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The tension between learning and earning

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"In a nation whose education system is among the most unequal in the industrialized world, where race and geography play an outsize role in determining one’s path to success, many Americans are being failed twice: first, by public schools that lack qualified teachers, resources for students with disabilities and adequate reading instruction; and next, by the backup system intended to catch those failed by the first."
ProPublica

In December 2022, ProPublica published an article about the ongoing literacy crisis in the United States. This blog post is one of a series of reflections on that article.

Folks with low literacy usually don’t need someone to point that out to them. They’re usually crucially aware of their lack of skills – and what that lack is stopping them from achieving.

But the devil’s always in the details. Someone might know they need to take a class – but how much will that class cost? How far away is it, and how much will they pay in gas or bus fares to get to and from the class?

Most crucially of all – how does a low-income person fit classes into their week?

ProPublica reporters heard time and again that in communities stricken with low literacy, programs had to close sites because not enough students had enrolled. Meanwhile, more than two dozen adults in these hot spots told us that a lack of transportation or child care or busy work schedules prohibited them from attending classes.
ProPublica

How would you manage that Catch-22? You can’t afford not to work – but all you can get is a minimum-wage position with an inflexible schedule. Maybe you need a second job in order to make rent. Maybe it’s an exhausting job where you’re on your feet all day. And family and home responsibilities like making sure kids do homework, caring for babies or elderly relatives, cooking, cleaning, and laundry don’t take a break.

How do we solve the tension between learning, and earning?

The article highlighted Skills for Life, a Detroit program that provides paid time to learn alongside a city job. It was the turning point for Steve Binion, whose story is outlined in the article. And once someone’s broken the dead-end link of low literacy and low pay, their prospects improve dramatically – along with those of their family and the community.

What can we learn – and emulate – from these programs that work?

This blog post is a reflection on the ProPublica article, “A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?” Find the previous installment here.

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When $9 is far from enough

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"In a nation whose education system is among the most unequal in the industrialized world, where race and geography play an outsize role in determining one’s path to success, many Americans are being failed twice: first, by public schools that lack qualified teachers, resources for students with disabilities and adequate reading instruction; and next, by the backup system intended to catch those failed by the first."
ProPublica

In December 2022, ProPublica published an article about the ongoing literacy crisis in the United States. This blog post is the first in a series of reflections on that article.

$9. That’s how much the state of Texas currently allocates for adult education, per eligible student.

What can you buy with $9 these days? That won’t even get you two dozen eggs in most grocery stores. What do we think it can realistically do for the almost 5 million Texas adults in need of literacy help?

Across the United States, only around 3% of the adults who need literacy help are getting it – a figure that holds true for Texas as well. And despite our best efforts across the literacy field – and the valiant intervention of nonprofits, libraries, and other programs to help fill the gap – that number hasn’t changed in any meaningful way in decades.

While we try to figure out what’s to be done, people, families, communities, counties, states, and the entire nation are all suffering. 

"In other wealthy countries, adults with limited education who were born into families with little history of schooling are twice as likely to surpass their parents’ literacy skills. Here, one’s destiny is uniquely entrenched... If there were local programs that could teach adults the reading skills they never got, those parents could help educate their kids and get better jobs... The entire county would benefit."
ProPublica

It’s a sobering picture.

Shouldn’t every person in America have the opportunity to learn to read?

This blog post is a reflection on the ProPublica article, “A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?” Look for more blog posts on this topic in coming weeks.

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Celebrating the Caregivers

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It’s National Family Literacy Month and we’re celebrating the caregivers. A child’s “important adults” are crucial to whether they develop a love of learning and reading, cultivate their curiosity, and feel safe enough to learn and progress in school. 

Important adults can be almost anyone! Most often it’s parents, but grandparents, aunties, uncles, older siblings, cousins, godparents, trusted neighbors, and many more, can also fit this role. A love of reading instilled early can last a lifetime and has benefits far beyond the family – and any one of us can help do this for a child.

So how can you celebrate and promote family literacy? Find some ideas below.

1. Make books easy to access.

Start a tradition of gifting books to children in your life every November – and maybe more often! Donate gently used and outgrown books to a Little Free Library near you; support a book drive in your local community (or even start one!); see if a family you love is eligible for free books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library or Read Conmigo.

2. Prioritize and model reading.

If you have young children in your close family, set aside regular time for reading aloud with them. If you’re not a parent, see if this could become a cherished tradition for young nieces, nephews, cousins, or family friends – maybe you could establish a regular time to read to kids in your family and give their regular caregivers a break!

