[AAACE-NLA] Stop Illiteracy at the Source

[AndresMuro@aol.com]

Hey Tom:

I remember a while back that people where debating the future of NIFL and the orientation of the new NIFL board. My argument for a need to focus in adult literacy was the no child left behind act. 

The single piece of evidence that we have as a predictor of children's success is the educational achievement of the parent. Children tend to achieve education equal to or higher than their parents. The higher the ed. achievement of the parent, the higher the ed achievement of the child. So, I suggested that if the act was sincere in not living any child behind and based on the idea that they will only utilize scientifically proven stuff, they had to educate the parents since this was the only reliable predictor of children's success in existence. Statistically, if all the parents would get a GED, then, predictably, the children will get at least that. So, lets make some meaningful investments in adult literacy, especially in those parents with really low educational achievement. 

Instead, we bombed Iraq, and in El Paso, at least, 26,000 children lost their health insurance. And people said that the war discussion was of topic ;-) 

Andres




In a message dated 10/8/2003 4:32:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time, tsticht at znet.com writes:

> October 8, 2003
> 
> Stopping Adult Illiteracy at the Source
> 
> Tom Sticht
> International Consultant in Adult Education
> 
> Question: Why do we have all these adults who are practically illiterate?
> Why can’t they read?
> 
> Answer: Because the high schools are graduating functional illiterates. So
> we need to fix the high schools so they stop sending functional
> illiterates out into the world.
> 
> Q: Why don’t the high schools teach students to read before they graduate
> them?
> 
> A: Its too late. The middle schools keep sending the high schools students
> who can’t read so the high schools can’t teach the academic subjects they
> need to teach while also teaching students to read. We need to have the
> middle schools stop sending students to high school who can’t read.
> 
> Q: Why don’t the middle schools teach students to read before they send
> them on to high school?
> 
> A: Its too late. The primary grades keep sending the middle schools
> students who can’t read so the middle schools can’t teach the subjects
> they are supposed to teach to prepare the students for high school and
> also teach the kids to read. We need to have the primary schools stop
> sending students to middle school who can’t read.
> 
> Q: Why don’t the primary schools teach students to read before they send
> them on to middle school?
> 
> A: Its too late. Parents keep sending the primary schools children who
> have not been prepared to learn to read at home. We need a pre-school like
> Head Start to prepare children to learn to read so parents can stop
> sending children to primary school who aren’t ready to learn to read.
> 
> Q: Why do so many children have to go to Head Start to get prepared to
> learn to read? Why don’t parents prepare them at home?
> 
> A: Its too late by age 3 or 4. That’s why we need Early Head Start so
> children can be prepared starting at birth to go to Head Start so they can
> learn to read in primary school so they can learn pre-high school subjects
> in middle school so they can learn high school subjects and graduate from
> high school able to read and be fully literate to contribute to society.
> 
> Q: Why are so many children born unprepared to be prepared to learn to read?
> 
> A: Its too late by birth. Too many young adults are functionally
> illiterate and unable to take care of themselves. Often they get involved
> with drugs or other activities that destroy their bodies and harm their
> minds. They often have many out of wedlock births, they are frequently
> unable to make informed choices about good prenatal and postnatal care,
> and they are unable to afford it because they can’t qualify for well
> paying jobs.
> 
> What we need is a high quality, well funded Adult Education and Literacy
> System in the United States that will prepare adults for parenting and
> profitable work which will permit them to  provide for their own and their
> children’s health, and send their children to school prepared to learn to
> read, support them through primary, middle and high schools, and graduate
> them with the literacy skills they need to participate fully in society.
> 
> It is not too late. Adult literacy education contributes to 
> the solution
> of both present and future problems of adult literacy.
> 
> Thomas G. Sticht
> 2062 Valley View Blvd.
> El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
> Tel/fax: (619 444-9133
> Email: tsticht at aznet.net

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