[AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

Thu Aug 19 13:57:04 EDT 2010

One of the reasons I brought up the idea of litigation is because I suspect
the struggle is much worse in highly conservative states like SC and Texas,
where Andres works.  After 41 years in SC, it appears to me the issue of
states' rights is still not settled in the South. We have a federal system
which is defined as a government where power is shared, supposedly equally,
by the national, state, and local governments. Seriously, I bet many of us
from this part of the country could testify to many instances where the
state circumvents, ignores, and/or obfuscates federal initiatives like the
School Health Program.  As a principal, a parent once argued with me that
boys and girls should not be taking PE in the gym at the same time.  When I
explained Title IX, his resopnse was,"That's those people in Washington!  We
don't have to pay any attention to them down here!  They'll never know the
difference anyway!"  The story of school desegregation comes to mind.  In
the South, the idea of states' rights doesn't mean shared power, it means
state law trumps national law. The Tea Party movement is founded on this
notion.

 Checks and balances. How many times I have tried to explain this to our ESL
learners, who cannot fathom such a system! I  believe there is legal
precedent to force states to fully implement federal progams if failure to
do so infringes on the individual rights of their citizens.

Our own SC governor nearly tested this when he refused to accept national
stimulus money.  The case went to federal court before he relented and the
petition was withdrawn.  Just last week, Congress approved more funding for
the states to head off more firings of teachers and other state employees,
and once again, SC's people are in a fix because the state "doesn't have the
money" to put up their part of the funding, hence we may not get the federal
money.  Perhaps it will be back to court again.

On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 1:19 PM, Andres Muro <andresmuro at aol.com> wrote:

> 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
>
>
>

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