And make sure kids see you reading – books, not your phone…

3. Make reading special.

Do you have space to create a book nook? Even a small corner can be dressed up with a beanbag chair, a fluffy rug, and a small shelf. Maybe add a lamp or a string of lights to make it cozy and fun!

Set aside time for reading aloud – even if you only have a short amount of time – and when kids are old enough, set aside time for quiet reading on their own in a comfy space.

4. Make regular visits to your local library.

Find your local library and visit it OFTEN! Libraries have so much more than books (though of course the books are amazing) – many have reading kits, with toys and crafts that accompany books, and most have fabulous activity calendars. 

“When I got my library card, that was when my life began.”
Rita Mae Brown
Author

However you choose to do it, may November be a month of reading celebration for you and your family!

More resources:

Tips and resources for family literacy from the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation

Resources for caregivers in Spanish

Calendar: 30 Days of Learning Together from the National Center for Families Learning

Resources for families from Reading Partners

Free resources from the National Center for Families Learning

Parent and community resources from Raising Readers

Resources for caregivers from Reading Rockets

Dial A Story – stories in 16 languages from Toronto Public Library

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The gift of simplicity

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“The point of communication is to be understood.”

That’s – well, it’s kinda obvious, right? What else would communication be about?!

And yet how often do we explicitly learn to craft our messages for better understanding – and even more crucially, to vary the format and even the content when necessary?

All of us appreciate not being confused. Knowing that, some of the first focused work on making communications clearer came from the legal and health fields. There’s now plainlanguage.gov, the Clear Communication Index from the CDC, and even a plain language contracts project right here in Texas. And we all appreciate their work, every time we have to read a medical or legal document or form and we actually know what it said when we get to the end.

But those of us who work in adult and family literacy know that’s not always enough.

What about when the audience is primarily people who don’t speak English as a native language? Or primarily people who find reading challenging? And what about when the audience is people who are in both groups at the same time?

One of the best gifts we can give the adult learners in our classes is the gift of simplicity. And plain language that’s adequate for native English speakers, and those who read fluently, won’t always cut it for people with greater barriers.

So how can you make plain language – even plainer? What resources are out there to help you be more conscious of both your spoken and written communication – and to truly consider adults with low literacy?

Thankfully, there are many more resources than there used to be.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) used to be one of the few places you could find ANY plain language material – and their resources are still very good! There’s also Communicate Health, including their wonderful plain language newsletter, We Heart Health Literacy.

And in recent years, the clear communication banner has been taken up by more and more literacy folks. Two of our favorites:

We also invite you to bookmark the page on Plain Language here on this website, and return to it as you have need.

But ultimately? The single best thing you can bring to your plain language journey – whether you’re just starting or you’ve been on this road for a while – is intentionality.

When we see our conscious use of plainer language as a way to break down barriers, to welcome newcomers, to put people at their ease, to make sure people have information that they need – then we’re already halfway there.

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Literacy TRANSFORMS

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So often – including right here on this website – we talk about adult and family literacy in terms of deficit.

“Adults without a high school diploma struggle to find employment.”

“The 43% of Americans who read at or below basic level are more likely to live in poverty.”

“Families where the caregivers are at or below the basic level of literacy are less likely to be able to help children with homework, and perpetuate the cycle of low literacy.”

Literacy Transforms Texas white text on yellow

“Low-literate adults are more likely to have health issues, less likely to eat nutritious food, and more likely to be incarcerated.”

All of the above are true, but none of this focuses on the possibilities. Just think of Texas – of America – of the world – if everyone was fully literate.

More people in high-paying jobs, with more money both for necessities and as disposable wealth to spend in their local communities.

Kids lifted out of poverty and families on their way to creating generational wealth and ongoing prosperity.

Higher self-esteem for millions of people, and shame around learning left behind.

Improved critical thinking and analytical skills, applied from everything to workplace problem-solving to science literacy to mortgage choices.

Expanded vocabulary and conversational skills.

Imagine living in a society where ALL your neighbors could flourish. It would be a society with less crime, greater health, more life satisfaction, more volunteerism. ALL of these things are linked to literacy and all of them are achievable.

Throughout September, we’re focusing on what’s possible when we prioritize literacy. Please join us! You can:

Further reading on this topic, and the sources of some of the info above:

Why We Should Invest in Getting More Kids to Read – And How to Do It

5 Reasons Reading is So Important for Student Success

The Importance of Adult Literacy

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Don’t forget the families!

