The Musical Genius Of A Learners' Ally

Friday, March 31, 2006 at 02:54PM
Michael Chacko Daniels

Career Visions #13

 

By Michael Chacko Daniels
Editor & Publisher, New River Free Press International

When Tricia Holloway’s former co-workers in Oakland and Berkeley speak about her, they use words such as ⎯ mature, calm, poised, patient, efficient, organized, friendly to strangers, treats everyone equally, and dedicated.

Over the three years that she worked at the former Jobs for Homeless Consortium ⎯ from April 2001 to July 2004, I found her to be all of the above and more [Please check Box One below, for one of the mores ⎯ the writer of The Master App Rap.] as she coordinated and delivered literacy services at the Consortium’s Learning Center in downtown Oakland, always exceeding the agency’s target for the number of homeless clients seen and served.





Q________________________

New River Free Press International

Tell us about yourself.

What makes you who you are?
_________________________

TH I have many roles. I'm a wife, a stepmother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, etc. I'm a hard worker and an active participant in my community and a faithful member of my church.

Largely, I am who I am due to the influence of my relationship with God, my husband, my parents, family, friends and teachers. My faith continues to define me as a person with ever expanding roles and responsibilities. I am definitely, as my husband would say, "a work in progress."

I'm 40 years old and I'm married to a wonderful man, Don. We live in San Francisco, and we are expecting our first child. I currently work for a nonprofit organization that serves veterans in the Bay Area. I enjoy the work that I do. It makes me feel good to see someone who wants to work, get a job, and begin to rebuild his/her life.

I would say that I am hardworking, and sometimes I can get really intense and focused on a task and doing it efficiently and in an organized manner. I can neglect relationships and hurt others and forget that life is also to be enjoyed. So I'm very grateful that I have people like my husband and friends that teach me to lighten up and have a good time.



Q________________________

New River Free Press International

What was your vision of

society that brought you to

the work you do?
_________________________


TH I believe that God put me on this earth for a reason, and that it is not all about me and what I want. I believe that he will continue to reveal why I'm here, and for now, I do what I can to make this world a better place through everything that I do. I carry this attitude with me regardless of whether I'm on the job working with a colleague or a participant in our program, or I'm preparing a meal at home for my family. The key for me is to see my role in the larger context of God's plan (which isn't always clear).

Q________________________

New River Free Press International

What do you think we

should remember as we remake

the world through the work we do?
_________________________

TH It's important for me to remember that what I do is not about me. I get to use the gifts that God has given me to help someone else. It is great when someone comes back and says thank you, but that is not the reason why I do what I do. I also have to remind myself that I am making a difference even when it may not seem like I am.

Lastly, I often ask myself or pose the question (once again, regardless of the setting), "Are we building thoughtfully or are we simply reacting to the problem immediately before us?" The challenge is to build "it" (world, family, etc) in such a way that it transcends our lifetime.


Q________________________

New River Free Press International

Has your vision changed

as you have participated

in the remaking of the world?
_________________________

TH My vision is constantly being defined and refined. I continue to ask God to help me to see more clearly his purposes for me.


Q________________________

New River Free Press International

What challenges do you

perceive in achieving your

vision of society? What needs to be

done to overcome these challenges?
_________________________

TH There can be a pull to just go through the motions of living but not acknowledging hurt, disappointment, fear, or doubt that the vision will be achieved. There have been times that I have simply felt like I was existing, going through the motions of living, but being hardened at a heart level by negative circumstances.

I am learning to be honest and to deal with whatever comes my way, knowing that God can bring good out of the most challenging of situations.


Q________________________

New River Free Press International

What personal lessons

have you learned from the

devastation caused by the

Asian Tsunami and the

post-Hurricane Katrina tragedies?
_________________________

TH I remember being numbed by the staggering numbers of the dead with the Asian Tsunami. I couldn't conceive it. And although I was here, I was moved to do what I could by giving monetarily, as well as praying for those affected.

My initial reaction was similar with the tragedies in New Orleans. I found myself crying a lot, and there was a greater sense of helplessness, but those feelings were soon replaced with anger and outrage. I was angered by the lack of humility and responsiveness of the United States government. I also couldn't understand the violent reaction of some in the Superdome.

