: Re: [AAACE-NLA]HOUSE PASSES H.R. 1261

Sat May 10 19:25:33 EDT 2003

Colleagues:

I say amen to what Eileen states.  The need now, more than ever is for
significant institutions of adult literacy to chart out an alternative
course, lest the research, scholarship, and practice that has grounded
the field for well over a decade fall into utter oblivion under the
politically laden rubric, "evidence-based" educational research.  What a
crock that title is in seeking to colonize the field of educational
scholarship with its neo-conservative intellectual fundamentalism.  No
self-respecting institution of higher learning, especially from New
England, should denigrate itself by adopting that terminology, as it is
more of a rhetoric of political ideology than it is of serious scholarly
investigation.  That does not mean ignore the studies that are being
promoted and created by the US Department of Education, but it does
require a critical interface that becomes particularly problematic when
embracing the very language of their rhetoric.

Something else is needed and its time for the field to stand up for
itself against the anti-intellectual and anti adult literacy onslaught of
the Bush-Paige administration.

Who besides the few of us who have spoken, will step up to the plate?

I'm still a moderate, but in very radical clothing these days--radical in
the sense of radically opposed to ideological zealots of the political
and educational Right who have no intention of compromising or seeking
middle ground except as an expedient political strategy where needed.

BTW, where is the progressive adult literacy education these days?  Will
the community stand up for itself?  Collectively we have better ideas by
far.  Politically we're getting trounced.   There are 1000 reasons not to
participate in serious public discussion (and I know there's many
formats, but these lists are the most immediate and nationally visible),
and only a few reasons to, but those few reasons are the more compelling
at this time, I maintain.

 What is happening in the Bush administration is an incredible act of
constructvism, wherein they are taking the tools of political power to
refashion the culture along the axis of their skewed and narrow world
view.  Is it the intention of the progressive adult literacy community to
roll over and play dead?  Inquiring minds want to know.  Sorry for
speaking so bluntly.  The times demand it, don't you think?

George Demetrion
sophocles5 at juno.com

--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert at hotmail.com>
To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA]HOUSE PASSES H.R. 1261
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 14:35:56 +0000
Message-ID: <Sea2-F50EI2rV4ZneAz00017ed6 at hotmail.com>

Considering the anti-democratic nature of recent developments around
NIFL, I 
have to wonder if $30,000 more is good news. Will it be used to pay for 
electronic surveillance and censorship, or to add to the salary of a NIFL

director whose mission is to control discourse and intimidate anyone who 
does not agree with him? More money, if used for the activities this 
administration promotes, is not necessarily a good thing.

And if the situation gets to where states are only allowed to do phonics 
instruction (that's what they mean by scientific or research-based
reading 
instruction) with federal money, and federal funding drives state 
activities, then pursuing the goal of $1 billion for state grants is
asking 
for more money to limit effectiveness to those whose reading difficulty 
coincides with the prescribed cure. Maybe I'm being alarmist, but I think

it's important to push back on the definitions and challenge the
undermining 
of democracy in the name of "rights" to read, "scientific" instruction, 
"research" based reading instruction, etc. The rhetoric is the opposite
of 
the reality when it comes to Bush administration activities, and I don't 
think we do adult learners any service by ignoring that in favor of just 
pushing for more money.

Eileen

From: Thomas Sticht <tsticht at znet.com>
Reply-To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
To: <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Subject: [AAACE-NLA]HOUSE PASSES H.R. 1261
Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 11:29:46 -0700 (PDT)

As David Rosen has noted, the House of Representatives has passed HR 1261
and sent it on to the Senate. For me, the good news is that the House
revised the Workforce Investment Act and renamed it the "Workforce
Reinvestment and Adult Education Act of 2003.’’ This places Adult
Education on more of a par with workforce development, although I would
have been happier with the title the "Adult Education and Workforce
Reinvestment Act of 2003." But I'm willing to take the present title as a
small recovery of the importance of the  original Adult Education Act of
1966 with attention to the education of adults not only to improve their
opportunities in the workforce, but also for purposes of general
education
for a wide array of needs beyond employment.

Another piece of good news is that the House supported the continued
existence of the NIFL in the new act in what is called by the short title
of the "National Institute for Literacy Establishment Act." The purpose
of
the new NIFL has, on the one hand, been narrowed to focus on reading and
its legislated purpose is to "provide national leadership in promoting
reading research, reading instruction, and professional development in
reading based on scientifically based research."

On the other hand, the new legislation has broadened the NIFL's scope
beyond a focus on adult literacy to consider reading achievement across
the life span and its purpose includes "disseminating widely information
on scientifically based reading research pertaining to children, youth,
and adults."

The final good news that I find in the new act is that it includes a bit
more funding (about $30 thousand) for the NIFL than requested by the Bush
Administration.

The major bad news as far as I am concerned is that the House did not
provide more funding for the state grants beyond the $584.3 million that
the Bush Administration requested. This is well below the $1 billion goal
that the National Literacy Summit has set for the state grants. However,
the Summit document set the year 2010 as the year for achieving $1
billion
for the state grants, so there is still time to work to achieve that
goal.
While I personally think that the goal of $1 billion for the state grants
is way too low to make much of a meaningful impact on the adult education
and literacy system of the United States, either now or by 2010, I think
that it is better to have $1 billion than $584.3 million.

I understand that many advocates have their particular concerns and wish
to advocate for them. As for me,  I think the primary advocacy efforts
should be aimed at advancing the National Literacy Summit's goal of
getting the Senate to increase the appropriations for the state grants
program for the Adult Education and Literacy System of the United States.

Tom Sticht
Tsticht at aznet.net

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--------- End forwarded message ----------

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