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Every year, a week is set aside for special focus on adult education. We celebrate the excellent work that continues around the nation – even in the second year of a global pandemic – and the successes that are possible due to all that work. And those successes are many! 

In many states, including Texas, adult education is linked firmly to employment: The Texas Workforce Commission funds Adult Education & Literacy programs across the state, with the goal of helping adults get the skills they need to be successful in the workplace, earn a high school equivalency, or enter college or career training.

Because of that link between education and the workforce, many of the success we’ll be celebrating during this week focus on the workplace. And why not? After all, adults who increase their literacy earn higher pay, get promoted more often, and have better job security. Furthermore, they report raised confidence and self-esteem, and are more likely to develop leadership skills. All of this results in more teamwork, quicker adoption of new technologies, and an overall higher degree of productivity.

All these things are excellent. They’re worth celebrating, right? Yes, absolutely.

But there’s another half to this week we’re celebrating. It’s not just Adult Education Week, it’s also Family Literacy Week. And in our eagerness to celebrate education success, sometimes families can be overlooked. Let’s not forget the families!

All the education and workplace success in the world loses momentum quickly if the next generation is lagging in school or not developing a love of reading and of learning. Teachers do an amazing job, but they can only do so much – the single biggest indicator of a child’s literacy level is the literacy level of their primary caregiver, usually their mom, sometimes dad, and sometimes a grandparent or other adult carer. 

For those caregivers to invest quality time in their kids and their families, they need not only skills, they also need resources; they need books; they need ideas – and they need time (time when they’re not exhausted). Time to be creative, to be curious, and to simply have fun with reading and with learning.

So this Adult Education and Family Literacy Week (September 19 – September 25, 2021), let’s make sure not to forget the families. And in our advocacy and messaging this week, let’s highlight the value to our society in helping caregivers prioritize reading and learning with their kids.

Happy AEFL Week!

father and son reading

Can we stay in touch? There’s so much to do. And our efforts will be richer and more effective if you’re part of them.

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Sources for information in blog post:

Literacy, Employment and Youth with Learning Disabilities: Aligning Workforce Development Policies and Programs, National Institute for Literacy, 2010

Adult Literacy Facts, ProLiteracy

Registration now open for a Literacy Symposium unlike any other

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DFW Symposium - Poverty & Education

Guest blog post by Wes Young, MLS, Executive Director, Tarrant Literacy Coalition

The effects of the ongoing pandemic have brought many deficiencies into sharp focus.

The people who have been most severely affected by the pandemic tend to be those we work with in adult education classrooms across our community; lost jobs due to layoffs, decreased income, health scares and related concerns – all are new realities that our adult learners AND their families experience. 

On top of the daily responsibilities our learners face in everyday life, these new burdens strain capabilities and threaten personal growth through education.

Those who work with learners in any capacity do not always know the whole story or see the complete picture. We see a student drop out of class, and we think, “Well, there goes another one,” but the reality is that educators could do more to save that student with a little more understanding. 

The old-as-time expression ‘walk a mile in my shoes’ may seem like a cliché, but it is an essential part of reaching learners where they are; Tarrant Literacy Coalition is using this year’s DFW Literacy Symposium as a way into the lives of our learners.

Join us for the in-person 2021 DFW Literacy Symposium: Poverty and Education – a professional development experience unlike any you have ever participated in. 

The symposium will be held: 

Friday, October 8, 2021
7:00am to 5:00pm

Venue: George W. Hawkes Downtown Library and the Arlington City Council Chambers, two buildings on the same block. 

Registrant check-in will open at 6:30am in the Council Chambers building, with the day officially beginning at 7:00am. Our general session speaker will feature Dr. Horacio Sanchez, author and neuroscientist, presenting the session “Overcoming the Impact of Poverty on the Brain.”

Following the opening session, attendees will be split into two groups, and each will participate in the two remaining sessions for the day. One is a fabulous session presented by Theresa Sands of TCALL, “Beyond Poverty & Trauma with Adult Literacy.” The other session is a full-scale poverty simulation presented by ACH Child and Family Services. After lunch, the two groups will attend the session they did not participate in during the first half of the day. 

A simulation like this has not been offered to educators in DFW in many years, and it is something you DO NOT want to miss.

Registration for the event is now open. Read more about this one-of-a-kind event and register for the Symposium FOR FREE.