I learned that life is fragile, and I need to do what I can to help. It takes each one of us to make a difference, and I can make a contribution. In cases mentioned above, it was to pray and send financial aid.

I must also acknowledge my emotions because it is important to not allow my heart to become immune or hardened to the pain of others.
_____________________________________

Memories of a Magical Moment in

Jobs for Homeless Consortium's History

By Michael Chacko Daniels

Ms Holloway’s dedication and commitment to opening up a world of opportunities for homeless persons took a special turn in 2003 ⎯ a magical moment for me ⎯ when her inherent genius converged with knowledge, training, inspiration, and her willingness to take on a personal and intellectual risk to produce a giant leap for the Jobs for Homeless Consortium in training homeless clients in how to apply for jobs.

That year, after 15 years of pioneering methods of addressing the employment and training needs of thousands of homeless persons ⎯ over 15,000 from 1988 onwards ⎯ with federal, local, and private funding and donations, the Consortium had reached a critical stage.

It is true that we had developed an integrated approach to address the challenges, anxieties, and stresses homeless persons face.

And, it is true we recognized that in the fast-paced information age, if significant numbers of our clients were not to be permanently left behind as orphans of the age, our workforce development and digital divide programs had to incorporate knowledge of the barriers to learning and how people learn best.

And, it is true that simple exercises were performed to free our clients of internalized oppressions in order to help them take possession of their skills and their inherent intelligence. This focus started with the Consortium’s job preparation workshop and continued in its one-on-one counseling, job clubs, and in-house trainings in Carpentry, Office Skills, Janitorial, and Environmental Remediation.

And, it is true that invariably, those who went through the various sessions expressed how good they felt about themselves through these exercises.

And, it is true that with the help of Yana Parker (the late, world-renowned Resume Guru ⎯ author of Damn Good Resume Guide, The Resume Catalog: 200 Damn Good Examples, Resume Pro: The Professional Guide, Ready-to-Go Resumes, who adopted the Consortium) and her mentees (Beth Smith, Blake Walters, and Arlene Talbot) we had made great strides in producing resumes for the East Bay’s homeless community.

Yet, as Arlene Talbot never failed to remind us, our clients were limited by not having all the information at their fingertips when employers asked them to fill out job applications.

So, some of us, including Trish Holloway and Arlene Talbot, who were focused on the problem, met in the heart of downtown Oakland at 14th and Broadway, not too far from the sturdy oak tree that inspired the City of Oakland’s trademark logo.

Ms Talbot presented the case in favor of getting all our clients to work on producing a Master Application ⎯ call it Sample or Draft Application, if you will ⎯ which would include all the information that employers want, including what would be included in a resume.

The contra view was: Service providers and clients were being informed about the importance of doing a Master Application, but they weren’t getting it. How can we get clients to focus on doing a Master Application in the midst of all their deeply-felt urgency to get a job and work themselves off living on the streets? How can we get service providers ⎯ who inevitably internalized the client’s urgency ⎯ to focus on this important task?

I thought: What a marvelous opportunity for finding a way to speed up everyone’s learning on this subject and to get across the importance of multiple intelligence and learning styles!

Remembering Educator Peter Kline’s comment to us that musical intelligence and musical learning styles were inadequately addressed in adult learning, I asked the group, “Who would like to activate our musical intelligences and that of our clients by putting to music the importance of developing a master application? Maybe, even come up with a rap on it.”

“A Master App Rap?”

“Yes, a Master App Rap?”

I looked around the room.

Talbot said she loved rap and she’d be glad to provide content from her years of workforce development knowledge to anyone who would write the rap.

I looked around.

The verbal and nonverbal response was: Nope. Nope.

When you put out a call, the secret is to let it sink in, I told myself. Not to hurry. Not to worry. Let it sink in. At some point, it will spark a positive response. If not now, later.

I didn’t have to wait too long.

I saw Trish Holloway’s eyes lighting up, head nodding.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

Not long afterwards she performed it for us and we were, as Ms Talbot points out ⎯ “thrilled.”

Article originally appeared on New River Free Press International: Visions of Survival & Improvement by People Remaking Our Small Planet (https://indiawritingstation.com/).