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Despite these salient characteristics of low-literate adults, adult literacy is (at least
in some quarters) perceived to be a problem in the United States. This perception is
based largely on periodic claims by business and industry leaders, and the occasional
social commentator, that the literacy skills of a sizeable portion of adults in the labor
force are not sufficient to meets the demands of a rapidly-changing, highly-technological,
and information-saturated workplace (Fiske, 1988). The results of the 1993 National
Adult Literacy Survey (Kirsch et al., 1993) also found that nearly half of adults ages 16
and older demonstrated significant problems with some literacy tasks, such as
interpreting a bus schedule or finding information in a brief news magazine article. Giventhe collective power of both anecdotal and empirical evidence of an adult literacy
problem, there are efforts to locate the sources of this problem. For some, particularly
those who are critical of public education, one source is the lack of correct and
effective literacy instruction in school.
Over the past decade or more, educators, literacy researchers, politicians, and the
public have been embroiled in the most recent round of the reading wars, that have
pitted at least two groups of literacy advocates against one another (Coles, 2000; Fletcher
& Lyon, 1998; Foorman, Francis, Fletcher, Schatschneider, & Mehta, 1998; Goodman,
1998). On one side are those who advocate a return to basics in reading, with a focus
on phonics instruction, skill development in word decoding, and phonemic awareness
(Grossen, 1997). On the other side are those who promote the kind of reading instruction
where students are immersed in all aspects of languagereading, speaking, writing, and
listening (Goodman, 1998). This is the whole language method, whereby literacy skills
are said to develop naturally whenever the right environmental conditions exist. More
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Adults who struggle with literacy are likely to have children who will struggle with
literacy.
In 1985, the national report Becoming A Nation of Readers called upon parents to
monitor their childrens progress in school, become involved in school programs,
support homework, buy their children books or take them to libraries, [and] encourage
reading as a free time activity (p. 117). This statement explicitly recognizes the
importance that home and parenting factors have in influencing childrens reading
achievement (Baker, Sher, & Mackler, 1997). Parents serve as literacy role models for
their children long before the children enter school by reading to them, readingthemselves (and thereby demonstrating the importance of reading), and making literacy
materials available to their children (Hiebert, 1981; Teale, 1986). We know, for example,
that young children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and do
better in school (Anglum, Bell, & Roubinek, 1990; Feitelson & Goldstein, 1986;
Goldfield & Snow, 1984). Once children enter school, then parents need to be involved
and to communicate with them (and their teachers) about their schoolwork and activities.
Evidence suggests, however, that whenever parents are unable to model literacy
and reinforce the literacy practices of their children, these children often struggle to
acquire school literacy. Fortunately, even adults whose reading, writing, and math skills
are very poor are usually able to engage in some literacy-related interactions. Several
ethnographic studies have shown these interactions to be adaptive for particular aspects
of literacy development (Heath, 1984; Taylor, 1985; Taylor & Dorsey-Gaines, 1988).
These interactions include behaviors such as asking questions to get specific information,
storytelling, and family discussions of daily events. Thus, we shouldnt assume that
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children whose caregivers cant read, cant read well, or dont like to read, are lacking in
opportunities for literacy (Taylor & Dorsey-Gains, 1988). Some parents may not,
however, recognize the value of these behaviors for promoting their childrens literacy.
Also, the learning opportunities that some children have may not be of sufficient quality
or in line with the literacy experiences they need, or will be exposed to, in school.
Not every child of low-literate parents or caregivers will have literacy problems,
of course. Those parents who value education and learning will do the things necessary to
help their children acquire literacy despite their own lack of literacy and related academic
skills. To the extent possible, teachers need to be aware of, and sensitive to, parentsliteracy difficulties, and offer assistance and support to them whenever possible. For
example, teachers can send home materials that can be understood and used by low
literate adults, such as audiotapes and videos. Teachers can emphasize to parents how
important it is to demonstrate and explain to children how to do things. Schools can also
provide information to parents about local literacy education programs for adults. Family
literacy educators, and school reading specialists, can be a good source of information for
teachers and can help them develop strategies to assist low-literate parents.
