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The Heart of Learning: Family Literacy for a Brighter Tomorrow

by

Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker

Author: Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker, Literacy Texas Executive Director

When I have the opportunity to talk with adult learners, I always ask about their “why.” They usually tell me it’s so that they can provide a better life for their children. These men and women are putting in hard work to forge a new pathway for the next generation. I understand that all too well.

During my senior year of high school, I took two dual credit classes at a local community college. The success I found that semester gave me the confidence I needed to believe that maybe I was capable of earning a degree. Maybe my career options did not have to be limited by unstable life circumstances, and maybe my future children would not face the same challenges generational poverty brought my way. Those two simple classes provided the foundation I needed to ultimately earn three degrees, build a beautiful career in education, and provide a stable life that has allowed my children to have opportunities I never imagined.

My daughter, Ryan Kate, graduated last spring as one of 19 students from her high school who simultaneously earned a diploma and an associate’s degree from our local community college – the same college where I took those two classes years ago. She transferred 60 credit hours to a four-year university, and at only 17, she was already halfway through a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.

Watching my daughter walk across that stage with so much confidence was not only a pride point for me as her mother, but it also was significant for me as a first-generation college student. I was proud of her, but I was proud of me too. She is my wildest dream come true, and I pray the adult learners we serve get to have a day like that.

In the daily grind of lesson plans, instruction, and assessments, it’s easy to forget the incredible power of adult literacy. We may see the immediate impact of this work when our students reach their goals, but I believe the biggest mark we could ever make will reveal itself long after we have hung up our teacher hats. Our greatest success will come when the children and grandchildren of our current students reap the benefits of their parents’ success. What an honor we have to open the doors for them!

Our theme throughout November is Family Literacy, and we’re focusing on related topics throughout the month. Find general resources here, and plan to join us at Best of Texas: Family Literacy on November 21.

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The Dignity of Knowing What’s Going On

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When you work in adult and family literacy, there are so many reasons to pay more than passing attention to the language you use. By definition, folks participating in our programs and activities are still learning – to speak English; to read and write fluently; maybe both – and how we present information and ideas to them really matters. 

It can be the difference between –
– understanding classroom instructions – or not.
– getting to attend a great event or activity – or missing out.
– finding the right room or person in our building – or going astray.

So language choices matter first of all for basic comprehension.

But close behind is the concept of dignity. And this can be overlooked at first glance, but it’s also crucially important. Even better, it’s a concept we can make natural and largely effortless with a bit of attention and practice.

Why does dignity matter when it comes to understanding?

Because sadly, for people in adult literacy classes, there are already too many places where their dignity has been challenged. For new Americans, there are long lines and Alien Registration numbers and maybe having to have their kid translate for them on parent-teacher evening. The brow-furrowing concentration of a simple shopping visit or the bewilderment of a doctor’s appointment. For English-speakers with low written literacy, there can be the stress and shame of hiding a reading deficit, and the vulnerability of admitting that you can’t complete the form or read the notice or sign the papers – because you can’t read them.

We want our classrooms and our literacy programs to be places of grace – of safety, and relaxation, and yes, of dignity. So taking extra time and making extra effort to make sure our signs, our instructions, our paperwork, our websites, our new student orientation, even what we say on the phone, is as easy to udnerstand as possible – well, all this is a gift. A gift of dignity.

—

The simplest and most straightforward way to make your materials and programs accessible is to make a study of plain language. Literacy Texas has a page on plain language right here on the website, and we’ll be holding an online training session on this topic soon. Stay tuned, and watch our website, newsletter, and socials for more info.

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Making the most of summer

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In a few weeks, schools will dismiss for the summer, and it’s very likely that the temperature in Texas will not be the only thing rising during the coming season. There may also be a rise in the challenges faced by the adult learners in literacy programs who are parents and caregivers of school-aged children.  

At my previous program, I often noticed a drop in attendance over summer months because childcare was a challenge for many of my students. Staying home with their kids sometimes meant they had to take a break from their own goals. Additionally, some parents struggle when children are eating out of the fridge instead of the school cafeteria and household utilities are the highest of the year.   

For this reason, I encourage you to get to know the other non-profits in your community who might be able to serve as a resource for your students in these areas. Sharing local information with your adult learners about food pantries, utility relief programs, and other social services might be the most important education they receive during these summer months.  

Additionally, if you don’t have a family literacy program, it might be something to consider. If the adult learners you serve are not able to attend class regularly with you, they may still get practice by engaging with their children in learning activities over the summer months. This will keep everyone’s reading, math, and language skills moving forward until school resumes in August.

Investing in our families will pay off for Texas a hundredfold!

There are many places to look for resources for families in your community.

Here are just some options:

Texas United Ways

Resources for Families

Food Banks at Feeding Texas

Summer Meal Programs

Texas Cooling Centers

These links are all statewide, but a more specific search on your county, city, or town will turn up even more resources.

