Literacy: Spanning North America
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@NWTLiteracy
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Notes From The Trail: Back To Basics
On Education
NNSL:
2.26.2020 by Nancy Vail
At a volunteer orientation late
last year, I learned that an estimated one in four adults in Yellowknife is
functionally illiterate. That means that 4,000 adults here cannot read this
newspaper.
That they are only able to read
and write at a grade four level is not a reflection on them but an education
system that failed them miserably.
Last year, a consulting firm
out of Winnipeg came up with the wild idea of turning Aurora College into an
institution that would attract students from around the world thus turning the
college into a money maker rather than the sinking ship it is. But why don’t we
start with the basics which emphasizes educating Northerners, which was the
original intent of the college anyway.
It is no wonder that the
north’s rate of illiteracy is so high considering that residential schools were
allowed to flourish here for so long and that most educators only come North
for a year or two to gain experience. They do not put in the long term
commitment necessary for people especially in the communities to help First
Nations trust a system that has caused so much inter-generational trauma. There
is little doubt that this can be a challenge.
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Further, with the dismal rate of
adult literacy in Yellowknife where there should be an abundance of resources,
it is obvious that more effort is needed to increase availability to basic
education here, too.
Currently, tutoring services
are available through the NWT Literacy
Council, Aurora
College, Native Women’s Centre
and Tree of Peace but the number of
people they are able to help is limited as determined by staffing numbers,
government funding and time required to train and work with volunteers. READ MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability
formulas:
Grade Level: 14
Reading Level: difficult to
read.
Reader's Age: 21-22 yrs. Old
(college level)
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When She Moved To The US, She Couldn’t
Hold A Conversation In English. Now, She’s On Her Way To Be A Nurse
WY
Daily: 3.01.2020 by Lucretia Cunningham
When Alma Manzano got the
request from Lafayette High School to give a presentation on hand hygiene and
flu prevention, she’d stop in her tracks astounded.
After she moved to the U.S.
from El Salvador more than 20 years ago, Manzano said she knew a few words but
wasn’t able to carry on a conversation in English, and was even embarrassed to
go out shopping or socialize because of it.
She could hardly imagine making
a professional presentation to an audience…in English.
But she did “PowerPoint and
everything,” she said.
After going through
post-secondary education in El Salvador to become an accountant, Manzano said
after she arrived in the states and realized her certifications nor education
would transfer over, she decided to work toward a career she’d always been
interested in.
Manzano has been working as a
certified nursing assistant at Riverside Doctors’ Hospital Williamsburg for
nearly 10 years and has set her sights on becoming a registered nurse.
“I love what I do and I enjoy
helping people and making them happy,” she said. “Sometimes I lay down and I
think about all the different [patients] during the day and I’m learning a lot
from them — it’s made me strong.”
The patients also hold Manzano
in high revere, nominating her to be honored as one of Riverside’s “Champions
of Caring” for 2019 though Manzano said the road to happiness wasn’t easy.
She described immigrating to
the U.S. as a leap of faith, coming over without a specific goal in mind but knowing
for the sake of her safety, “I have to move somewhere because I can’t be here
anymore.”
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“It’s interesting in this work
that [you see] some people like Alma who have never studied English in school
but they learn it by living and working in the community. So her oral skills
are a lot strong than her reading and writing skills,” said Mary Lynch, human
services coordinator at Literacy for
Life.
Lynch added the nonprofit’s
staff also sees the opposite, or people who have studied English in their
native countries but then come to the U.S. and struggle to interact in
conversations while they’re able to read and write in English.
Literacy for Life, formerly the
“Adult Skills Program,” is an agency of United Way providing adults free
one-on-one and small group tutoring in reading, writing, and math skills as
well as instruction in English for speakers of other languages, according to
the website.
Nearly 800 “learners” went
through the program in 2019 and more than 400 (including Manzano) are enrolled
now, Lynch said. READ
MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability
formulas:
Grade Level: 10
Reading Level: standard /
average.
Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. Old
(Ninth to Tenth graders)
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Escondido Public Library –
Scrabblethon; Literacy
Literacy For
All: 2.27.2020 with Jose Cruz
From the Escondido Public Library,
we are joined by Sheila Rodriguez, Assistant Literacy Coordinator, Cynthia
Chisum, President of the Friends of the Escondido Public Library, and Yvonne
Brett, Treasurer for the Friends group. We learn more about the Escondido
community and the services and programs offered by the library to support library
patrons. The adult literacy
program is highlighted. Also highlighted is the Scrabblethon, recognized
as the largest Scrabble competition in the region. The event is now in its 16th
year and will take place on Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Escondido. LISTEN 29:57
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