These strategies can include not just recommendations to read to their children,
but also brief instruction in how to read to them. That, is, parents may need to learn that
they should direct their childs attention to the story, to ask their child questions about the
story, and to label or describe pictures. Some parents will need help in knowing what
kinds of questions to ask. As Patricia Edwards (1995) and other family literacy educators
have pointed out, teachers should not assume that parents possess this knowledge. It is
interesting to note that there is very little literature advocating that family literacy, early
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childhood, and primary grades educators should collaborate in regards to these literacy
learning strategies (but see Project FLAME; Shanahan, Mulhern, & Rodriguez-Brown,
1995). Despite this, there is some evidence that literacy gains are most robust in those
programs where comprehensive services are offered to parents and children (Rodriguez-
Brown, 1998).
Some recent federal legislation may have the effect of mandating these
comprehensive services for students and parents in the near future. Last week, the U.S.
House of Representatives approved the Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act.
The intent of this legislation is to improve and expand family literacy services by, in part,allowing Even Start Family Literacy programs to serve children older than age 8 if
schools use Title I funds to pay a portion of the costs. Thus, public schools may come to
have a greater direct service role in family literacy. The Senate must, however, approve
the LIFT Act before it can be enacted into law.
Parents with low literacy are less able to help with their childrens school work, get
involved in school activities, and communicate with their childrens teachers.
I remember being astounded, when my oldest child first began school, at the sheer
amount of print information that was sent home from school in his backpack. There were
school newsletters, notes from the teacher, homework assignment books, PTA
announcements, Market Day order forms, notices of upcoming events and cancellations,
head lice alerts from the school nurse, school policies and student rules of conduct, and
quite frequently, homework to be completed. I often think about how distressing and
discouraging it must be for limited-English-proficient parents and other parents who
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It is easy to view uninvolved parents as unconcerned and uncaring. But, aside
from lacking the time to visit their childrens schools, some parents may simply believe
that they lack the skills and knowledge to be of any help. Other parents see teachers as
the experts and are unlikely to get involved in what they see as the teachers roles (Flores,
Taft, & Diaz, 1991). It is critical for teachers to reach out to these parents and to bring
them into the school and classroom in a variety of ways. For example, several years ago,
Luis Moll (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), an educational anthropologist,
conducted a project in which low-literate Spanish-speaking parents were utilized as
cultural resources, sharing funds of knowledge that they possessed about a variety of topics such as auto repair.
A helpful strategy might be to develop closer connections between schools and
neighborhoods through community educators. These persons would be knowledgeable
about both the schools and the communities in which they live and work and could
facilitate activities between parents, schools, teachers, and social services groups. Some
schools, of course, now have family-school liaisons. Their role is to function as a
resource go-between for schools and students who are identified as at risk for
academic failure and whose families are described as in need of school support.
Although there has been little evaluation of the effectiveness of these liaisons, perhaps
their numbers and functions could be increased so that more students and families are
served. The goals of such programs should be to bring parents, students, and teachers
together in mutually-supportive ways that benefit everyone. Teachers can then become
cognizant of parents literacy difficulties, as well as the skills and knowledge that they
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have, and parents can learn how to better support and reinforce teachers instructional
activities.
Adults with low literacy skills are more likely to have difficulty navigating the health
care system, to read and understand medical instructions and, as a consequence, their
childrens health is likely to be affected.
The connection between childrens health and their learning and academic
achievement should be obvious. To maintain their childrens health (as well as their
own), parents need access to health-related information and services. Only recently,however, have health care professionals recognized the problem of low health literacy
among adults. Health literacy is defined as the ability to read and comprehend basic
concepts and tasks necessary to function in the healthcare system . A landmark study of
health literacy conducted in Atlanta and Los Angeles in the mid-1990s found that nearly
half of emergency care patients could not read instructions on prescription medicines and
were unable to explain how to take these medicines. More than one in four adults could
not determine when their follow-up appointment was scheduled by looking at their
appointment slip (Williams, Parker, Baker, Parikh, Pitkin, Coates, & Nurss, 1995).
