[AAACE-NLA] America's Perfect Storm

[Merle Ayres]

I read with interest the gap of skills of minority groups. Reading and Math. 
In Iowa the classrooms are backlogged with ESL classes. Faith based groups 
such as in my case the churches are doing much of this now. English only 
laws and little money to teach English is happening. I think Latinos are 
wanting to learn English but politicians are reluctant to fund it. We had 
the Swift raids recently and many were deported by homeland security. Family 
life disrupted and displaced. How can we fill the gap this way. In looking 
at the sub group of immigrants the Norwegians had the same problem in their 
history and gradually overcame the language . They were given tips by 
railroads, labor agents, land agents and jobs to start a new beginning. If 
Latinos have no job in America or poor English skills its hard to play catch 
up. The gap can be slowed by the right funding in  helping them become 
citizens by learning English. We can do better but faith based  is just a 
start. I hope to have some success be it in a small way and incremental by 
one person at a time.

Merle Ayres
412 8th st. North
Humboldt,Iowa 50548
Tel.1-515-332-4630
Fax 515-332-1738




>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
>Reply-To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>Subject: [AAACE-NLA] America's Perfect Storm
>Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:39:40 -0500
>
>AAACE-NLA Colleagues,
>
>A new report from ETS's Policy Information Center, _America's Perfect
>Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future_ by Irwin Kirsch,
>Henry Braun, and
>Kentaro Yamamoto of ETS, and Andrew Sum of Northeastern University,
>"looks at the convergence of three powerful sociological and
>economical forces that are changing our nation's future:
>      * substantial disparities in skill levels (reading and math)
>      * seismic economic changes (widening wage gaps)
>      * sweeping demographic shifts (less education, lower skills)"
>
>
>
>  From the Report:
>
>"If we continue on our current course, however, it is
>likely that our nation will gradually lose ground in
>relation to other countries, becoming more divided
>both socially and economically in the process....
>If we are unable to substantially close the existing
>skill gaps among racial/ethnic groups and substantially
>boost the literacy levels of the population as a whole,
>demographic forces will result in a U.S. population in
>2030 with tens of millions of adults unable to meet the
>requirements of the new economy. Moreover, a sub-
>stantial proportion of those adults will be members of
>disadvantaged minority groups who will likelycon-
>sider themselves outside the economic mainstream.
>Clearly, this is not the preferable direction for the
>nation to be moving."
>
>"...there is a growing need for all individuals to
>become better educated and more skilled..Individuals
>must have a broad set of literacy andnumeracy skills
>to successfully manage the various aspects of their
>lives:from planning their careers, to nurturing and
>guiding their children, to navigating the.health-care
>system, to taking more personal responsibility for their
>financial future.
>
>Why is the current distribution of educational attainment
>and academic achievement so problematic. —quite apart
>from the large and persistent racial/ethnic gaps? Early
>dropouts, as well as many holders of high school diplomas
>or GEDs, typically lack strong foundational skills and the
>key noncognitive skills that would enable them to benefit
>from learning and training experiences later on in life.
>In fact, the lack of both cognitive and the so-called “soft.skills”
>(e.g., persistence, teamwork skills, and communication skills)
>makes it more difficult for them to obtain and retain
>employment, especially for those jobs offering the
>potential for advancement."
>
>(America's Perfect Storm, Three Forces Changing Our
>Nation's Economic Future Page 26, ETS http://tinyurl.com/2lyodb )
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>
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