Safety

This last chapter that I read was about safety in adult education.  When Vella talks about safety she is talking about trust, and whether or not the members of the group feel safe to learn and express their opinions, thoughts, and questions.  This is a really important part of adult education, creating a safe environment where everyone can learn.  Vella explains the implications of what can happen if it is perceived as an unsafe environment.  That is something that isn’t said in the chapter but I firmly believe.  It doesn’t matter if the environment is truly safe or not, it’s totally based on the perception of the learners.  If the learners feel the environment is not safe, they will not able to fully engage in the learning process.  Vella used an example of teaching in Tanzania in churches.  Because they did not do enough discoveries of the culture and the norms, they were not successful in their program because they hired a local Muslim community leader to work with them in the Christian churches.  This created uneasiness with the learners, and ruined any trust Vella had worked to gain.  I think the case study clearly shows how much the perception of safety has on a class, and it can ultimately determine your success or failure.

 Brad