[AAACE-NLA] Literacy President Questions: Update

Thu Apr 6 21:48:01 EDT 2006

Question to the candidates # 1. Change to.  With increasing numbers of 
Latino's in Iowa, will literacy funding from preschool to adults be a 
priority in your administration.
Merle Ayres
412 8th st. North
Humboldt,Iowa 50548
Tel.1-515-332-4630
Fax 515-332-1738

>From: David Rosen <DJRosen at theworld.com>
>Reply-To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>To: National by AAACE Literacy Advocacy List 
>sponsored<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Literacy President Questions: Update
>Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 07:53:31 -0400
>
>AAACE-NLA Colleagues,
>
>Below are the proposed Literacy President questions, in chronological
>order, with the most recent ones first. Later in April we will vote on
>these, narrowing them down to the top five.  Meanwhile, please send
>more questions until April 14th.  Please post your questions here or
>e-mail them to djrosen at theworld.com
>
>You may suggest a re-wording of an existing question, including one
>of the questions suggested in the last campaign (below), or you may
>suggest new questions. As you think about the wording of your
>proposed question(s) imagine yourself asking the question directly of
>a candidate in a caucus or house party in an early primary state.
>Is your question brief, clear, and to the point?
>
>David J. Rosen
>Adult Literacy Advocate
>DJRosen at theworld.com
>
>Questions as of Thursday, April 6th:
>
>25. A recent government survey indicates 93 million individuals are
>at risk at home, at work and in the community because of low levels of
>literacy. Are you willing to make an additional financial investment in
>adult education to increase access for the unemployed, new immigrants
>and other at risk populations in order to keep our nation competitive?
>
>24. Any new administration makes decisions about which policies
>should stay in place and which need changing. Could you provide
>examples of current policies that you think help provide quality adult
>literacy and ESL education, identify a few policies or structures that
>don't appear to be working, and suggest new policies or initiatives
>that your administration would enact?
>
>23. Limited English-speaking immigrant workers are often economically
>marginalized, their U.S. born children shoulder the extra burden of
>brokering for their parents. Yet our Adult ESL programs are
>inadequately funded, are staffed by temporary and part time teachers,
>and there is a scarcity of research on second language learning in
>this population. With 11% of the U.S. population foreign born, this
>linguistic isolation affects an increasingly large number of
>families, with all its social consequences. How do you plan to
>address these issues?
>
>22. Many immigrant adolescents are entering our school system with
>little or no formal schooling. What measures should be taken to
>address the needs of these children, and the problems which arise
>from their presence in institutions working with them?
>
>21. Do you subscribe to the view that although adults benefit from
>education, investment in programs for children should be our
>priority? If so, what do you believe justifies spending on adult
>literacy?
>
>20.  The baccalaureate degree is becoming the entry point to the
>workforce for the majority of students, making it increasingly
>important that the transfer from two-year to four-year institutions
>work well.  The Community College Partnership Act of 2005 (H.R.1031)
>has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage
>partnerships between community colleges and four-year colleges and
>universities.  Improving the effectiveness of transfers from two-year
>to four-year postsecondary institutions will be the key to national
>progress in closing the gap among racial groups in degree attainment
>and has the potential to affect far more students than affirmative
>action policy.
>
>Will you support initiatives such as House bill 1031 that encourages
>partnerships between two-year and four-year institutions of higher
>education to take the lead in preparing America's multicultural
>workforce for the 21st century?
>
>19.   Family literacy programs encourage reading and other
>educational activities between parents and children.  Family literacy
>programs have received funding through the federal Even Start
>program, which this year has been zeroed out in the President's
>budget based on a national evaluation. The most recent evaluation was
>completed prior to changes in the LIFT Act and No Child Left Behind
>legislation that added more stringent accountability measures,
>resulting in a national effort that has improved Even Start services
>and, subsequently, parent and child literacy outcomes.
>
>Will you seek to reinstate funding for Even Start to its current
>level of $248 million?
>
>18.  The American Medical Association estimates that $74 billion in
>annual health care costs is attributable to the effects of under-
>education and limited proficiency in English.  For example, parents
>are not always able to read or understand prescription instructions
>for themselves and their children.
>
>What will you do to address Health Literacy?
>
>17. Jobs are becoming increasingly information sensitive.  More than
>50% of all new jobs will require some post-secondary education.  In
>order to stay competitive in the global marketplace, more of the
>workforce will need to increase their skills through adult education
>programs.  In addition, many new immigrants will need ESL classes to
>help them become more productive and integrated members of society.
>
>     Do you believe that Adult Education programs are an important part
>of any strategy to grow the economy?
>
>16. Why do you think the adult education and literacy system has been
>viewed over the last 20 years (30?, 40?) as a temporary, remedial
>solution that will not be needed once the K-12 system is reformed?
>What would you do to change this perception and ever-decreasing
>spending trend?
>
>15. Do you believe that Adult Education and Literacy services (which
>includes ESOL and family literacy) should be available to all
>residents who need and
>seek those services? If so, are you willing to support an increase in
>funding that would eliminate waiting lists for these services that
>now can be as long as two years?
>
>14.  Given the importance of adult literacy education and its impact
>on the workforce, what role should the federal government play in
>ensuring sufficient training, salaries, and benefits for adult basic
>education teachers?
>
>13. Rewording of 12:  Why is there no funding for mandated reporting
>and program directions, since this is man
>
>12.  Why are mandates created for reporting and program directions
>without funding for those mandates?
>datory?
>
>11.  Can we afford to ignore adult education while errors in safety
>and health are made from lack of English speaking, reading and
>writing skills?
>
>10. A combination of 8 & 9 above. (Could someone craft the wording
