Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants To Point Out The One Thing Everybody Gets Wrong About Libraries via Stylist

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants To Point Out The One Thing Everybody Gets Wrong About Libraries

Stylist: 11.27.2019 by Hannah-Rose Yee

In a town hall advocating for her Green New Deal, the congresswoman took a chance to stump for publicly funded institutions such as libraries, reminding everyone in the audience that these places are a vital part of society.

Anyone who grew up going to the library knows how vital a role they play in any given community.

Not just as a place to borrow books for free, but also as a place to gather, to learn, to play and to spend time in a safe space. As Lucy Mangan wrote in Stylist, libraries are a “source of food for the imagination, the soul, the only means of slaking the thirst for discovery, for facts, for stories, for knowing how the world and the people in it work – for an education in the round.” We must protect them at all costs.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez feels the same. Publicly funded facilities such as libraries, but also public education and public housing, are some of her biggest campaign platforms. They form a cornerstone of her Green New Deal, and are an issue that she is very passionate about.

“It’s not that we deserve them because it’s a handout,” she said. “People like to say that this is about free stuff… These are public goods. I never want to hear the term ‘free stuff’ ever again… I believe that all people should be able to go to a public library. Everyone can drive on our roads. Everyone should be able to send their kids to public school. And every person who needs it should have access to public housing that looks like this.”

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“Public education, libraries, & infrastructure policies (which we‘ve had before in America and elsewhere in the world!) are not ‘free stuff,’” she wrote on Twitter. “They are PUBLIC GOODS. And they are worth investing in, protecting, & advancing for all society and future generations.”  READ MORE >>

In a town hall advocating

National Literacy & Library Events :: December 2019

National Literacy & Library Events :: December 2019

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

Events-National & International Events

Events-International: Language Magazine

Read a New Book Month

Dec. 04      LRA National Reading Conf Tampa FL

Dec. 05      International Volunteer Day

Dec. 05      TASH Conf Phoenix AZ

Dec. 07      Letter Writing Day

Dec. 09      Hour of Code

Dec. 09      Parent and Family Engagement Conf Anaheim CA

Dec. 10      Human Rights Day

Dec. 13      ‘Lollies’ Laugh Out Loud Book Prize London UK

Dec. 14      Impact Education Conf Minneapolis MN

Dec. 21      Crossword Puzzle Day

Dec. 21      National Short Story Day (UK)

Dec. 24      Jolabokaflod Christmas Book Flood Iceland

State Library Associations :: Conferences

African American Book Events

Book Fairs by State Library of Congress

Children’s Book Council Kid Lit Events

College Children’s & Young Adult Literature Conferences Festivals

Everfest Book Festival Calendar

ILA :: Literacy Calendar Worldwide

Storytelling Events

US Book Festivals

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Flat Rock NC :: Golden Gate FL :: Topeka KS

Literacy: Spanning the US

Blue Ridge 

Literacy Council

Children, Adults In Henderson County Struggle With Literacy

Blue Ridge Now: 9.29.2019 by Andrew Mundhenk

Literacy is essential to a life well lived, which is why it’s important to reach those who struggle with the ability to read or write regardless of age.

Blue Ridge Literacy Council is a local nonprofit that serves about 300 native and non-native English speakers across of its programs per year.

The organization helps people reach self-sustaining employment, school success and obtaining citizenship among other needs.

Transportation is always a challenge when it comes to access to literacy, the organization’s Executive Director Autumn Weil said. That’s why the Literacy Council’s tutors meet adult learners anywhere public in the county.

It’s also easier for a non-native English speaker to seek out services because there’s an expectation and no stigma around learning English.

“If you’re a native English speaker, if you grew up in this country, especially if you have a high school diploma, but you know that you’re unable to read and to comprehend what you should be able to based on your peers, there’s much more stigma and it’s hard to overcome the barrier of fear and overcome the barrier of embarrassment to seek out services,” Weil said.  READ MORE >>

@GPNaples

Grace Place In Golden Gate To Branch Out With Family Literacy Model, Curriculum

Naples News: 9.30.2019 by Andrew Atkins

In an effort to spread its wealth of knowledge, Grace Place has secured the intellectual property to its home-grown adult and family literacy program.