What these data suggest, of course, is that children of low-literate parents may not
be getting the full benefits of the health care system and, in fact, may often not receive
appropriate care if their parents cant read medical instructions. Therefore, children of
parents with low literacy are more likely to have untreated and/or chronic health
problems, to come to school with illnesses, and to miss more days of school due to illness
or staying at home caring for a sick relative. The problem for teachers is obvious:
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children who come to school ill disrupt instructional time and students who miss school
when they are sick miss valuable time for learning.
The physical and psychological challenges to the health of students in the general
population are numerous, and include chronic illnesses, physical and emotional
disabilities, infectious diseases, teen pregnancy, depression and suicide, child abuse,
substance abuse, and behavioral disorders. Some of these health threats have increased in
recent years among school-aged children and youth (New York State Nurses
Association, 2000). Compounded by parents low literacy, student health is clearly an
issue where parents and schools (and the larger community) need to work together.Fortunately, there are numerous efforts in this regard. More than 75% of schools
have a required course in health education to provide students with the knowledge and
skills they need to adopt healthy lifestyles (National Center for Chronic Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion, 1998). But, what about the parents of these students?
Do these health education courses have any benefits to them? Data from the National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (1998) show that parents
are involved in required health education courses in several ways. Half of all schools
send home to parents health-related educational materials, such newsletters on health
topics. More than four out of 10 schools invite parents to attend health education classes
or health fairs. Fully 25% of schools offer health programs for parents. These are
encouraging data, but they beg the following questions: Are low-literate parents
benefiting from these outreach efforts? What is the readability level of the print materials
that are sent home to parents? How many parents attend health fairs and health education
classes offered in their childrens schools? Teachers and health educators need to develop
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strategies to ensure that parents not only receive these materials and programs, but can
actually use and benefit from them.
Adults who cant read and write well are much less likely than good readers and writers
to vote and participate in other civic activities.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that [t]he only sure reliance for the preservation of our
liberty is to educate and inform the whole mass of the people (1787). Clearly, we have a
long ways to go before we can be assured that all members of our society are
satisfactorily educated and informed about issues of concern to the greater community.Political scientist Benjamin Barber notes that where democracy and education
intersect is the point we call community (1992, p. 225). Low-literate adults appear to be
not full members of this community as they are somewhat less likely to participate in our
democracy. Data from the National Adult Literacy Survey show that only 55% of adults
who scored at the lowest skill level reported having voted in a recent state or national
election. On the other hand, nearly nine out of 10 adults who scored at the highest skill
level reported having done so. Low-literate adults are less likely, therefore, to vote for
school referenda, school board members, and political leaders who are supportive of
public education. (Although, in fairness, it must be pointed out that trends in civic
participation are declining across the board, regardless of literacy ability; Putnam, 2000).
Slightly more than one-third of adults who are in the lowest skill level read the
newspaper every day. One in five report, however, that they never read the paper. Thus,
low literate adults may be less likely to keep up on political events and the social issues
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relevant to education (although other information-gathering avenues may be available to
them, such as TV, radio, and family and social networks).
Marginalized adults dont write letters to the editor of the local newspaper to
express their views, and they arent likely to write their state and congressional
representatives about public education issues. But, of those low-literate adults who do
read the paper, more than 90% read the main news and editorial pages, suggesting that
they are attuned to local and national events that may impact their lives and their
childrens well-being. These events include, of course, discussion and debate on
educational topics, such as teacher pay, high stakes testing, and technology integration.
Adults who have not acquired the literacy skills to function successfully in work, in their
personal lives and families, and in the community, reflect upon the quality of public
education.
