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This study compared and analyzed the language capabilities of 10 school-age children raised in either single parent homes resulting from divorce or in two parent families. More specifically, it compared the context and complexity of oral personal event narratives produced by both groups of children. The study also investigated the usefulness and effect of certain topics on the personal event narratives of children. Five narratives were elicited from each child. Significant group differences were found with respect to linguistic content. Children from divorced homes produced significantly more orientative comments and appendages per T-unit than did their peers from non-divorced homes, whereas the children from non-divorced homes produced significantly more complicating actions per T-unit. No significant group differences were found with respect to the length or complexity of narratives. Each of the five narrative topics was beneficial in eliciting personal event narratives from these children. However, the pets story topic was particularly useful for eliciting lengthy narratives, the doctor visits/shots topic was useful for eliciting evaluative comments, and the accident story topic was useful in eliciting specific event details in the personal event narratives. (DB)

Family connections, traditional activities, educational goals, and fatalism are themes running throughout research and published observations about Appalachia. Information from 3 days of interviews with the author's grandmother, an 87-year-old Appalachian woman, is compared to these common research themes. The interviewee's experiences concerning family connections were consistent with the literature in that they revealed strong family ties and a marriage to a mentally and physically abusive man who kept her isolated at home. Traditional activities such as farming, canning, and quilting were all strongly present in the interviewee's life, which corresponded with findings in the literature. Much of the literature regarding Appalachian beliefs about education portrays Appalachians as being less interested in education, with many considering formal education as a substitute for hard work. Higher education, especially for women, is discouraged. The author's grandmother did not have those experiences. She graduated high in her class and intended to attend college, but finances prevented it. At age 67, she took a few college classes. The fatalism reported in research was not a dominant theme in the interviews, but threads of resignation were detected toward the hardships she endured. While the grandmother's life mirrored many of the research themes, her strength, dignity, and courage overshadowed their negativity. (Contains 20 references.) (TD)

This document contains 58 poems, essays, letters, personal narratives, reminiscences, and short stories that were selected from 255 entries submitted by 170 adult student writers in Ohio. The student-authored literary works, which adult educators can use in their adult literacy classrooms, are grouped under the following themes: family, learning, nature, feelings, and reminiscences. Among the titles included are the following: "Raising Special Children" (Sharon Sheppard-Scott); "I Finally See" (Sharon Harsh); "The Bloodshed of Our Children" (Vickie Hargraves); "Brittany's Brace" (Norma J. King); "Daddies" (Cindy Wright); "My Success" (Tracy Graham); "To Mommy's Little Angel, Rebecca" (Amy Chandler); "An Evening Death" (Toni White); "A Single Mother's Reward" (Sharon Cavell); "Su Ah and Hyun Ah" (Kum Sun Kim); "Innocence Taken" (Regina Mulkey); "An Unsolved Fire" (Karen S. Smith); "A Tribute to the Step-Up Experience" (Karen Bowman); "Never Give Up" (Ruan Luong); "Safety at Home" (Kathy Brooks); "My Life's Dream" (Nora Thomas); "The Greatness in Yourself" (Stacy Jones); "Santa's Wife a Missing" (Karen Safewright); "Angle of the Lake" (Phil Edwards); "Maybe Tomorrow I'll Find What I'm After (A Man in Search of a Love)" (Lonnie Littleton); "My Old Kentucky Home" (Glen A. Baldwin); "Ramadan" (Traci Cornist); "Sharecropping" (Harold Lester); "Christmas in Ukraine" (Zenia Kovalska); "Hair Day" (Norma J. King); and "Wildmen" (Ken Tallon). Concluding the document are biographies of the authors and a list of honorable mention winners. (MN)

This book uses poetry and essays to share how welfare reform has affected the lives of a group of female adult literacy students from western Massachusetts. After a brief explanation of the book's purpose, the women who presented their views in the book's poems and essays are profiled. Presented next are six poems that several of the women wrote to share their views on males' stereotypes of women and the difficulties of coping with welfare reform. The essay "A Day in the Life" gives a glimpse into the daily life of one woman who is trying to attend literacy classes while navigating the welfare system and also caring for her children. "How Has Welfare Reform Affected Your Life?" presents some of the women's responses in interviews focusing on general and specific aspects of welfare reform, the relationship of education to welfare reform and employment, and welfare reform's impacts on recipients' emotions and family. "What Helps You Keep Going?" and "What Do You Recommend? What Would Help You To Meet Your Goals?" focus on strategies for coping with the difficulties of meeting the requirements imposed by welfare reform. "Learning Tools--The Tree and Carolyn Hicks" describes two tools used by the women. (MN)

Over the years many different psychologists and psychoanalysts have found value in the concept of the self-narrative, or the "life story." Narrative thought demands an appreciation of the particulars of time and place and a focus on multidimensional understanding of events, people, emotion, and motivation. By using the life story or self-narrative, one can explore the past, examine its effect on the present, and determine how lessons learned can be related to planning for the future. Writing one's life story gives spaciotemporal structure to the separate events and expectations by sequencing and determining relevance. Individuals often identify a "life theme"--affective and motivational characteristics, values, beliefs, and interpretations of events that are repeatedly played out in the interactions in a person's life. As stories are retold (in psychotherapy sessions, for example), they undergo changes because people use earlier versions to review experiences and allow alterations in how they interpret events. By introducing these ideas to children as they learn about stories and storytelling, "re-visioning" experiences could deconstruct dysfunctional ideas before they become too ingrained in their behavioral road, making change of direction more difficult. Edutainment options from "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and video or computer games that drive home the consequences of decisions and give children opportunities to revise their story and improve their choices is one way to incorporate the art of story re-telling. (Contains 24 references.) (AEF/BEW)