Grace Place is preparing to publish the first five books and the curriculum for the Grace Place Family Literacy Model. The model will offer organizations across the world an opportunity to replicate Grace Place’s Bright Beginnings program, which extends learning to both children and their families.

Berenice Garcia went through the program with her daughters, Vanessa and Carla Perez. When she began the Bright Beginnings program on which Grace Place Family Literacy Model is based, she knew little English. Years later, she’s fluent.

“The world opened for me,” she said.  READ MORE >>

Topeka Literacy 

Council

Topeka Literacy Council Helps Adults Improve Reading & Writing Skills

KNST: 9.30.2019 by Reina Garcia

Knowing how to read and write are important skills. But, more than 36 million adults in the United States can’t read, write or do math above a third-grade level.

The Topeka Literacy Council is working to change that. They help adults improve their reading and writing skills by pairing them with trained tutors for free.

They also work those trying to learn English, like Wenny WangCoon.

She moved to the United States from China in 2015.

“I’m so lucky,” said WangCoon. “I love my new life. I love America.”

Learning English is a crucial part of adjusting to life in the U.S.

Through the Topeka Literacy Council, her tutor Rebecca Henry has helped her  do that.  WATCH 02:01

Ken Burns Classroom Launches on PBS LearningMedia

Ken Burns Classroom Launches on PBS LearningMedia

PBS: 11.19.2019

Today, PBS announced the launch of Ken Burns Classroom on PBS LearningMedia – a one-stop online destination for free teaching and learning resources inspired by Ken Burns’s renowned documentaries. Created for 6-12th grade educators, the new hub houses a full library of classroom-ready content – aligned to state and national standards – to help students further explore the complex historical events and issues illustrated in Ken Burns’s films.

Ken Burns and his collaborators have been creating historical documentaries for more than forty years. During this time, his signature style has brought documents, images and video footage to life for viewers around the globe. These films, and the supplementary learning content on Ken Burns Classroom, encourage students to ask thought-provoking questions while introducing new ideas and perspectives. 

“It’s wonderful to see how educators across the country are using our films in their classrooms. By presenting them alongside interactive tools and lesson plans, PBS LearningMedia is helping students better understand the connection between historical events and the present,” said Ken Burns. “Through these resources, my hope is that we can further interest young people in the power of history and help them better understand the complexity of issues we face today, including the connection to the past and their relevance to the future.”

Ken Burns Classroom features hundreds of video clips, lesson plans, activity suggestions, discussion questions, handouts, and interactives to help educators integrate the films into their classroom instruction.  READ MORE >>

This Is Wiltshire

One in six adults struggle

Meet The Low-Wage Workforce via Brookings

Meet The Low-Wage 

Workforce

Meet The Low-Wage Workforce

Brookings: 11.07.2019 by Martha Ross and Nicole Bateman

Jobs play a central role in the lives of most adults. As forces like globalization and automation reshape the labor market, it is clear that some people and places are positioned to do well while others risk becoming collateral damage. The well-educated and technically savvy find ample employment opportunities, while those with lower levels of education face a labor market that is decidedly less welcoming, with lower wages and less potential for career growth. Meanwhile, some regions dramatically outpace others in job growth, incomes, and productivity, raising disquieting questions about how best to promote broad-based economic growth.

Against this backdrop, we provide in a new report extensive demographic and occupational data on low-wage workers nationally and in more than 350 metropolitan areas. It is a large and diverse group of people, and they play a major role in our economy.

Low-wage workers comprise a substantial share of the workforce. More than 53 million people, or 44% of all workers ages 18 to 64 in the United States, earn low hourly wages. More than half (56%) are in their prime working years of 25-50, and this age group is also the most likely to be raising children (43%). They are concentrated in a relatively small number of occupations, and many face economic hardship and difficult roads to higher-paying jobs. Slightly more than half are the sole earners in their families or make major contributions to family income. Nearly one-third live below 150% of the federal poverty line (about $36,000 for a family of four), and almost half have a high school diploma or less.

