Literacy: Spanning North America
Literacy
For All, Large And Small
Without
the ability to comprehend the words on the pages of textbooks, tests and other
reading materials, Jill Fletcher kept her head down in high school.
“I
kept quiet and had my hair combed, nice clothes,” she said. “I stayed under the
radar.”
And
she stayed in that literacy struggle. Her mother and sister helped her with
homework assignments and papers she was supposed to write.
“My
mom did everything for me,” she said. “The teacher smiled because she knew I
didn’t write them.”
Her
teacher, who evidently lacked the resources or knowledge to help Fletcher
learn, would let her off the hook.
She
was placed in special-education classes because, growing up in Washington in
the 1970s and ’80s, teachers just didn’t know what else to do. They classified
her as dyslexic.
“In
the ’70s, ’80s, dyslexia was kind of the big flash word. A lot of people who
were struggling readers were thrown into dyslexia,” said Kat Gilmore, director
of the Lakeland Literacy Project. “I’ve worked with adult literacy for seven to
eight years before coming here, and most people were labeled dyslexic when they
weren’t necessarily dyslexic.”
═════════►
Chatham Literacy Sees Avenues For
Growth
In
archery, you must aim your arrow at the target before you release it. Without a
target, you can’t aim your arrow.
Literacy
service organizations have been working to find that target, and in a county
the size and diversity of Chatham, the target isn’t always easy to find.
It’s
tough to hit any unknown target, and with more than 25 organizations in Chatham
County providing some level of literacy services, the target that they are
trying to hit comes from the answers to these basic questions: What are the
needs in the community? Who is meeting these needs? Who are we missing?
With
these questions in mind, Linda Nalty, chairman of the Chatham Literacy Council’s board of
directors, began a research project to find the bullseye.
After
a meeting with provider agencies to discover needs for their clients, and where
their clients go to address literacy needs, a survey was developed.
═════════►
There
were some surprising results.
Newell
said “a high percentage of those interviewed own smart phones, and a high
percentage have access to the Internet, most through phones and many through
libraries. There was a high interest and demonstrated needs for English, and
financial literacy, how to obtain affordable housing, how to get a job,
promotion, or better job.” READ
MORE >>
Raise-a-Reader:
Chilean-Canadian Mother of 10 Gets Needed Literacy Break
For
a large, blended family of 12 with a sole breadwinner, an unexpected health
scare that took Victor Vazquezm out of commission was devastating.
Arancibia,
who was born in Toronto but grew up in Chile, came to Vancouver 15 years as a
young, single mother of three girls — Constanza, Maria and Aranxa — to live
with her parents. She wanted to give her children a better life.
═════════►
Four years ago, Arancibia was
accepted into CFEC’s English class and now she’s in the equivalent of Grade 11.
She’s grateful for the chance not only to learn English, but also to have some
adult interaction without which she would be isolated at home, she says.
But
earlier this year, Vazquez lost his job as a pool-maintenance worker and a few
weeks later had a heart attack and a triple bypass. When the family learned he
would be off work for three to four months, Arancibia was stunned.
═════════►
The
literacy skills of almost half of British Columbians aged 16-65 may make it
difficult for them to understand newspapers, follow instruction manuals, read
health information, fill out a tax return, read a rental agreement or use a
library catalogue, according to Decoda
Literacy Solutions, B.C.’s provincial literacy organization.
And
about half of the province’s population of the same age may have difficulty
calculating interest on a car loan, using information on a graph or determining
medicine dosage, says Decoda, which provides resources, training, funds and
support for community-based literacy programs and initiatives in 400-plus B.C.
communities. READ
MORE >>
Literacy Festival Kicks Off
New Learning Center at Phillips Public Library
A
weekend of fall celebrations will kick-off on Friday night, Oct. 4 in the Phillips Public Library Studio
building with an evening featuring folk singer Jan Benschop at 7 p.m. Admission
is $10.
═════════►
Posts