It may be an unfair judgment of our public educational system, but this fact
remains: to the extent that students reach adulthood and still lack adequate literacy,
teachers and schools will bear the blame (Kaul, 1993; Kilpatrick, 1983). Many low
literate adults are products (or castoffs) of the public education system. Given the
widespread and deeply entrenched belief that literacy is a set of discrete skills that can be
taught to students, it will remain an expectation that teachers should be able to teach these
skills. It is simply a matter of finding the right mix of instruction, teacher skill, and
student motivation and aptitude, isnt it (Foorman, Fletcher, & Francis, 1998)? Heres a
lengthy quote from a web site advocating phonics instruction:
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Students in a truephonics program do not start out by "reading" but rather by
learning individual letters. Students learn how to recognize and discriminate
among a small, manageable number of symbols. This implicitly teaches the
logical concept of identitystudents learn that there is a symbol "a" and that "a"
can be easily distinguished from "b" or "m" or "x"In well-designed phonics
programs, children are first taught to associate only one sound with a particular
letter. This implicitly teaches the concept of analogyAs students progress
through the letters, they discover that some letters are mirror-images of each other
("b" and "d", for example). Thus they learn the concept of graphic symmetry, andto distinguish symmetrical objects from one another (Ziffer, 2000, n.p.).
Leaving aside the questionable claim implied in the above quote that phonics
instruction helps to impart the skills of logical reasoning, we know that literacy is more
than simply mastering a set of individual skills that can be readily transported from one
situation to another. Other perspectives on literacy have emerged in recent years to
challenge the skills perspective. Some view literacy as tasks, that is, literacy is used to
accomplish specific tasks in everyday life and for work. This approach concentrates on
how literacy is applied to get things done, and suggests that the cognitive processes of
literacy and the knowledge one has about literacy are inseparable components of being
literate. Another view is that literacy consists of practices, which vary across different
settings. So, the literacy tasks (and associated skills) that are essential in one situation
may be irrelevant in another situation.
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It is the practice perspective that can be most useful to teachers who work with
low-literate parents. One especially perceptive view of literacy practices suggests that
adults often spontaneously acquire literacy in response to perceived needs that they have
for literacy in their lives (Reder, 1994). According to Stephen Reder (1994), individuals
often participate in collaborative literacy practices in diverse ways. Some people may be
technologically engaged in that they have proficient reading and writing skills. Others
may be functionally engaged in literacy in that they have specialized knowledge or
expertise within some domain that they can use or share with others, but they lack the
technical skills of reading and writing. A stereotypical example is the shade treemechanic who is functionally illiterate, but can repair any kind of automobile.
Yet other adults may be socially engaged in literacy by participating with those
who are technologically and functionally engaged and by approving and supporting their
practices and activities. Heres a simple example of social engagement in a somewhat
different domain. A small business owner wants to have a web site so that customers can
order products on-line. The business owner lacks the technological knowledge about
writing and reading HTML code. Further, s/he lacks the functional knowledge needed to
create such a web site. S/he can, however, support and encourage the literacy of those
who have the requisite technical and functional knowledge to develop the web site.
When teachers understand the different ways that people engage in literacy, they
are then better equipped to help those parents who lack the technical skills of reading and
writing recognize and appreciate their functional and social literacy engagements.
Parents, in turn, learn how these forms of literacy are beneficial to their children. Two
things are thereby accomplished. First, powerful lines of communication between parents
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and teachers and parents and children are opened in regards to learning, schooling and
achievement. Second, teachers, parents, and students learn to value and to take advantage
of the range of literacy practices that are present in their homes and communities.
What Can Public School Teachers Do to Promote Adult Literacy?
As educators, we cannot ignore the fact that there are millions of adults whose
literacy prevents them from full participation in society. We need to be very careful,
however, in assuming that low literacy causes unemployment, poverty and dependence
on welfare, crime and delinquency, poor health, and lack of interest and involvement incivic affairs. Remember: low literacy often doesnt even cause school failure , as there are
many anecdotes (and empirical data) showing that many high school graduates have
literacy problems. Certainly, there are myriad factors that, in complex patterns of
interaction with one another, contribute to the social problems Ive listed above. On the
other hand, we can assume that literacy can go a long ways toward helping to alleviate
(but probably not eliminate) some of these social and educational ills. Public school
educators must be attuned to and concerned about the conditions of adult literacy because
these largely determine the conditions of youth literacy.