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The largest cluster, accounting for 15 million people or 28% of low-wage workers, consists of workers ages 25 to 50 with no more than a high school diploma.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Workplace

2019: Global Skills Index, Coursera

2018: A Stronger Nation: Learning beyond high school builds American talent, Lumina

2017: UpSkilling Playbook for Employers, Aspen Institute

2015: Skills Gap Report, NAM-MI

2010: Literacy & The Entry-Level Workforce - The Role of Literacy and Policy in Labor Market Success,

 Employment Policies Institute

2008: Reach Higher America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, NCAL

2007: America’s Perfect Storm, ETS

2007: Can California Import Enough College Grad's. Meet Workforce Needs?, PPIC

2007: Mounting Pressures: Workforce . . . Adult Ed, NCAL

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Sioux Falls SD :: Appleton WI :: Whitehorse YT :: Hilton Head SC

Literacy: Spanning North America

@REACH_Literacy

How A Sioux Falls Nonprofit Is Helping Workers Improve Literacy Skills

Argus Leader: 9.26.2019 by Shelly Conlon

It may seem simple, but the difference between understanding words like, "suite and sweet," can mean all the difference for Francia Weay in understanding how to navigate around town.

It can mean the difference between what hospital rooms she visits or how she interacts with patients at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center.

And it can lead to the difference in her current role and the role of others wanting to move up in the medical field in South Dakota.

But that difference is also what's driving her and other students to join a new adult literacy program partnering local businesses like Sanford Health, Avera and Grand Praire Foods with a local nonprofit to improve their overall literacy skills to better their workplace opportunities.

After piloting the program for about two years, Reach Literacy has officially launched workplace academies to pair tutors with working adults wherever they are, offering to meet an hour twice a week for eight weeks to review everyday literacy skills.

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It can take about 70 to 100 hours for someone to begin seeing appreciable progress and improvement in their literacy skills, Carda said. An academy partnership like this also allows employees to feel reassured that their employers care about their success.

The course builds in camaraderie, but focuses on reading skills related to financial issues, housing, food, shopping  — practical things someone might use daily, but can also build on, Carda said.

"People talk a lot about workforce," Carda said. "We want to expand, and we want people to be in that workforce, but actually physically working with people and seeing them moving up is super rewarding."  READ MORE >>

@FoxValleyLit

Faces Of Literacy Gala Celebrates Adult Learners' Accomplishments

NBC 26: 9.25.2019 by Stacy Engebretson

More than 12,000 adults in Outagamie County are believed to have low literacy skills, that's according to Fox Valley Literacy . The nonprofit organization was founded 29 years ago and has since helped thousands of adults, 18 and older, learn how to speak English and read and write better with the goal of improving the entire family's situation.

Rene Delgado moved to Appleton 13 years ago.

"Looking for a better opportunity, because it's hard in Mexico," he explained.

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While the adult learners get so much out of the program, so does Davis.

"Just satisfaction that they're doing so much better, and then they go on to do other things that they wouldn't have been able to do before."

Delgado works in a restaurant and is on a path to becoming a U.S. citizen. His successes, and those of the nonprofit's other 350 learners, will be celebrated during the Faces of Literacy gala.  WATCH 02:23

Yukon Learn

Learning To Read At 86: Yukon Elder & His Tutor Receive Literacy Award

CBC: 9.10.2019 by Mike Rudyk

You're never too old to learn.

Just ask 86-year-old Kwanlin Dun First Nation elder Louie Smith, whose lifelong dream was to learn to read in English.

After four years spent working with Ted Ackerman, a tutor-volunteer with Yukon Learn, the two were recognized at an award ceremony in Whitehorse. They are this year's recipients of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award.

The national award recognizes outstanding achievement, innovative practice, and excellence in literacy.

"I had a little bit of trouble with my eye and a cataract bothered me a little bit, but I'm doing my best and I started learning how to read a little bit now," said Smith.

He says he can now go to a bank ATM and take out cash because he now knows how to read.

Smith was raised in a traditional lifestyle living off the land. His father taught him Southern Tutchone and Northern Tutchone. English is his third language.  READ MORE >>

The Literacy Center

Starting Over In A New Land

Hilton Head Monthly: 9.27.2019 by Jessica Sparks

In Venezuela, Javier Campos was a petroleum engineer and Karla Losada was a lawyer.