Designed as the first phase of a larger project to explore the relationships between the possible impact of reminiscence on memory deterioration in elderly women confined to nursing home environments, a study demonstrated that reminiscence activity is positively correlated with increases in communication interactions. Women were chosen as the target sample population because they comprise the largest single grouping currently residing in nursing home facilities. The methodology chosen was a one-to-one reminiscence activity between the elderly subject and a trained facilitator who had 12 years of experience as an activities director in several large nursing homes. Participants (n=12) met with a trained facilitator on three occasions over a 5-week period. Session one encouraged discussion of a favorite vacation or travel experience; session two encouraged discussion of a favorite pet or experience with animals; session three encouraged discussion of favorite dances, parties or other kinds of entertainment. In general, there was an overall increase in the amount, frequency, and length of interactions both initiated and maintained by the subjects in the study. All subjects demonstrated an increase in their willingness to interact with each other, staff members, volunteers, and relatives. For example, five of the subjects were slower to initiate interaction; they represented the most cognitively impaired, two being in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease. In two other cases, the increase in social activity was remarkable. Previously unwilling to leave their rooms, they eagerly sought out others and insisted on participating in programmed activities. (Contains 38 references.) (TB)

Erik Erikson's model (1963, 1982) is most useful to an understanding of development and aging. He describes lifelong growth as related to tasks that must be performed. At each stage of life, times of stability are followed by developmental crises. Upon resolving the crisis, the individual can enjoy the particular beauty and security of that psychosocial stage and go on to the next. Robert Kegan (1982) points out that the developing person needs confirmation in times of transition. Educational environments should be able to "hold" older people and provide the support to encourage growth. The origin of the concept of reminiscence as a life task is the work of geriatrician Robert Butler, who developed the theory that reminiscence in older persons was a natural and universal process of "life review." Another aspect of "task" theory is the changing nature of one's femininity or masculinity. Adult educators must be concerned with the concept of "wellness." Adults who fear growing old would benefit from education about successful aging, covering cognitive functioning, muscular capacity, and nutrition. The concept of locus of control, also called autonomy, refers to decision making throughout one's lifespan. When given responsibility, older persons respond with physical and psychological improvement and a greater feeling of wellness. Educators need to provide opportunities for older adults to connect with and contribute to others so that they do not lose their creative inclinations. (Contains 41 references.) (YLB)

A program of basic language/writing skills was designed to enhance the literacy levels of 24 multicultural seniors, aged 65 or older, who were recruited from senior centers throughout Erie County, Pennsylvania. Computer literacy and basic word processing skills were taught along with basic language/writing skills in a nonthreatening learning environment. A curriculum was written and instructional materials developed using state-of-the-art computers and software. Instructional activities were centered around the seniors' recollections of their past experiences. The recollections served as the core (medium) for stories to be reproduced on the computers. These stories were gathered into a bound chronicle of personal experiences. (Course outlines are provided for these courses: grammar, spelling, writing, and word processing. The 20-page report is followed by the chronicle of reminiscences and personal recollections on such topics as reading memories; hometown memories; personal favorites; family traditions; favorite toys, games, or amusements; what we did before TV; and clothing styles from childhood.) (YLB)

A pilot adult basic education (ABE) language experience curriculum was designed and implemented with older adults in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The objectives were to improve writing skills, to increase self-esteem, and to create a historical record of the area as seen through the eyes of the average older citizen who had lived through many eras. The writings were compiled into a book written by a cross-section of people. The book will become a component of selected social studies curricula throughout the county and will also be available at a local store. As a result of the project, the average reading gain was .4; the pre- and postcourse writing samples showed an average improvement of 12 points; and a self-esteem survey increased from pre- to postadministration by an average of 15 points. Evaluation of the project revealed that the senior citizens were motivated by a desire to share their experiences, not by a need for academic gain, and they tended to remain in the class only as long as they were interested (the course enrollment dropped from 30 to 13 during the project). However, some students were extremely enthusiastic. (The document includes the writing sample evaluation scale, a self-esteem survey, a curriculum synopsis, and the book of reminiscences produced during the project.) (KC)

This paper presents stories prospective teachers tell about interactions with and evaluations of former teachers. These interactions between remembrances of past school experiences and projected or current teaching practice have the potential to reinterpret the past making it useful in the present. Data were gathered from interviews and an analytic distinction is drawn between the stories themselves and the particular beliefs or action theories the informants value. For teacher educators, the tales are strongly related to present beliefs about teaching. Remembrance potentially forms a powerful part, negative or positive, of learning to teach. Memories represent one source of material which assists teacher candidates to grow into reflective professionals and is a tool with a multitude of uses for teacher educators. Teacher tales represent one reasonable point to initiate revision of the past, and more importantly challenge present beliefs. (Author/LL)