Workshop

Kyndra Haggard - leader on this paper. Responsible for the Introduction and Plan. Posted to group 1,3 & 4

Debra Shidler - Responsible for the Budget & Logistics and the Reflection. Posted to group 1,3 & 4

Desiree Soptelean - Responsible for the Workshop Activities and Results- Posted to group 1,3 & 4

Workshop Paper

Group 2

Kyndra Haggard

Debra Shidler

Desiree Soptelean

November 1, 2015

Introduction

The purpose of the workshop is to bring together a group of adults to discuss and increase interest in reading. The workshops being implement by the class are part of a larger program, The Big Read. Our focus was on the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. According to U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, the literacy rate has not changed much over the last 10 years (2014, Statistic Brain). A study in 2003 showed that the U.S. showed 10% of the population still lacked basic literacy skills (Mohadjer et al.).

Our goal for our workshop was to pique the interest of our attendees and make the want to read the novel. Our hope is that while working with adults they will spread the awareness to younger generations to decrease the illiteracy rate. We also wanted to get group involvement by implementing open conversation with topics from the book. We had a goal to reach at least 100 people with a hope of 50 attendees to our workshop event.

Workshop Plan

To recruit participants for our workshop, we implemented multiple marketing platforms. We utilized Facebook, Instagram, flyers, email and word of mouth. We also attended an event at the Unity Center, our non-profit partner, to help promote. The Unity Center was very helpful in promoting this event. The manager made sure to contact usual attenders of the morning meetings as well as posting on their group Facebook. She also made an announcement of the workshop at the Family Day Celebration we attended a week prior.

The Unity Center practices the Human Resources Theory by implementing guidelines and policies that impact the employees and not just the community. The Human Resources Theory as stated by Raymond Miles (1976) taps into all resources that each employee can bring to the organization. All employees want worthwhile, impactful goals. The Unity Center not only works to better the community, but also their employees by giving them opportunities to try new programs and create their own events. They are a new enough organization that our workshop was able to help really influence the community center.

 We scheduled our workshop time to coincide with the time allotted from the Unity Center. We held the event on Monday, October 5^th at 10am. This was the kick-off meeting for their fall bingo gatherings.  They generally call this program “Coffee Talk.” Adults get together and share stories and memories over coffee and pastries (Unity Center). The timing worked well to be able to incorporate brunch items, coffee and juice. A time in the evening could have prompted more of a turnout, but we were happy with the quality of our attendees and the conversation they provided. Serving food did help with promotion. This was listed on all marketing materials.

Group involvement is a huge aspect in making a workshop memorable and successful. We had to think of ideas that would make people want to participate. There are many barriers to adult educational activity participation. In an article that informs about successful adult education it states that adults can lack self-confidence which gives a negative attitude towards learning (Petty, Thomas 2014).  The Human Relations Theory discusses finding those ideas that people can relate to and helping them feel empowered; their opinions and thoughts matter. In order to do this our group had discussion questions based on topics of the book, we read interesting excerpts from the book and created discussion from this. To help with group involvement we provided answers to our questions first to get the conversations started. At the end we played BINGO. We implemented prizes to help incorporate participation. This worked very well for our group.  We had participation from all members who really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Budget& Logistics

Item	Amount	Allotted Amount $100
Marketing Flyers (printed in color, 100 copies)	Free printing courtesy of the Ball State Career Center	-
Ball State T-Shirt for giveaway	Donated by the Ball State Career Center	-
Starbucks Gift Card ($10 value)	Group donation	-
Facebook, Email	Free	-
Wal-Mart Gift Card for giveaway	$25	$25
Fruit Tray	12.98	$12.98
Candy for giveaway	4.99	$4.99
Drinks (coffee & juice)	$21.15	$21.15
Candy (prize boxes & candy corn for BINGO)	$5.83	$5.83
Donuts- Concannon’s	$20.95	$20.95
Utensils (plates, cups, forks)	$6.79	$6.79
Poster Board	$2.54	$2.54
TOTAL		$100.23

            When coming up with the budget for the workshop we developed a plan to take advantage of all the resources that each of us had. Kyndra was instrumental in getting the Career Center’s donations for free for all of our marketing posters and bingo cards. We all marketed the workshop through Facebook and email. Then each of us took our flyers and passed them out throughout campus and various businesses around Muncie.

