[AAACE-NLA] Framing adult literacy arguments

[AWilder106@aol.com]

This is sort-of a reply to Andres--

If you are speaking of human rights, then there is a document that encompasses your concerns, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does it.  The person I mentioned,(Sir) Dudley Seers, was an international development specialist who based much of his work and justification for his opinions on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--UN.

As to those rights being spelled out in our Declaration and our Constitution, they aren't, as has been said here many times before.  The Declaration was an attempt to build a case for revolution, and it worked--it was accepted as legitimate. It was a negotiating document, and people bought what it laid out.If we had lost the revolution, I wonder what would have happened to the Declaration of Independence--I expect it would have lost its legitimacy.

There has been a lot of philosophy spun off from the Declaration and the Constitution.  Some have read it, but only some.  We need to find some simple and powerful arguments and  undergird them with facts. George can write about Dewey, and I can write about Dudley Seers, but how far  does this play  among ordinary Americans, meaning Americans  who are not hooked on books,  philosophy or doing the right thing?

If  we are to make a case for adult literacy it has to be grounded in something acceptable to all, easily understood by all.  Andres speaks of human rights (not of American rights), and those human rights, an agreement about them, is found in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. (check the web)

The Pursuit of Happiness hasn't been spelled out anywhere.  I can agree with John on that because 1) happiness is a real (brain-based)state, and 2) the phrase is so American, 3)  we came to a different understanding of its meaning at the end of the Civil War, via Lincoln. John is right.  We do tie it to getting ahead and  economic success.  A study on the Pursuit of Happiness would be an interesting project--to see what people associate  it with. 

I go back to what I originally said about investment and paying dividends.  There are many sorts of dividends, and people can fill in what they want as dividends.  George used this thinking in his book.  I have used this as a drum beat ever since I joined the list in the late  '90's when it was the NLA, and been criticized for it, perhaps because I drew "filthy lucre"  into a discussion on education.  Filthy lucre can buy a lot, it can buy health  care, housing, education, food...Any attempt to deny or down-play economic gain is absurd and I reject it. People need to be financially secure and able to take care of themselves and their children.

Jefferson believed in education?  For whom? Not for slaves. That's why the phrase had to be reformulated. He never freed the woman by whom he had....how many children was it?

The court cases around education have to do with k-12, access  to higher ed (affirmative action) and  rights of the disabled.  Maybe someone who is up on all the court cases  can cite the law on any of this that might apply to adult literacy. 

Andrea