It is not a stunning observation to note that public school teachers are burdened
with many responsibilities and roles, from instructor and caretaker to counselor and to
resource expert. Why should we then expect teachers to address some of the problems
and issues pertinent to adult literacy? Because it is in the best interests of their students
and of themselves to do so. Expecting teachers to tutor or instruct low-literate adults to
improve their literacy skills, however, is neither appropriate or realistic. This is a personal
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decision on the individual teachers part, rather than a professional obligation.
Nonetheless, there are some actions that should be initiated to help teachers deal with
some of the problems they encounter when working with parents who are low-literate.
First, changes are needed in pre-professional teacher training. Undergraduate
teacher education candidates must become more cognizant of social problems, such as
low literacy, chronic unemployment, and poverty, that tend to become invisible during
good economic times, such as those we are currently experiencing. Preservice teachers
should spend a semester in an adult or family literacy internship. Practicing teachers
might also do this as part of their re-certification activity, or as a requirement in a mastersdegree program. The purpose is not, of course, to push these teachers into careers in adult
literacy education. Rather, the goal is to directly acquaint future and current public school
teachers with parents who struggle with literacy, and to give them a first-hand look at
how adults learn literacy and how parents and children negotiate literacy learning. Rarely
do teachers directly witness this from their classrooms. Such internships will also provide
opportunities for public school and adult literacy educators to work together.
Second, we need closer alliances among public schools, adult education agencies,
and social services providers. This might be as simple as having practitioners in each
field talk to one another about what they do. A much greater level of complexity involves
interagency cooperation. For example, in Missouri, Project LIFT is a collaboration of
statewide agencies, public schools and universities, and organizations in adult education,
early childhood education, social services, and volunteer literacy groups that have come
together to strengthen and expand family literacy in our neighboring state.
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Third, classroom teachers and their schools must increase their efforts to bring
parents into schools and classrooms so that these parents can share what they know and
do. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that public elementary
schools do not include parents in school decision-making to a great extent. Only 28
percent of schools with a high poverty concentration, for example, report high parent
attendance at activities such as open houses. Nearly half of all schools indicate that lack
of staff training in working with parents is a significant barrier to parent participation.
Parent involvement can be increased, however. This can be accomplished, at least
in part, through minor modifications in existing programs and activities. For example,when my youngest son was in elementary school, the school sponsored a community
reading night in which parents and other adults came to the school and read stories to
students. By why not also have some parents talking about and demonstrating their skills
and knowledge in different activities and domains? Describing and showing how are
also skills that are essential to literacy. Efforts should be made to include parents and
others who can demonstrate a range of skills and interests, from needlework to dog
grooming to computer repair.
Fourth, secondary education teachers also have an important role to play in adult
literacy. High school teachers, in particular, can create activities and assignments where
they and their students work with and tutor adults in high school equivalency degree
programs. Rather than being an extracurricular service project, such activities could be a
part of the curriculum in, for example, language arts, social studies, or health education.
Political scientist Benjamin Barber (1992) has described a model of democratic education
that is based on community service. Here, community is brought into the school and the
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school is brought into the community. When students become engaged in community
service activities such as literacy tutoring, they learn about the nature of differences
between themselves and others (e.g., literate, versus not literate), and how these
differences impact life and lives in their communities. Abstract problems such as
illiteracy and poverty become concrete, real, and immediate to students.
Until we begin to recognize and acknowledge the very real connections that exist
between public education and adult literacy, none of these suggestions will ever be
considered and adopted, however. Public school educators should worry about adult
literacy, for the reasons Ive described. They cannot, however, solve the problems of adult literacy nor should teachers bear the responsibility for doing so. Educators must
understand what they can do and, working with others in the community and in the
schools, take action to affect changes that benefit parents and their children.
THANK YOU.
For copy of paper : http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~smith/alphadelta.html
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