            The budget was divided between two different categories in the end food and prizes. Food and prizes were key in getting people in the door and generating excitement for the event. Since the event was in the morning we provided a light breakfast consisting of fruit, donuts, juice, and coffee. There was also candy for prizes. The largest prize was a $25 gift card that was purchased, but we were able to get a Concannon’s and Starbuck’s gift card donated.

            The workshop took place at the Unity Center on October 5, 2015 at 10:00am. It was the kick off to the adult programs offered at the Unity Center. There were approximately 15-17 adults attending the event. The Unity Center is located near the Heekin Park and on Madison Street. Both the Park and Madison Street have bus stops where the MITS bus system could drop off and pick up our participants. The Unity Center was a great location and had a great following for their adult program. 

Workshop Activities and Results

            Our community partner, the Unity Center, regularly hosts a session called Coffee Talk for older, retired adults.  When we first talked with Ms. Yolanda, of the Unity Center, she told us that Coffee Talk had taken a break for the summer but would be starting back up again for the fall session, and she thought that would be a perfect opportunity for us to give our workshop. As mentioned prior, our workshop was actually the kickoff event for the fall Coffee Talk session. Once we knew that we would be doing this, we knew our target audience very well and could plan activities that would match their interests.  To make sure the events of the workshop ran smoothly and to allow enough time for each part, we created an itinerary (Appendix 1) that included a schedule, introduction to the Big Read, brief synopsis of Fahrenhewit 451(Appendix 2), discussion questions(Appendix 3), and then an interactive game of Bingo (Appendix 4) where terms from the book were discussed. This document is included at the end of this paper. 

            First, because our workshop was being held in the morning, we chose to serve a light brunch as refreshment.  Since we were able to do most of our marketing for no cost, we were able to put that money toward the food budget and have a good amount of food, with very little leftovers.  We served donuts from Concannon’s, fruit, orange juice, and Starbucks coffee.  As people arrived they could get something to eat and drink and then have a seat at the tables we had set up with bingo cards at each chair. 

            After everyone had arrived and were seated, we began by introducing ourselves and told about the purpose of the Big Read program.  Many people were concerned that they had not read the book prior to coming, thinking it was something like a book club.  But we explained that we knew they would have not already have read the book and that the purpose of the workshop was actually to introduce the book and the concepts to them.  Next we gave a brief synopsis of Fahrenheit 451.  To better introduce the character of Guy Montag and a small piece of the storyline, we read two excerpts from the book at this point. The first was from pages one and two and introduced Montag and the concept of a fireman who begins fires rather than extinguishing them.  The second excerpt was from pages six and seven, and it showed a conversation between Montag and Clarisse.  This was the conversation where the reader can see how much Montag has begun to question the way things are.  From the looks on the attendees’ faces, it seemed as if they were drawn in by the text and wanted to learn more.

            The next portion of the workshop focused on two discussion questions.  This was the part of the workshop where we really kept our target audience in mind.  Fahrenheit 451, written 60 years ago but set in the future, has the potential to seem extremely strange, even macabre, to someone who has just picked it up with no insight to the themes that lie beneath the pictures of burning books that Bradbury paints.  Our discussion questions began with some background on a certain theme and ended a question that would cause the attendees to draw on their own experiences in life in relation to that theme.  

The first question began with an explanation of how Bradbury called himself a “Preventer of Futures” in hopes of preventing such atrocities from his books and preserving quality of life.  The actual question asked was, “From what you’ve learned about the book, and what you know about how life has changed from ___ years ago (considering technology, etc.), what can you do to preserve quality of life for future generations?”  Our audience was very receptive to this question.  They spoke of how their grandchildren’s lives are so different from their own growing up 50 years ago, and how they think that their grandchildren think that life has always been the way that it is now. They said that they want to be sure to keep this generation and future generations grounded in morals, respect, thankfulness, dignity, and hard work.  Technology was also talked about quite a lot.  We discussed how no one really has a landline telephone anymore, and how with texting, we rarely even use our cellphones as a telephone.

We opened the next question with a reading from the text where Granger tells Montag what his own grandfather said about leaving something that will remain after you die.

