NLA Discussion: Grassroots Advocacy

[sfliteracy at mcleodusa.net]

Art,

I read with interest the e-mail that you sent to the NLA listserv regarding 
the comment made by Beth Thompson early last week.  You wrote that a company 
in your community asked you to do a reading/math assessment on a small group 
of selectees and provide management with evaluation.  Is that *all* they 
asked for?  I surely hope so.  They weren't expecting an educational package 
to follow were they?

One of the falacies I see in the workplace literacy focus is that we all 
(with the two hours of class-time a week that you wrote about) are able to 
turn the deficits totally around for the company!  Do we actually have the 
skilled employees who can accomplish that task?  I really question that!  The 
other issue is, of course, that it's pathetic that the high school diploma 
isn't a true measure of educational abilities either.
 
 I was appalled to read that out of 15 selected for the promotion, only three 
had the reading skills that would allow them to understand the written 
requirements of quality assurance directives.  And that only one had the math 
skills.   I would love to have seen their reaction when that fact was 
uncovered.  These 15 made it through their interview and hire process 
somehow.  I wonder how long it was before this assessment occurred?  Talk 
about egg-on-the-face as far as H.R. is concerned.  What kind of skills 
assessment are *they* doing in-house?  Obviously not the kind that determines 
reading abilities.

Interesting, Art.  Very interesting and rather an eye-opener when it comes to 
the real world the learner population is living in.

Nancy Hansen
sfliteracy at mcleodusa.net
Sioux Falls Area Literacy Council


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