>for this?)
>
>9. What role should the federal government take in providing services
>for those young people who have been "left behind" by the educational
>system in their states? By this we mean those who have lower skills
>and are encouraged to drop out or obtain a GED because they can not
>pass high stakes tests, or 16-18 year old young people who are not
>accepted in high school when they have not completed 8th grade or
>have few credits.
>
>8. What role should the federal government take in providing services
>for adults and out-of-school youth who have been "left behind" by the
>educational system in their states?
>
>7. What inspires you about adult education?
>
>6. What troubles you about adult education?
>
>5. What would you like clarified about adult education?
>
>4. What would you like to know about adult education?
>
>3. How do you view adult education: as a way to produce better
>educated workers; as a way to produce more informed citizens; or as a
>way to encourage lifelong learning?  Which way would you feel
>comfortable promoting and funding it?
>
>2. The National Coalition for Literacy estimates that we should be
>spending $2B on adult literacy.  We are currently spending about $500
>Million.  How much do you propose that we spend to address this issue?
>
>1. Will preschool be an important priority for your administration?
>
>-----
>
>2004 Literacy President Campaign  suggested questions
>
>1. Do you support adult literacy?
>
>2. Access to Quality Programs
>
>What should be the commitment of the federal government, if any, to
>insure that all adults in the United States have guaranteed access to
>quality programs to improve their academic skills, regardless of
>income, location, age, national origin, etc.?
>
>3. Training/re-training for the New Economy
>
>What programs will you support to assist adults who need training and
>re-training to enter a computer-literate world where job
>responsibilities constantly change?
>
>4. Training/re-training for the New Economy
>
>Many U.S. workers function at low literacy levels. Some of these
>voters watch their jobs being "outsourced" to foreign countries, but
>are not being given adequate access to the training and education
>that will allow them to function in the new "global, knowledge-based
>economy." Would your administration re-focus priorities to address
>the disappearance of the American dream for the 90 million US
>citizens functioning at the two lowest literacy levels who cannot
>compete without additional education?
>
>5. Intergenerational Literacy
>
>Can you describe the relationship between a child's success in school
>and the parent's educational attainment?
>
>6. Intergenerational Literacy
>
>Children need education. The ones who do not get education now will
>become adults who need literacy skills. If you teach adults, they
>will help their kids. What are you willing to do to improve adult
>literacy programs?
>
>7. Funding
>
>What will you do to insure full funding for adult education and
>literacy programs?
>
>8. Funding
>
>More funds are needed for adult literacy services in America. How
>will you reward the many adult learners who struggle to learn and
>improve? Will extra help be provided if they need another chance at
>getting a high school or General Educational Development (GED) diploma?
>
>9. Funding
>
>Are any increases possible for Adult Education and Literacy? If not,
>then how can we continue to educate citizens who need literacy while
>providing English and education services for the increasing numbers
>of non-English speakers who have no schooling prior to entry into the
>US?
>
>10. Funding
>
>Will your administration support special grant funding to states
>which have little or no infrastructure to deal with the huge increase
>in immigrants who need to learn English?
>
>11. Funding
>
>The current average federal and state investment in adult education
>and literacy is a few hundred dollars per adult learner per year.
>Many of these adult learners were not successful in schools where
>more than ten times that much per student is the norm. What do you
>believe the federal investment per adult learner should be?
>
>12. Funding for Quality Programs
>
>How can we have high quality programs with the current lack of funding?
>
>13. Health Literacy
>
>What programs will you support to insure that everyone has access to
>understandable health information?
>
>14. Personal Experience with Adults who Cannot Read
>
>Have you ever known an adult who couldn't read?
>
>15. Adult Learner Needs
>
>Few literacy programs recognize adult needs. What will you do to
>address this?
>
>16. National Adult Literacy Initiative
>
>Since it is the goal of this nation to create "new" jobs, employ the
>"working poor" in "better" jobs as an ongoing goal of the 1996 Work
>and Responsibility Act (Welfare Reform) and to help colleges and
>universities manage their growing nontraditional student population
>seeking new skills, what steps would you propose as a national adult
>literacy initiative to help address these issues?
>
>17. Adult Learner Leadership Will your administration formally
>recognize adult learners, seek them out for solutions to adult
>literacy problems, and provide resources and leadership training to
>those of us who have succeeded so that we can go out and help others
>with literacy problems?
>
>18. Research
>
>There is a push to base our practices on evidence from scientific
>research. Although there has been some research in the field of adult
>education and literacy, many questions and experiences by teachers in
>the field remain unexamined. While current research provides some
>suggestions of "what to do" many of the most important areas are
>unexplored. What are your opinions about the need for research, and
>how might you fund new research?
>
>19. Research
>
>Will you include support for adult literacy research in your
>administration?
>
>20. Research
>
>What approaches, methods, and theoretical constructs to adult
>literacy research will your administration support?
>
>21. Research
>
>What questions/issues do you think are most worthy of sustained
>investigatory investment by the federal government? What will
>constitute sound evidence?
>
>22. Research
>
>Will your administration draw on the expertise of practicing adult
>literacy scholars or will you be looking outside the field for
>expertise?
>
>23. Definition of Adult Literacy
>
>Many in this field of practice understand adult literacy to mean that
>there are many literacies -- like heath, family, women, civic, and
>workplace literacy -- and that adult literacy should not be limited
>by a national definition that addresses reading only. Where do you
>stand regarding the definition of adult literacy? How do you define it?
>
>24. Literacy for Different Groups
>
>Explain how you see the government supporting resources that serve
>the literacy needs of disaggregate groups (blacks, Latinos, and other
>ethnic minorities.)
>
>
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