Granger stood looking back with Montag. "Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there. It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn- cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime (Bradbury 1953)."

We spoke of four things that Bradbury was remembered by his colleagues as standing for, and then asked the question, “60 years from now, what do you want to be remembered as standing for?”  Responses varied, but most centered around leaving a legacy of two things: faith and family.  All of the members of our group were very pleased with the response that the discussion questions drew.  Not only did attendees participate very willingly, but they engaged in conversations with one another with very little prompting from us.  They also asked questions of their own about themes from the book and wanting to know more about the storyline.

Finally, we ended the workshop with a game of Bingo.  Bingo is a regular happening at Coffee Talk sessions, so it was very well received.  As items to be called from the board we used terms from the book and explained the significance of each term as it was called.  We used candy corn for markers.  Prizes consisted of candy, a BSU tee shirt, a Starbucks gift card, and two Concannon’s gift cards.  In addition, we had a grand door prize of a $25 Walmart gift card that attendees were automatically entered to win just by attending.  Since we had 14 attendees and only ten copies of Fahrenheit 451 to give away we also drew for those to be given away.  After we had all of the drawings, the workshop was complete, and everyone was free to stay or leave as they wished.

As a group, we all felt that the workshop was a tremendous success.  Everyone who attended participated in discussion and Bingo.  You can tell when people are truly engaged and interested in what is being presented, and in our opinion, everyone there had some level of interest and were definitely engaged.  Many of the attendees said they wanted to read the rest of the story, and they were very excited to receive a copy when their name was drawn.  One guest who did not receive a copy was disappointed because she looked forward to reading it, so a group member gave her personal copy to the guest.  The number of guests who attended from the community was 14, and there were 15 total guests counting Dr. Chang.  Even though we did not reach the goal of 20 guests, we felt that the quality of the interactions held in the workshop and the experience taken away by the attendees more than made up for the few people we were short. 

Reflection

Highlights

The bright point of our whole workshop was generating energy and excitement about Fahrenheit 451. We created this atmosphere by leading short meaningful discussions about key points in the book. Then at the end to create some fun we made customized bingo cards with vocabulary from the book. This also promoted more discussion within the group. By the  end of the workshop people were excited and could not wait to read the whole book.

Process

Group two completed this assignment by working together as a group. This has been essential. Kyndra created the bingo boards and made sure flyers were created. Desiree created a simple outline and looked up the key points to highlight from the book. She really made sure the event was clear and interesting to the audience. Debra made sure the event location was secure, tried to get donations for breakfast, and suggested the light breakfast. All group members picked up food and drinks. We all helped present at the workshop reading and presenting various components of Fahrenheit 451. It was again a great group effort.

Table 3.

1.      Purpose	The purpose of our workshop was to bring together a group of adults to discuss and increase interest in reading.
2.      Goals	Our goals were to advertise to over 100 and have at least 25 attend. We wanted to interest others in the joy of reading.
3.      Workshop Plan	Our plan included group discussion, reading excerpts from the book and playing BINGO that coincided with the books topics. We used candy corn that looked like little fires for the space fillers.  We had prizes to keep excitement and increase involvement.
4.      Workshop Activities	We served a light brunch to attendees, introduced the Big Read and the plot of Fahrenheit 451, spent some time discussing themes from the book with attendee engagement, played BINGO using terms from the reading, and gave away prizes.
5.      Workshop Results	We had 15 total guests at the event, and they were all very eager to learn more about Fahrenheit 451. We recently learned from the director of the Unity Center that the people who attended the workshop are still talking about it, so it sounds like it made an impact on them.
6.      Budget	Item Amount Allotted Amount $100 Marketing Flyers (printed in color, 100 copies) Free printing courtesy of the Ball State Career Center - Ball State T-Shirt for giveaway Donated by the Ball State Career Center - Starbucks Gift Card ($10 value) Group donation - Facebook, Email Free - Wal-Mart Gift Card for giveaway $25 $25 Fruit Tray 12.98 $12.98 Candy for giveaway 4.99 $4.99 Drinks (coffee & juice) $21.15 $21.15 Candy (prize boxes & candy corn for BINGO) $5.83 $5.83 Donuts- Concannon’s $20.95 $20.95 Utensils (plates, cups, forks) $6.79 $6.79 Poster Board $2.54 $2.54 TOTAL $100.23

Appendix I.

