You Can Lead A Horse To Drink

But You Can't Make It Water!

by Randy Robinson

Excerpted from the Saskatchewan Life Skills Association March/95 newsletter.

The Life Skills Coach is often hired to get individuals into the workforce. Our assumptions about these unemployed individuals have a great impact on the work that we do with them. There are several assumptions held by those in control of the funds that encourage the Coach to make incorrect assumptions about those who are unemployed.

One assumption might be characterized by this type of language: "These programs are in place to motivate these people!" When this kind of language is used there are several underlying messages being presented. One message, for example, is that adult learners are not motivated. In challenging such a statement, the Coach needs only think to the last time they interviewed a potential group member or delivered a program. By making an appointment for an interview, the adult shows motivation; attending the interview indicates that the learner is motivated. The learners that attend a group are motivated; this means that all group members dealt with in adult learning situations, even if they attend for one class, must be considered motivated.

A second assumption that seems to come from such motivational quips is that the Coach is responsible for the motivation of our adult learners. The message is, "you go make them . . . "; this paradigm comes from the hierarchical structures where there is one person who bears the burden of controlling others' actions, and is counter to perspectives that individuals are responsible for themselves. Those who believe and work from this perspective encourage dependence, fear, obedience, power struggles, and passive-aggressive responses. While these attitudes may have been useful in the past, there is little use for them now. Our learners need to be encouraged to be independent, thoughtful, responsible individuals who use their motivation for positive responses to our world.

Steven Brookfield suggests that " . . . the learner is the one who decides what to learn." (Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning). A Coach can stand on his head, sit and listen for hours with her students, use convincing arguments about attendance in a program or the usefulness of this or that resource. The learners will make the decision about what to learn, what to do about what they have learned, where they want to learn, etc. People are self-directed in their learning.

The motivation to change is powerful. Allen Tough, the author of Intentional Changes and a writer about the adult learning process, suggests that adults choose several intentional changes in life. An intentional change is one where the individual has decided to make a change, plans the steps to make the change, and the takes a few steps towards this change. The individuals that attend Life Skills programming I would count as intentional changers.

To attempt change means that there is significant motivation on the part of the changer.

This view is not held by all people. There is a disparity between the funder's view and the Coach's view of the adult student. The funder's assessment of motivation rests on statistics such as attendance in a program. number of people employed, and number of people going on to further training. The Coach may have different measurements. It may be that a learner discovered that they did not need the program and started off in a different direction. Another student may have discovered that family issues needed dealing with and left because they needed to put their energy there. Another discovered that they were addicted and needed support to overcome this problem before they could get employed. These are the measurements of motivation that the Coach needs to take.

The Life Skills Coach may feel pressured to motivate the learner in ways that might not be healthy for that individual; attend the program, get a job, get off assistance, get training; be motivated in the way that I (or the funder) wants you to be motivated. This paradigm ignores realities about people, society, and social structures. Adults understand what they are up against in our society.

Our society has three levels of "workers". On top are those that work in full time, unionized, high to medium skilled, medium to high wage jobs. The second level of workers are those who have low to medium skill levels and often depend on contracts and social supports to make a living. The third group is characterized by poor to no employment prospects and depends on social support and family systems to survive. Learners taking Life Skills or looking for work after a break from the workforce understand that they are part of the third group and that there are major obstacles for them in achieving upward mobility in employment.

What is amazing is the courage and incredible motivation that these learners have. Not only do they have their own fears and inertia to deal with, but they are coping with poverty, alienation, boredom, low education, children, addictions, abuse, few or no job skills, poor transportation accessibility, poor self-esteem, a large bureaucracy, isolation, and survival issues. In spite of these obstacles, the learners on our classes are doing the work, attending class, and looking for work placements. These people are motivated.

When I assume that I am working with motivated, hard working, self directed, highly energized and capable people, I find great joy in this work.