Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
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Addressing the illiteracy rate in eastern North
Carolina
WNCT: 2.02.2017 by Maria Satira
In eastern North Carolina, one in five adults is illiterate.
That is according to numbers from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. North Carolina’s
state average is about one in seven.
WNCT’s Maria Satira met with one young man in Pitt County who
is part of that statistic and is now on the road to literacy.
“I was kind of far behind,” said Robert Gaskins. “So I just
wanted to do something about that.”
The 21-year-old dropped out of school in ninth grade with a
reading level of a sixth grader.
“I just felt like I didn’t have that in me to continue what I
had to do to graduate. So I just quit,” admitted Gaskins.
Gaskin’s illiteracy is all changing thanks to Literacy
Volunteers of Pitt County.
“We help stop that gap,” said Rhonda Billingslea.
Billingslea is the executive director of the organization, which
serves the Pitt County community confidentially and at no cost. Robert has been
joining Billingslea and her tutors five days a week since November.
“As they unfortunately drop out of high school, we’re there to
catch them when they’re ready to come in, 21 or 22-years-old and they want a
better job,” said Billingslea. “We’re there to help them on their skills.”
Better jobs lead to a stronger workforce, economic growth and
healthier families. VIDEO 📹
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Bear Fest to benefit adult literacy program
Temple Daily Telegraph:
2.05.2017 by Melany Cox
The Temple Literacy
Council will host the Literacy Love Bear Fest 3–6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Czech Heritage Museum and Genealogy Center.
The come-and-go event will benefit the Adult
Literacy Program in the greater Temple area.
D. Kirkland, board chairwoman for TLC, said the
bear theme was inspired by the Teddy Bear Bakery, which is located next door to
the museum.
Kirkland said one of the fun activities that will
be offered are the Bear Stories. Several volunteer readers will read pieces
about bears. Kirkland said these can be anything from fiction, non-fiction,
news stories, quotes or anything “bear” related.
The featured reader will be Kirk Lammert, owner of
Teddy Bear Bakery. Kirkland said Lammert will read stories throughout the
afternoon, interspersed with the volunteer readers.
She said everyone who attends the event will
receive the gift of a teddy bear cookie and a drink.
The museum will also have tours to highlight
elements that depict the legacy of literacy in Czech heritage.
“So anything in the Czech history or culture that
was focused on language or the celebration of literacy will be highlighted,”
Kirkland said.
There will also be posters and videos featuring
TLC and their impact on the area in one of the museum galleries. Kirkland said
the purpose of this is to bring awareness to the council. READ MORE @
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Hawaii Literacy seeking tutors
Island only has 3 volunteers
Garden Island: 2.102.017 by Alden Alayvilla
In December, the Hawaii
Literacy program on Kauai had a steady number of tutors who
volunteered their time to teach adult students.
The pool of 30 tutors, however, dwindled to the
current figure of three.
Dennis Dresser, adult literacy coordinator on
Kauai, is desperately seeking tutors willing to put in time to assist with
adult illiteracy on the Garden Isle.
“I’m almost 86, (and) I need to get two to three
tutors very quickly because I just can’t continue to run around all over town,”
he said.
Dresser, who started the program on Kauai over a
decade ago, said the goal of the nonprofit is to help anyone who is willing to
learn.
“If we can get several people who want to be
trained, it’s usually a two-day situation, usually two Saturdays,” he said.
Dresser’s wife, Claudia, trains potential tutors
and may be able to shorten the training to a longer, one-day session.
About one in six adults have problems reading and
writing in the state, including about 5,600 adults on Kauai, according to
Hawaii Literacy.
In the nation, that number ranges between 30
million and 40 million. READ MORE @
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