Literacy:
Spanning the U.S.
Tutor and student grow from Adult Literacy Program
The Reporter: 10.26.2015 by Melissa Murphy
I was just doing by job.
I attended Solano
County’s International Literacy Day a little more than a year
ago.
I expected to hear stories of great achievements for adults learning
how to read and write in English.
I would write the story, it would be printed in the newspaper the next
day and then I would be on to the next story.
What I didn’t expect was to feel compelled to help.
How could I not?
I read and write every day for a living and there were more than 100
adults on the waiting list.
Despite my years of writing experience it’s hard to describe in words
what happened next.
I attended the tutor workshops and with each session I got more and
more excited about imparting my knowledge on the next adult literacy student.
Instead, I was the one that had much to learn.
I was paired with Martha who is closer to my mom’s age than mine and is
from Mexico.
She speaks fluent Spanish and English, a skill that I admire very much.
We do have some things in common, our faith, we’re both United States citizens,
enjoying a good workout at the gym and a deep love of Mexican food.
During the course of a year I watched Martha blossom from a shy adult
scared to read out loud simple sentences and tongue twisters to reading books
on her own and not wanting to stop.
I saw the frustration on her face of not knowing how to pronounce
unknown words fade as Martha put the skill of sounding out words to use. READ MORE !
Delco literary council to honor 4 contributing Champions
Philadelphia Tribune:
10.28.2015 by Louis Bolling
To mark 40 years of providing free literacy services to local adults,
the Delaware County Literacy Council (DCLC)
will honor four Champions at the Third Annual “Champions of Adult Literacy”
Awards Reception.
This year’s Champions have made significant contributions to the
Literacy Council over its 40-year history.
“She’s awesome. She’s a good trainer and a good listener,” stated Kenya
Jackson regarding one of the Champions of Adult Literacy being honored next
month, the recently retired Gwen Cottman. “I wish she wasn’t leaving.”
Jackson, a Chester resident and one of Cottman’s former students who
is pursing her GED, reflected the sentiments of many that Cottman has taught
over the years. After teaching evening GED preparation classes for 30 years,
she also organized and hosted DCLC’s Annual Black History Celebration for many
years.
“I met so many people who hadn’t finished high school, and there
weren’t many programs out there to help them,” Cottman stated, speaking of her
motivation for getting into adult education. She added that she “was inspired
by the self-help philosophy of Reverend Leon Sullivan (founder of a
world-renowned vocational training program) and by an early Laubach Literacy
slogan: “Each one, teach one.”
Commuting from Penns Grove, N.J., Cottman shared that “so many people
need help, but now it’s time to enjoy my grandchildren while I can.”
In addition to Cottman, Bob Preston, Charlotte Hobson Griffin and
Madeline Bialecki are being honored as well. One of the founders of the
Literacy Council in the 1970s, Preston volunteered first as a tutor, then
trained tutors, only to to move on and help the organization establish itself. READ MORE !
Literacy group suspects students are hiding
Ruidoso News: 11.03.2015 by Dave Tomlin
Nearly 40 years ago, Cloyce Salazar dropped out of high school in
Mescalero just short of his graduation day. He still remembers it as a horrible
decision.
“I messed up,” Salazar, 57, said in an interview last week. “There is
nothing worse than filling out a job application and you can’t put anything in
the place where it asks what diplomas you have. That was a big void in my
life.”
What made the decision far worse was that he kept making the same bad
choice by breaking his promise to himself year after year that he’d go back for
his GED.
“I kept saying, ‘I’ll go back next year,’” he recalled. “That never
happened.”
Except finally it did. Two years ago, Salazar enrolled in a GED program
at ENMU, aced all his courses, took the tests, and got the certificate.
“He blew them out of the water,” said Cindy Fuqua, the former ENMU
volunteer who tutored Salazar and enjoyed a warm reunion with him last week at
the Ruidoso Public Library, the current headquarters of Lincoln County Adult Literacy (LCAL).
“I wish I’d done this a long time ago,” Salazar said. “I could have had
some good jobs. Government jobs. They just flat told me, we can’t hire you
without the GED.”
Deborah Abingdon, LCAL literacy coordinator, is interested in giving
Salazar’s hard life lesson the widest circulation possible. She knows she’s not
hearing from anything close to the number of Lincoln County residents who need
her programs. READ MORE !
 |
@GLiteracy |
Commentary: Literacy skills important
to Greenville
Greenville Online: 11.02.2015 by Judith S
Prince
As Unseen Greenville continues to seek
solutions to challenges faced by citizens left behind as Greenville moves
forward, one issue that has far-reaching impact is not getting the attention it
needs. As many as 50,000 Greenville County citizens do not have a high school
diploma or GED, an issue which has potential to devastate individuals,
families, our community, and our economy for generations to come. Unless we
increase awareness and media coverage of this issue, unless discussion of this
issue is elevated to include the broader community, unless action on this issue
takes a comprehensive approach, Greenville will certainly fall behind other
communities.
The
motivation for Greenville citizens to earn a high school diploma or a GED is
usually framed in terms of earning money as the future is bleak for those
without basic reading, writing, math, and computer skills. The economic
consequence of low literacy is staggering, and the necessity of education and
skills training has become increasingly important as the labor market in
Greenville continues to transform. Those with low literacy skills are more than
twice as likely to be unemployed. Additionally, the disparity in pay between
the undereducated and the educated is huge. A study by faculty at Portland
State University revealed that even 100 hours of adult basic education could
have significant impact on an adult’s future wages, enough to pull a family out
of poverty. The poverty rate in Greenville will not decrease until most all of
our citizens have a least some education beyond high school. Greenville Literacy Association
 |
@SBCVision |
San Bernardino Public
Library joins San Bernardino County’s Vision2Read literacy efforts
IECN: 10.30.2015
The county-wide vision embarked in September on a year-long campaign
titled “Vision2Read” to foster literacy within San Bernardino County.
SBPL’s Jack L. Hill Lifelong Learning Center (formerly
known as the Literacy Center) has been providing literacy services to the San
Bernardino community since 1989.
“We’re pleased to support increasing literacy, especially early
literacy, in our city as part of the project throughout the county,” said SBPL
Library Director Ed Erjavek, who received the proclamation for the library.
“Our literacy and library services offer residents a great opportunity to
increase their knowledge and improve their educational levels at a great price
– free. And we’re grateful to the mayor and common council for honoring our
contributions.”
The “Vision2Read” effort will promote reading and literacy programs
throughout the county, direct those who need assistance to those programs,
encourage members of the community to volunteer in reading and literacy
efforts, and raise overall awareness of the importance of reading and literacy
to the county’s future.
“Coming to the Learning Center has changed my life. When I started I
couldn’t read, and now I am helping people overcome the same problem I had,”
says Mark. Mark, who prefers not to share his last name, is now a full-time
volunteer with the Lifelong Learning Center and is our student advocate. READ MORE !
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment