[AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

[Debbie Yoho]

Michael, have you heard about the Scroll (Declaration for the Right to
Literacy)?  A petition that has been circulating all around the country and
will be presented to the president shortly.  Go to the LiteracyPowerline.com
website for details.  Thousands and thousands have already signed it.  It
will be fascinating to find out what the outcome is when it is delivered.
There is also a Facebook effort called 1,000,000 for Literacy.  Debbie

On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 4:59 PM, Michael Gyori <michael_gyori at yahoo.com>wrote:

>   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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org
> http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla
> LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
> http://literacytent.org
>
>


-- 
Debbie Yoho
Executive Director
Turning Pages Adult Literacy
www.literacycolumbia.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/aaace-nla/attachments/20100819/1d4f2a08/attachment.html>