Film Director Richard Eyre once said, “Change begins with understanding, and understanding begins by identifying oneself with another person: in a word, empathy.” 

Tarrant Literacy Coalition and our sponsors hope that you will join us for an event sure to change your perspective and increase your empathy.

Professional Development credit (8.5 hours) is available.
Lunch will be provided.
Parking instructions can be found here.

National Literacy Month 2021

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Literacy Month 2021

Literacy transforms Texas.

How often have you seen “the literacy problem” framed in terms of doom and gloom? Lost wages, lost opportunities, lost tax dollars, lost hope. It’s true that low literacy damages lives and potential in countless ways. But why not look at it through a different lens?

Helping an adult increase their literacy, even modestly, can have a positive ripple effect through their life, the lives of their children and family members, and on out into society. An adult who can read fluently and well is more confident. They’re more likely to understand forms, paperwork, and medication labels. They’re able to get a job more easily, move up in that job, and need less financial aid. 

An adult in a parenting role – whether a parent, a grandparent, or another adult important in a child’s life – who can speak English fluently and read well is more likely to be involved in that child’s education. They can read the notes sent home from school and participate confidently at parent-teacher nights. They make reading aloud a regular practice and children grow up with a love for books, curious minds, and valuing education.

And raising literacy scores is a dynamic cash injection for the economy. By some counts, the impact could be as much as $2 trillion every single year.

So, during September – National Literacy Month – let’s celebrate the power of literacy. It can transform lives, whole communities, and this nation. And then let’s continue our work.

Opportunities for you to make a difference this month:

And of course literacy work never stops – even after September ends, there are ways to stay involved:

Literacy transforms Texas. And you’re part of that transformation. Thank you for your efforts!

Can we stay in touch? There’s so much to do. And our efforts will be richer and more effective if you’re part of them.

Sign up for our newsletter here.

Add your voice to our socials on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Sources for information in blog post:

Low Literacy Levels Among U.S. Adults Could Be Costing The Economy $2.2 Trillion A Year, Forbes, September 9, 2020

Fast Facts on Adult Literacy, National Center for Education Statistics

Family Ties to Literacy

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Who was your first teacher? For most of us, it was our parents or caregivers. 

Who was your favorite teacher? For most of us, it was someone who shared their passion in a way that we not only understood, but connected with us. 

Someone who had resources, training, and experience that many parents don’t. We know that in Texas alone, 90,000 citizens lack basic literacy and therefore the skills they need to encourage literacy in their families. 

Albert Einstein (we believe) once said that “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.” As we educate parents, aunts, uncles, and other caregivers who are part of family units, they are in turn passing on what they’ve learned. Since we’re teaching  teachers, why not get the whole family involved? 

While reading is fundamental, literacy turns this skill into a tool we can use to build the life, career, and relationships that we desire. When used correctly, this tool not only has a ripple effect on those around us, but also on the generations to come. As an educator, and especially as a parent, we are preparing our students and children to be better citizens, access more economic opportunities, achieve upward mobility, and have a greater impact socially. They, in turn, do the same for their children. 

Family literacy programs take that even further, providing specific and specialized knowledge. What kinds of foods make up a balanced diet and healthier bodies? Which activities do bodies need to remain healthy? What choices do we have when dealing with sickness or injuries? What’s the best way to pay for that health care? 

Learning basic literacy may help answer these questions, but it’s not guaranteed. Adult learners need literacy programs designed with this in mind. Engaging the entire family in literacy activities can help educate and motivate adult learners to create a culture of literacy at home.

This holistic, family-centered approach is based on the simple reality we began with: the parent is the child’s first teacher. Helping them be the best teacher that they can be helps them advocate for their child academically, emotionally, and in other ways they need to succeed. 

What better motivation could a parent or caregiver ask for?

On August 2-4, speaker Dr. Ida Acuña-Garza dives deeper into this subject in “Family Ties to Literacy”. This session is part of the 2021 Literacy Texas Annual Conference, which explores the interconnected issues of adult literacy, early childhood education, and immigration. Her session will discuss strategies for engaging the whole family in literacy and try out some hands-on activities. You’ll walk out with a Family Literacy Festival Planning Guide and greater confidence to pull off a family literacy event that’s fun, engaging, and successful.

Visit https://www.literacytexas.org/calendar/2021-literacy-texas-annual-conference/ to register and learn about the other speakers and sessions offered at this extraordinary event.

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