When they decided to move to the Lowcountry two years ago with their two children, they knew they wouldn’t easily step into the same professional lives.

Despite the high number of Spanish-speaking residents in the area, the language barrier made it hard for the couple to find work. Friends directed them to The Literacy Center, where now they are working to become fluent in spoken and written English.

For 46 years, The Literacy Center has been helping Lowcountry residents learn English and improve their reading skills. Today, the center is also working to address another major problem in the Lowcountry: A shortage of trained workers in the workforce.

“We’re working to move from just basic ESL services that we do now to workplace services,” said Brad Steele, executive director of the organization.  READ MORE >>

Public Libraries Generate Social Capital That Can Save Lives via Next

Public Libraries Generate Social Capital That Can Save Lives

Next: 11.06.2019 by Chris Cyr, Ph.D.

When disaster strikes, libraries are there to help. In California, where many have been forced from their homes due to forest fires and power outages, libraries like Folsom Public Library have become a refuge for people who need to charge devices, use WiFi, or just have a place to go. In March of 2011, a powerful earthquake triggered enormous tsunami waves in the Tōhoku region of Japan, killing thousands of people, driving hundreds of thousands from their homes, and leaving millions without electricity and water service. In the months after this horrific disaster, as hundreds of government services, NGOs, and private and international relief agencies struggled to help communities recover, residents also looked to public libraries for help.

Why is that? Libraries don’t provide food, water, electricity, or medical services. In many cases, libraries had suffered the same catastrophic losses as their neighbors; staff had perished or been injured, buildings completely destroyed or unusable, resources gutted. Why, then, did people so quickly turn to libraries after a disaster? Because of social capital.

And while we don’t understand all the mechanics of how these bridges within a community are built, we do know that they’re an incredibly powerful part of why people value public libraries.

What is social capital?

The most well-known work on social capital came from Robert Putnam in the 1990s in his books Making Democracy Work and Bowling Alone. In Making Democracy Work, Putnam compares Italian regions with similar political institutions, but different outcomes in the effectiveness of government. Putnam argues that the difference is a result of each region’s unique historical and social context, with some areas having greater levels of community trust—social capital—than others.

Social capital helps society and government function correctly. When people trust that others will put similar effort to themselves into building society, rather than just free riding off others’ effort, they are more likely to put in effort themselves. When people do not have that trust, they are more likely to look out for their own individual interest, which can sometimes go against the collective interest.

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How libraries create social capital

Libraries are one of the most tangible manifestations of civic engagement, a place that represents a social and community investment in learning and shared culture. In the past decade, there has been an increase in research on how libraries contribute to social capital in their communities. In particular, libraries create social capital through a mechanism known as bridging. This is when people in different subgroups within a community are brought together.  READ MORE >>

Picture Books and Primary Sources :: Tom Bober

@CaptainLibrary

Picture Books and Primary Sources

Knowledge Quest AASL

Tom Bober is a school librarian at RM Captain Elementary, 2018 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, former Teacher in Residence at the Library of Congress, and author of the upcoming book Elementary Educator's Guide to Primary Sources: Strategies for Teaching. He writes the Picture Books and Primary Sources posts for AASL’s KQ blog and has written articles for several publications. Tom also presents at conferences, runs workshops, and gives webinars to promote the use primary sources in student learning. He began his career as an elementary classroom teacher, was also an educational technologist, and has spent the last nine years as a school librarian.  READ MORE >>

Flashcards :: Amazingly Simple Technique Lets You Learn Anything in 5 Minutes via Inc

The Ultimate List
Best DIY Flashcard Apps
(2018)

This Amazingly Simple Technique Lets You Learn Anything in 5 Minutes and Remember It Forever

Inc: 2.13.2018 by Minda Zetlin

If you're struggling to master a complex topic, a new language, or anything else that seems to strain your brain, Michael Nielsen has a suggestion for you: Try flashcards. Nielsen is a scientist and a research fellow at Y Combinator, and he's written books on such brain-straining topics as quantum computing and neural networks.

