Sarah P was writing an article on the importance of literacy and requested some feedback, which I gave. I told here I especially liked how she had ended the article. Her reply to me included,

“By the way, that last line was completely inspired by your bit in the blog about change the words, change the confidence he feels to engage... or something of the like. So no wonder you liked it!”

We had a laugh over that. It also left me thinking about the ways we have organized literacy services and support and if these structures are helping people engage. I work with many community literacy organizations to help them develop reflective practice. I hear how many struggle in trying to find time to reflect on the “why” of literacy because they are simply too busy with the “what” and “how”. If we really want to achieve literacy goals it becomes important to ask ourselves what we mean by the “why” of literacy. If we can answer this question we can be better prepared to examine whether or not the ways we have structured literacy contributes or detracts from our goals.  

In Storytellers’ we understand the “why” of literacy as helping people engage, helping people gain skills, knowledge and confidence to live and act together and, ultimately, to influence a just society. To engage in my life requires me to be an agent in my life. The fuller my literacy tool kit the more I have to draw on to manage my life, navigate the bumps, dream a future and take the steps to move in to this future. Literacy is intricately connected to citizenship.

How we deliver literacy programming demands as much attention as the time we give to what literacy programming we deliver. How we organize ourselves in community directly impacts whether or not we have fostered confidence and instilled a person’s understanding of their “right” to engage as a citizen. John McKnight (community development educator) writes,

"Many organizations are forced into service delivery models that "clientize" the community. A client is "one who is controlled".

Joan Kuyek, a long time Canadian social justice and community activist, reminds us that when we organize around a client-service provider relationship we have divided people into helpers and helpees. This relationship creates a disempowering distinction between the deliverer of a service and a recipient of a service. And this disempowering distinction is reproduced in the style, structure, and practice of our organizations. Through this way of structuring ourselves, we not only fail in our goal to build confidence of people to act, we actually create structures to prevent people from acting. As Kuyek says,

“People who could become agents in changing their reality instead become passive recipients of a service.”

When this is compounded by similar treatment from every community organization or government institution such as welfare, food banks, employment services, literacy programs, adult education services and every other service with which the person interacts, the result is devastating. Kuyek challenges us that it takes “real consciousness and effort to avoid this organizational culture and create a different one.”

In Storytellers’ we give weekly attention to reflective conversations. We ask difficult questions of ourselves and we don’t always have the answers. What we recognize is the contradictions and tensions that exist. And we try to do as Kuyek says by avoiding this damaging organizational culture and do something different. It’s not always easy. Sometimes we do well and other times we don’t do as well.  

I am curious to know how others attempt to avoid this disempowering relationship and what other organizations are doing to ensure relationships are reciprocal, mindful of an individual's dignity and offer opportunity for all involved to both contribute and receive help. 

I hope you turn this blog in to a conversation by posting here, talking with your colleagues or emailing me.