Women’s Perspectives: A Journal of Writing and Art by Adult Learners via WE LEARN

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Women’s Perspectives: A Journal of Writing and Art by Adult Learners

Women’s Perspectives 14: 2019

First Steps: The Journey Begins showcases original writing and artwork by adult education students across all levels. Student writers and artists were encouraged to reflect and to share ideas on the theme: “First Steps.” This means something different to everyone, so the selections in this journal cover a range of subjects.

WE LEARN (Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource Network)

My New Journey Caroline Wang – Pleasanton Library: The Pleasanton Reads Project

Hero’s Journey: First Steps p.65

I began a new journey when I was 40. In 2014, my daughter and I moved from Beijing, China to Pleasanton, California. One year later, my son joined us.

Many people have asked me about what made me move to the States. My children's education was one of the reasons but not the only one. Everybody occasionally feels the need to change, but the feeling is usually followed by “someday.” At 40, I found the courage to ask, “Why not right now?” I was afraid the courage that I had then might fade away. So I decided to take action immediately.

I held a senior position in the human resources department of a multinational company and was in charge of talent development. One of my jobs was to select successors for key positions through a series of well-developed assessment tools. One of my key findings was that we could not instill certain key leadership competencies, such as risk-taking, creativity, entrepreneurship, and even teamwork. Some middle-level managers were very good at one position, but when we asked them to lead an organization or a cross-functional team, they could not do it well. Although the company invested a lot to develop those skills in some individuals, they would fail in managerial positions. Because of this, new general managers were often hired from overseas. I thought maybe some leadership competencies needed to be developed during their education period since leadership training did not help that much. This observation made me recognize a significant difference between the American and Chinese education systems.  READ MORE >>

Thank You

to the participating programs that encouraged their students to send us their work

Pleasanton Library – The Pleasanton Reads Project Pleasanton, CA

Fulton Academy Johnstown, NY

Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution New Castle, DE

Seeds of Literacy Cleveland, OH

CUNY Start, Borough of Manhattan Community College NY

South Brunswick Public Library Monmouth Junction, NJ

Greenwood County Library Adult Literacy and ESL Program Greenwood, SC

Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA) Belmont, Trinidad

San Diego Continuing Education – Basic Education-DSPS at ECC San Diego, CA

Lehman College Adult Learning Center Bronx, NY