Joseph Morris November Summary

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!  The month of November was very productive for me as a learner.  I truly enjoyed the process of researching the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.  I felt energized at the renewed cooperation within the Highlander Effect Group on the Adult Education Organization paper and E-Archive projects.  I was able to communicate with Dr. Chang to overcome some challenges I faced.

I don’t like to label myself liberal or conservative politically.  However, I have always admired leaders; the ones who know where they stand on issues and have a sincere desire to change our world for the better for everyone, not just people of choice.  I believe in Barbara Bush’s effort to help build a literate America by focusing on families.  I believe that every adult learner has the ability within him or herself to succeed.   I also believe that most policymakers, even the ones I disagree with, have the ability to listen and consider new ideas when they presented with evidence.    I’ll need to continue sharpening my skills as a researcher if I want to advance the education policies and programs in which I believe. 

Today is Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for my classmates like my research buddy, Ross Reynolds, but also my group mate, Janice Miller.  She has been working in Kabul, Afghanistan, for the past several weeks.  There is a 9 ½ hour time difference between Indiana and Kabul.  She has managed to stay in touch via email and has contributed to group project research.  Through BSU’s affiliation with NIMA, Jan and her colleagues are standing up the first public institution of higher education in Afghanistan since the Soviet era.  This morning, I heard that there was a large suicide bombing in Kabul and that the Taliban claimed responsibility.  I feel it is important to acknowledge that some of our friends risk their safety to bring education and opportunity to learners. 

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Ross and Jan on the E-Archive project.  Ross is the technical expert and took the lead in creating the website.  I’m very pleased to learn that website templates are available online.  I was finally able to embed a video in a blog post that actually played when you clicked it!  I’m looking forward to helping to write the group summary and my reflection paper.  I am also eager to participate in the research project.  Mostly, I’m looking forward to successfully completing my first graduate course.