Muncie Big Read Workshop – The Unity Center

9:30     Set up

10:00   Attendees get breakfast as they arrive

            Introduce group members

            Introduce the Big Read

10:10   Brief synopsis of Fahrenheit 451

           Readings

10:20   Discussion questions, open dialogue

10:35   BINGO

10:50 Closing and drawing for grand prizes & books

11:00 Close & Cleanup

Appendix II.

The Big Read

-The Big Read is a national program taking place in communities across the country

            -Introduces literature to communities to encourage reading

            -Focuses on themes from the book, application to current, daily life

-Free community-wide reading activities taking place from September 2015-June 2016

-Upcoming events will be held at Muncie Central HS, Kennedy Library, and many other venues

Fahrenheit 451

Published in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 is author Ray Bradbury’s vision of a society in the future where books are banned. Citizens are occupied with their “shows” which are played on four-walled televisions. Human interaction is at a minimum, everyone wears “seashell” speakers in their ears to fall asleep or get the news at all times, and people never walk down the sidewalk or spend any time in nature. Because books are banned, if someone is suspected of having books in their house, they are reported to the fire department. In this futuristic society, firefighters do not put out fires because houses are fireproof. Instead, when they respond to the alarm, they burn the books at the suspect’s house. This is where the title comes from – 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns.

The book’s main character, Guy Montag, is a firefighter who has enjoyed his job until he meets Clarisse, a “strange” girl, who opens his eyes to all that his world is missing – books, nature, the simple act of chatting with a neighbor. Montag loses interest in his job and becomes curious about books and why they are so dangerous. His search leads him to be reported to the fire department by his own wife. After Montag’s books are burned, he runs away from the city, fleeing the “mechanical hound” for the safety of the countryside. Here he joins a band of others like him, old scholars, and professors who remember libraries and universities, and together they set out to begin a revolution.

Appendix III.

Discussion Questions

1)      Ray Bradbury called himself a “Preventer of Futures.” Fahrenheit 451 was written in 1953, and shortly after writing the book where seashell-shaped earbuds piped in music, commercials, and television shows to citizen’s ears (a technology Bradbury thought would exist in 40-50 years), the author saw a couple walking down the street listening to a transistor radio with an earpiece. He wrote his story as science fiction, and because of multiple examples like this one, some have called him a “Predictor of Futures.” Bradbury preferred instead to be known as a “Preventer of Futures.” He hoped that the readers of that time, and future readers (who sit in this room now) would see how easily the world could turn into the nightmare he depicted in Fahrenheit 451, and prevent that from happening. From what you’ve learned about the book, and what you know about how life has changed from ___ years ago (considering technology, etc), what can you do to preserve quality of life for future generations?

2)      Ray Bradbury is known by his colleagues as standing for four things

a.       Freedom of the Imagination

b.      The Precious Gift of Literacy

c.       Preservation of Libraries

d.      Visionary for the Space Age

60 Years from now, what do you want to be remembered as standing for?

Appendix IV.

References

Bradbury, Ray. (1953). Fahrenheit 451. New York: Random House Publishing Group.

Illiteracy Statistics. (2015). Retrieved October 19, 2015, from

             http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/

Mohadjer.L, G, K., B, L., W, V., L, L., D, S., . . . S, W. (2009). Adult literacy rates in Indiana:

            1992 and 2003. Focus on Indiana, 3(1), 1-2. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from   

            http://ceep.indiana.edu/projects/PDF/FOI_V3N1_2009.pdf

Petty, Tanjula. Thomas, Christine. (2014). Approaches to a successful adult education program.

College Student Journal. 473-480.

Theories of Management: Implications for organizational behavior and development by

Raymond E. Miles. (1976). The Academy of Management Review, 1(3), 146-148.

Retrieved October 26, 2015, from JSTOR.

Tompkins, Jonathan R. (2004). Organization theory and public management (p. 153-181).

            Belmont, Ca: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN-10: 053417468X ISBN-13: 978-0534174682

Unity Center. muncieunitycenter.org. 2015. 27 October 2015.