[AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

Thu Aug 19 13:19:43 EDT 2010

There is a model coming out of the World Health Organization and 
adopted by NIH and the CDC that is called the School Health Program. 
Most state education departments in the US have adopted the models in 
principle and ask school districts to incorporate components of the 
School Health Program into their practice including the curriculum. 
This is written into the DOE KI-12  policies. One of the components of 
a School Health Program  is access to health clinics and counselors for 
students and even having health centers in the schools. Of course, 
while the state DOEs ask that districts implement SHP, they do not fund 
them, they don't suggest how components can be implemented and they 
don't train teachers and administrators on how to implement various 
aspects of the SHP that would essentially cost nothing. This is because 
the only thing that schools are assessed on is NCLB. After all, who 
cares about children's health as long as they can pass a meaningless 
standardized test (sorry, I got emotional again).

One of the biggest problems that we have in schools is lack of equity. 
This is translated in limited educational achievement of the parent, 
lack of access to health care, lack of strong native language education 
program, economic disadvantages, etc. Unfortunately scoring well on a 
standardized test does not compensate for the lack of equity that can 
impede significant academic development of children.

Andres Muro
Please visit my updated art:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25224248@N05/sets/72157611453345957/show/

-----Original Message-----
From: Debbie Yoho <dwyoho at gmail.com>
To: Andres Muro <andresmuro at aol.com>
Cc: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Sent: Thu, Aug 19, 2010 8:58 am
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

Andres is of course right about parents/caregivers/mothers at risk of 
being "winnowed out", especially those who stay home full-time with a 
child and cannot seek employment. Here lies the root of "generational 
illiteracy".

My first job out of college was as a counselor at Planned Parenthood, 
where I worked with teens.  It is incredible to me how concern for teen 
pregnancy, and unplanned pregnancy in general, has dropped like a rock 
in recent years. Perhaps this is partly because the teen pregnancy rate 
has dropped, but certainly it is still a massive problem. 

I am reminded that the president was raised by a single mom.

On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 9:26 AM, Andres Muro <andresmuro at aol.com> wrote:

Debbie, Michael, el al:

In addition to what you say about serving older adults, and those who 
will not necessarily go into employment, it is important to remember 
that connection between educational achievement of the mother and that 
of the child. We know that the best predictor of the achievement of the 
child is the education of the mother. But this does not appear to be a 
concern of the WIA and NRS, since the NCLB act was supposed to take 
care of the children. Unfortunately, while there is no evidence to show 
positive outcomes of NCLB, there is strong correlation between mother 
and child's education in addition to all the anecdotal evidence from 
teachers who serve adults. So, while many of those who attend ABE 
programs are mothers with very limited academic background, their fate 
and that of their children is being completely ignored by those 
advocating for standardized measures of progress.

Andres

Andres Muro
Please visit my updated art:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25224248@N05/sets/72157611453345957/show/

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Gyori <michael_gyori at yahoo.com>
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE 
<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Wed, Aug 18, 2010 2:59 pm
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

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