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Families: The Heart of Learning

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There’s nothing quite like a family. 

And when it comes to learning, there’s nothing that can replace a family connection.

When children see the trusted adults in their lives being curious, learning, exploring, playing with words and discovery and literacy, it accelerates their own learning. It sets them on a path to school success, to reading for both enjoyment and for knowledge, and to lifelong learning.

There are so many ways to champion literacy for families! Here are snapshots of two Texas programs making a difference.

South Texas Literacy Coalition

The South Texas Literacy Coalition works to enhance and enrich the quality of life in their region through community partnerships that lead to more literate communities.

Key activities:

 

Read more about the work of the South Texas Literacy Coalition here.

Story Square

Story Square works with Houston families to champion family learning, using art and music (and much more!) to build language and literacy skills.

Key activities:

Read more about the work of Story Square here.

November is Family Literacy Month. As the month unfolds, celebrate families of all kinds with us – and the many, many ways they can learn together.

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Reading Changes You

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Every year in September, we celebrate literacy.

So – 

Happy Literacy Month!

As we begin this special month of celebration, there are all kinds of ways for you to get involved:

Complete the Literacy Texas Needs Assessment and help us make sure the upcoming year of training and advocacy gives you what you need. You’ll also be in the running for prizes! Already completed it? Please share with a Texas literacy colleague – we want as many responses as possible!

Celebrate International Literacy Day on September 8, which this year has the theme ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’. 

Dive into Adult Education and Family Literacy Week (September 17 – 23), using quality toolkits and advocacy materials prepared by leading literacy orgs.

Relax with the Texas Great Read book choices for 2023, announced in mid-August by the Texas Center for the Book at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. And if you’re in Houston or nearby, add the 2023 Gulf Coast Reads book to your pile as well, ready for October.

And – the new Literacy Texas grant year starts on September 1, along with our new calendar of training and events. Because literacy transforms Texas! And YOU help make that happen.

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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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“Transforming literacy learning spaces”

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Get ready to celebrate all things LITERACY throughout September!

International Literacy Day is celebrated every year on September 8.
Adult Education and Family Literacy Week is September 18 – 24.
And in the US, we just go ahead and celebrate the whole month as National Literacy Month.

In 2022, the theme of International Literacy Day is “Transforming literacy learning spaces.”

This year’s choice of theme is an invitation to rethink the fundamental importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience, and to ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all.

What are your learning spaces?

You might think first of traditional locations – schools, colleges, classrooms. But look again. You might also see – 

Your living room at home, where you read aloud to your children. Your grandma’s kitchen, where she shows you how to follow a recipe. Your father’s garden, checking seed packets to see how much sun and water each one needs. On the city bus, playing “I Spy” with signs and advertisements.

Almost anywhere can be a literacy learning space. When we see them that way, almost anything is possible.

international literacy day poster 2022
Click on the image above to download your own International Literacy Day poster from the UNESCO website.

Resources for Literacy Month

However you want to get involved this month, there are resources to support you.

Literacy means -

For something quick and easy, print off our “Literacy means – ” graphics (below, or in our July blog post) and use them on your social media or website. If you were at the recent conference, we printed one inside the cover of your program, so you can go find that one and save yourself the printing!

Maybe you can laminate the page, or put it inside a wipe-off pouch – and then you can write in the space using a whiteboard marker, and use the image over and over for different people.

Resources & Toolkits

And there are toolkits and other resources all over the place! Use the buttons below to see what literacy partners and advocates across the country have prepared for you.

2022 aefl week toolkit from proliteracy
2022 aefl week events & resources from coabe
general advocacy toolkit from proliteracy
advocacy resources from the american library association

Use these hashtags when you post on social media this month:

#Literacy22
#AEFLWeek
#AdultEd
#AdultLiteracy
#FamLit
#FamilyLiteracy
#LiteracyTransformsTX

Have a great September!

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Literacy means –

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It’s still July, but we’re looking ahead to September.

Why?

September has multiple opportunities to celebrate all things literacy. It’s National Literacy Month, just for starters, and on September 8 we celebrate International Literacy Day.

And then there’s AEFL Week! Adult Education and Family Literacy Week raises public awareness about both the need for, and value of, adult education and family literacy. Its goal is to increase support for basic education programs for US adults with low literacy, numeracy, and digital skills.

Advocates across the country (that’s all of us!) can use this opportunity to shine a bright, bold spotlight on the benefits of adult education and family literacy, the obstacles to access, and the great work your local programs are doing with adults and families.

And in some great news, a lot of the preparation work has already been done for you:

Find details about actions, events, messaging, and more, on this dedicated AEFL Week page from COABE (the Coalition on Adult Basic Education).

Use this toolkit from ProLiteracy to get prepared with what you want to say and do for literacy in your local community this September.

And keep it local, too! Refresh your mind on Texas literacy facts and stats, download any of the graphics below to use on your social media, and stay tuned for more ideas and suggestions for messaging about literacy in Texas.

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