[AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

[Michael Gyori]

Debbie,

Your words have truly touched my heart. Unfortunately, public education is 
totally in the full grip of a corporate paradigm as you have so emotionally 
stated. I can no longer listen to the tweaks that are made every year that 
ensure the safety of some bureaucrats' jobs.  As much as I appreciate the time a 
few  take to apprise us of what is goes on, it's all about rubbing even more 
salt on a big wound, Art's rendering of affairs in NH notwithstanding.

So...being sad won't solve anything until action is taken.  We might begin by 
conceptualizing a case among ourselves against what is going on at the USDOE.  I 
really did believe that matters would improve under Obama - so maybe we should 
think about sending him a petition signed by thousand upon thousands of people 
in our communities.

Michael
 
Michael A. Gyori
Maui International Language School
www.mauilanguage.com
 
 




________________________________
From: Debbie Yoho <dwyoho at gmail.com>
To: aaace-nla <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>; PROLITERACY LIST 
<proliteracyconnect at proliteracylist.org>
Sent: Tue, August 17, 2010 9:47:50 AM
Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?


It does not appear to me that there are any changes in the wind regarding the 
NRS that will help programs serving the hardest-to-serve or lowest-level 
learners.  In fact, it appears that the changes under discussion will actually 
make the process more cumbersome, adding specific requirements regarding learner 
goals. It appears the goal of improving academics would no longer be considered 
valid unless tied to an employment goal.  


In tracking some of the activity related to WIA reauthorization, I see a similar 
drive to refine adult education and literacy programs into a feeder system for 
employment.  I have no problem with this provided that educational services are 
available for adults who are not and will not be in the workforce.  I am 
speaking of older adults who have retired, who may even be in a nursing home, 
adults who are on disability, perhaps recovering from mental illness or 
addiction and not ready to work;  adults who have prohibitive medical problems 
such as cancer, adults who are at home full-time with young children, adults who 
are chronically homeless or incarcerated for the long-term, adults whose 
beginning skill level combined with learning disabilities means it will be years 
before they can fill out a job application, etc.

I am afraid many are getting tired of this litany begging to maintain programs 
that sensitively and effectively serve adults who do not contribute to the tax 
base through employment. The world has turned, and I find that it all falls more 
and more on deaf ears.  I knew in 1998, when the WIA highjacked adult 
education and combined an academic mission with job training, that a day would 
come when a sizeable segment of the adult population would be left behind in the 
dust with no one to care whether they have a good quality of life or not. All 
this time I have continued to remind anyone who will listen that workforce 
development is critical, but so are opportunities for ALL adults. The WIA and 
the NRS are NOT designed to serve ALL adults, but only to serve the economy.  

Where is the conscience, and the voice, of educators, policy-makers, researchers 
and academics who continue to ride the wave of globalization to contribute to 
the nation's adjustment to changing times, but also strive for simple principles 
such as justice and equity? I hear that voice here from time to time, but it is 
absent from OVAE newsletters, WIA reauthorization proposals, NRS revision 
discussions, efforts to form "career pathways", meetings of state directors, and 
media news and analysis. 


So now I seriously ask:  Is the only avenue left for these adults litigation? It 
seems to me if current trends continue, someone somewhere may be able to make a 
case for discrimination.  If public funds are to be spent on education for any 
particular category of adults (such as job-seekers), funds should be available 
for any adult who wants to learn. As a former special education teacher, I know 
parents had to resort to the courts to obtain services for special-needs kids.  
It appears to me the handwriting is on the wall again.  According to Dreams from 
My Father, the president reached the conclusion that real change sometimes comes 
about only when the courts force it, so he enrolled in law school.

 
Debbie Yoho
Executive Director
Turning Pages Adult Literacy
www.literacycolumbia.org



      
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