In a recent series of tweets, he explains his process and why he finds flashcards so useful. Silicon Valley insiders have been passing his advice along and asking for details about how he does it.

Nielsen says he first started memorizing flash cards (using an app called Anki, although there are lots of options) two years ago. Since then, he's memorized more than 9,000 flashcards, reviewing them while doing things like standing in line for coffee or riding in transit. He says he spends a total of about 20 minutes a day reviewing flashcards.

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Nielsen has a simple rule: If learning something could save him five minutes in the future, then he'll put whatever it is onto flashcards because it takes less than five minutes total to learn things this way.

1. Spaced repetition

This is what Nielsen sees as the reason for his success. Research has long shown that we absorb information better when it's repeated, but also when we have time to rest and reflect between study or practice times.  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Lee MA :: Richmond VA :: Kingsport TN

Literacy: Spanning the US

@litnetsb

Otis Resident Among 16 Immigrants Granted Citizenship

Berkshire Edge: 9.22.2019 by Lenore Sundberg

Citizenship and voting – hallmarks of our democracy — matter deeply to Otis resident Viktoria Seavey, a native of Hungary, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Friday, September 20, in a ceremony held at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.

I recently spoke to Viktoria about her citizenship journey and she told me that she “can’t wait to register to vote.”

The Literacy Network of South Berkshire (LitNet) had just announced the Matthew and Hannah Keator Family Scholarship for New Americans when Viktoria immediately applied. She was elated to get some financial help which enabled her to start the process of filling out the application for citizenship.  READ MORE >>

@TheREADCenter

If You Want To Help A Child In Need, Teach An Adult To Read

Richmond Times-Dispatch: 9.22.2019 by Karen La Forge

 “I am a middle-aged woman who struggled with reading and writing for a long time. Although I am a high school graduate, I still have trouble reading. I did not understand how important those two things were until later in life. When I heard about the READ Center I decided to attend. “It has been ten years and I am still attending the READ Center. It has helped me appreciate the value of reading. Without the READ Center I don’t think I would have been able to help my kids get through school. I helped them with tools I’ve learned like basics of phonics, including vowels and sounding out words, breaking down long words and comprehension skills. My kids graduated in the top five of their classes. My daughter has graduated from college with a degree in biology. It did not stop with my own kids. I work with my nieces and nephews too. Two of them have now graduated from college too.” — READ Center Student Johanna

If you want to help children do better in school, invest in adult literacy. The single greatest predictor of children’s educational success is the literacy level of their parents.

In the U.S., more than 36 million adults cannot read or do math at a third-grade level. In Richmond, about 16% of adults lack basic literacy skills while in Henrico County, it’s about 9% and in Chesterfield County, it’s about 8%. This means more than 73,000 adults in our community struggle every day, and their children struggle with them.  READ MORE >>

@LiteracyKPT

Literacy Council of Kingsport Works To Address Adult Literacy Crisis

Times News: 9.23.2019 by Dawn Blake

Today begins the annual Adult Education and Family Literacy Week to remind us all that basic reading, writing, math and technology skills remain an elusive target for 36 million adults nationwide, including more than 12 percent of adults in our community.

Often these adults are our coworkers, relatives, friends and neighbors who have managed to mask the inability to read for years. Literacy Council of Kingsport is part of a national network of organizations that work every minute of every day to end the adult literacy crisis.

According to ProLiteracy, the leading membership organization advancing the cause of adult literacy and basic education in the nation, more than 36 million adults in the United States lack the most basic literacy skills, and 15 percent of Americans without a diploma don’t have jobs. ProLiteracy provides more than 1,100 community-based literacy organizations, including Literacy Council of Kingsport, with tools to help educate adult learners and help them meet the demands of today’s workforce.

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“About one in six adults is still not literate and approximately 67.4 million school-aged children are not enrolled in school,” said Dawn Blake, executive director of Literacy Council of Kingsport. “Here, in Sullivan County,12.5 percent of adults, ages 18-24, and 14.2 percent of adults, ages 25 and older, have less than a high school education. Research shows that the difference between those with and those without a high school diploma is about $10,000 annually.”  READ MORE >>