The Development Of A Voice

Author, Anniqua Rana (1997), explores a question on what it means to be a Muslim woman in the present day. The purpose of this project is to become an advocate and learn, firsthand, what it means to be a Muslim female adult learner. Being Muslim can not be defined by a race, ethnic group, culture, age or gender. With over "25% of the world being Muslim", it is hard to fathom that this culture is not known more widely (Rana, 1997, p. 169). This may be partly because of  a lack of knowledge but I believe it is mostly because of ignorance in the fact that we know little about ourselves as well as other religious groups. If one thinks about a question such as "What is a Christian", a person may find that stereotypes are abound in many cases.

 

Though my voice may not think too hard about being Muslim, and focus more on being an adult learner, being Muslim might be how people will view her.  From the literature I have read, I interpret that Islam will be the primary focus of my voice.  Religion helps define her and many Muslim women.  Independence has been a strong aspect of women in Islamic literature such as the wives of Mohammad and through this, I believe that is where this Muslim woman will get her strength (Abdul-Grafur, 2005).  Veiling or wearing the hijab, I see as more of a cultural development than pyscho-social development.  Through the readings of Latino, African American and others developmental theories, I can see how the environment and strong sense of family can influence the meaning of the hijab and how a woman might wear it. Rana says "Muslim women choosing to wear the hijab as a way of asserting their identity as Muslims", with this being said, my voice will wear the hijab over her head to honor Allah and to have pride in her heritage (2006, p. 172).  Since she is going back for education, I believe that this is a correct manner of wearing cultural items because she has a strong passion for educating others about create a global respect for cultures across the world.

Chickering and Reisser's seven vectors can be directly applied to the adult learner.  Though an adult may have developed an identity long before going back to school, they may have shifted purpose in order to come back to college.  It takes some independence to create a new life for oneself and I can respect the fact that they will probably be going through all vectors in some vicinity to find their new self-image and career path. Even though it is said that the first three vectors can happen in any order, developing competence both intellectually and physically are going to be a main priority of an adult learner.  Items such as reading aggressively and developing effective listening, and typing are all skills that need to be developed.  Another aspect that may need development is establishing mature interpersonal relationships.  My voice is going to be exposed to a variety of new people and working on communication skills are an important part in acceptance and being successful in class.  In a post-911 climate, emotions  and ideas may arise and it is important that since many do not understand the culture of Muslims, that misconceptions should be dealt with in an appropriate manner. Managing emotions and working towards educating classmates will help with initial encounters and creating a better chance to develop interpersonal competence.  Developing integrity may have already been established but there is a chance that an adult learner with new views and ideas may incorporate more values into their core identity.  Independency is important for this particular voice and being able to commit to going back to college is important in developing purpose since she may face criticism from all angles of her life.

In the readings, I've observed that a Muslim person cannot fit into one dimension and that stereotyping leads to skewed views on a culture.  I've learned that women of Islamic faith, are strong, independent people and who many, develop through their culture.  I hope that I will be able to research more of the adult learner angle in order for the two aspects of my voice to combined.

Current Readings

Abdul-Ghafur, S., (2005). Living Islam out loud. Beacon Press, Boston.

Rana, A., (2007). On being a Muslim woman. [Electronic Version]. Vol. 18, 169-175 Intercultural Education, Retrieved June 29, 2008 from EBSCO Host.

Turner, H.G, (1997). You can do it: A guide for the adult learner and anyone going back to school mid career. Merritt Publishing, Santa Monica.

Beginning Reactions

The voice that I will create will be named Noor, which means light and is a commonly used 

name on the Indian subcontinent. It represents the openness that I hope to achieve 

through this project by being able to empathize with another culture, religion, and 

gender. Her background story is Noor's to tell and she would explain to you that she is a 

Middle Eastern family woman who's child had recently entered college and she hopes to 

achieve a degree in education. She would have to balance school, having a husband and

being a devoted woman of the Islamic faith. The college would be like Bowling Green in 

hopes to capture the Mid-Western culture and the interactions that take place

between the adult learner, Muslims and the predominately white student body. 

Since I am involved in Bowling Green State University's CSP program, I hope to explore 

what it means to be a present day adult Muslim women functioning in a post-911 

collegiate environment. The bias and limited views of America seem to be at its most 

hostile when it comes to the Islamic faith and culture. I have been enrolled in religious 

classes, read, and gained knowledge that tell me otherwise, but the 

question of an educator is how one can become an advocate for diverse types of person.

 

The knowledge I currently know about my voice is taken from a religious studies 

course, an Asian art course, and reading a book about the hijab in an anthropology 

course. I understand the basic structure of the religion entails for a person of the Islamic 

faith having to pray towards Mecca five times a day, fasts during several events, and Allah 

is the name of God. In contrast to the Chirstian religion, Jesus is considered a prophet 

and Muhammad is a very important figure in the Islamic context. The Quran or Koran is 

ancient literature and includes information from the Christian Bible. The purpose in 

which the covering worn by women of Islam is changing and I hope to come in 

contact with individuals who wear traditional clothing.

The adult learner I believe would be apprehensive about a return to college and 

expectations may range from very high, in terms of practical knowledge, to very low, in 

terms of writing and studying skills. The adult learner may seem lost in a 

faster paced environment and examples from the lessons may be cultural items for which

she would not be familiar. Technology would be a problem for someone who's life has been 

devoted to raising a child. The assumption that I have is that the husband is the bread 

winner and her life has been relatively normal. With this being said, Noor would not have had

the need for email or researching. Her typing skills may be slow and she would be

unfamiliar with search engines, Podcasts, downloading PDF's or anything that a normal 

college-aged student would have common knowledge of through the

culture.  With networking being just the friends she has around her, this would too be an issue. 

With students using Facebook, Myspace and iChat to have virtual conversations that are 

fast and convenient, any adult would have trouble being able to stay up to speed with 

discussions. Furthermore, due to her commuting to campus, she might not have any 

established friends or support group in the beginning. An adult learner may feel a 

disconnect to the campus and have no obligation or interest to join any clubs or 

organizations even if they have a past expertise or interest.

 

The goal of an advocate was stated but I hope to focus my beginning research in finding 

out more about the religion and the impact on everyday life, the feelings of an adult 

learner and what programs are being offered in higher education. I look forward to this 

journey and hope that in the future weeks I can develop my voice to create change within 

myself and eventually the field of student affairs.