Dolly Whelan A Conversation with

A Conversation withRebecca (Becky)Spurlock

Please tell me a little bit about your background in adult education.

I started in adult education as a volunteer with VLP (Volunteer Learn- ing Program) in Fairfax County. VLP is a partnership between Fairfax Public Schools and the libraries, and it matches tutors with adult education and literacy students.

“Overall my experiences have reinforced the fact that learning is lifelong. They have affirmed that teaching and learning are fun and exciting and that every experience is a new one.”

So I volunteered first, then I worked with Fairfax County Public Schools Adult Education for about 11 or 12 years doing ABE and GED classes in a vari- ety of settings. I worked in a subsidized housing project; actually, over the 11 years, I worked in three housing projects, but I taught in one consistently over the 11-year time period. I taught workplace – at a rock quarry, for the Department of Public Works, teaching report writing skills for the police department, teaching the Commercial Driver’s License – and I taught in the jails: there’s really been a wide range of projects. While I was work- ing for Fairfax, I also did some trainings for what was then the Resource Center, at VCU, and I became active in VAACE. Over the years, I’ve served as secretary for VAACE several times.

Then I went to George Mason Uni- versity, to the Office of Adult Learning and Professional Development; our mis- sion was to provide professional devel- opment for K-12 teachers. While I was there, Ed Jones and I developed a master’s program in adult education, and we taught the 12 hours of core courses; this lasted for eight years, until we both retired. Since retirement, I’ve helped develop a series of non-credit seminars delivered online for the University of Virginia as part of their Adjunct Faculty Academy, and I facilitate those from time to time. (I received my Master’s in Adult Education degree from George Mason.)

Did anything stand out as a most important lesson learned from all of these experiences? Or did you gain any insight into how adult education fits into this educational variety?

That’s an interesting question. From the subsidized housing project, I learned that you don’t have to work with people from another country to have a multicul- tural experience.

I began working with the Master’s in Adult Education program at George Ma- son with a relatively narrow view of adult education as ABE and GED instruction, and I became amazed at the breadth of professional venues in which people de- scribe themselves as adult educators.

Overall, my experiences have rein- forced the fact that learning is lifelong. They have affirmed that teaching and learning are fun and exciting and that every experience is a new one – you may think you’re teaching the same course, but with different people, in a different setting, it’s a different course every time.

How did you become involved in de- veloping the certification program?

Dolly Whelan is the one who got me involved, but my husband is the one who originally suggested volunteering at VLP, and that’s where I met Dolly. I was a stay-at-home mom who had taught in K-12 and had been a guidance counselor. I’m very grateful to her for getting me in- volved in adult education and, now, the certification program.

What has the process of working on the certification programbeen like?

Very exciting: I think this is an idea whose time has come. I had long been a proponentofsomeonedoingthiskindof thing.Atonepoint, I hadhopedVAACE couldtakeiton,butitwasn’tpossiblefor that organization at that time.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the devel- opment process; it’s helped to keep my thinking fresh, and I’ve been able to use things I’ve learned both academically and experientially. I’ve enjoyed working with the Resource Center; I’m really pleased to have been involved.

What do you hope participants will get out of the certification pro- gram?

I hope they’re going to get an en- hanced sense of professionalism in the field. I hope they’re going to get an af- firmation that much of what they’re do- ing, almost intuitively, is grounded in research, and I hope they will continue to learn and to be open to new ways of thinking and doing as they continue to work in the field.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with Progress readers?

Just what a valuable resource is there at the Resource Center, what valuable in- formation and tools and services the Re- source Center offers, and how fortunate we are in Virginia not only to have the Resource Center but to have the qual- ity of people working there that we do have. .: