model, there is a parking lot still available for when learners need and want the more traditional aspect of formal learning. In small communities, booming or busting, we would not be meeting the needs of all learners, with the pure parking lot model. What the busy intersection style model offers is a faster, more individualized response to the large and small learning needs of more community members in both boom and bust economies. Using the Literacy Lens, it is easy to see the advantages: more folks learning what they need or want, when they want, how they want. Individualized. Responsive. Accessible learning for all members of the community.