Literacy – Spanning the US :: Napa Co CA :: Kent OH :: Monterey Co CA

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.     

@NapaLibraries

Library seeking American Canyon tutors for adult literacy program

Napa Valley Register: 5.09.2018 by Noel Brinkerhoff

The Napa County Library is seeking volunteers in American Canyon to tutor adults who want to improve their English reading and writing skills.

Participating in the library’s Adult Literacy Program can be very rewarding, according to those who have served as tutors.

“It’s fulfilling because you’ll encounter a student like Cecilia who is eager to learn, and you can see her growth,” said Ann Tabor, 67, a retired nurse who has spent the past two years working with Cecilia Zepeda.

Zepeda, 33, an immigrant from Mexico now living with her husband in American Canyon, sought help through the literacy program so she could become a U.S. citizen, a goal she accomplished two years ago with Tabor’s assistance in preparing to take the citizenship test.

“I was excited” when practicing for the test, said Zepeda. “We worked hard.”

Zepeda also expressed enthusiasm about being able to vote in this year’s elections for the very first time.

“I am excited because I can do that now,” she said.

Tabor could relate to Zepeda’s effort to become a citizen because she is an immigrant as well.

“I came down from Canada in ’97,” Tabor said. “So I went through the same thing that Cecilia was going through.”  READ MORE >>

@OhioLiteracyRC

Illiteracy often unseen, very real problem, Greater Cleveland groups say

News Herald: 5.10.2018 by Kristi Garabrandt

Imagine being a mom who has to rely on public transportation to get a sick child to the doctor’s office but can’t read a bus schedule or tell time. Imagine being worried about giving a child the wrong dosage of medication because you can’t read the label.

This is what is known as functional illiteracy and it is a daily reality for many.

Functional illiteracy, according to Kent State University is defined as reading between a fourth-grade and sixth-grade level.

Literacy is a broad term, says Katie Kucera, communications directors for Seeds of Literacy, an adult literacy program in Cleveland. Most people think it means reading or writing, but, it’s also about numbers and the ability to process numbers and the ability to analyze and problem solve.

“There is not a lot of information out there,” on illiteracy, said Jo Steigerwald, development director at Seeds of Literacy. ”It’s an invisible thing that exists and it shouldn’t.”

According to the Ohio Literacy Resource Center, an estimated 44 million people in the United States are unable to fill out an application, read a food label or read a simple story to a child.

@OhioHigherEd

@seedsofliteracy

Seeds of Literacy echoes those statistics, reporting that 66 percent of Clevelanders are functionally illiterate resulting in difficulty understanding bus schedules, utility bills or instructions from a doctor.

The ASPIRE program — formerly known as ABLE — is an adult education program that works with adults on learning basic math and reading skills and obtaining a GED.  READ MORE >>

@e_MCFL

Monterey County libraries, tutors use graphic novels to teach literacy

The Californian: 5.10.2018 by Eduardo Cuevas

Local tutors have a new and unlikely tool to help boost literacy across the county: graphic novels.

On Wednesday, Susanne Crichton, a volunteer and literacy assistant at the Salinas Public Library, led a workshop in hopes of introducing use of the niche literary genre for adult literacy tutors in Monterey County.

“You need to keep an open mind as you explore graphic novels,” she told tutors, library staff and volunteers. “You really might surprise yourself, so give them all a chance.”

What counts as a graphic novel is pretty broad. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a story that is presented in comic-strip format and published as a book.”

Cathy Andrews, senior librarian for the Salinas Public Library and the former literacy program coordinator with Monterey County Free Libraries, or MCFL, similarly said comic books and graphic novels have a lot of overlap.

“Both genres often get dismissed, but you can find out about the landing at D-Day through graphic novels,” she added. “There are cookbooks that are graphic novels, so they really cover any genre of writing.”  READ MORE >>