NLA Discussion: Meeting the Needs of Out-of-school Youth

[Fay, Mary Jayne]

In Massachusetts we are facing this very issue.  We have seen a steady
increase in the number of 16-22 year olds in ABE programs.  Many feel that
if the proposed state-wide tests required for high school graduation are
implemented, this will increase the number of high school drop outs and will
increase the number of 16-22 year-olds in ABE programs.

Their presence in the classroom has already raised a number of issues.
Practitioners are struggling with how to address classroom management with
younger students in addition to the curriculum design issues Crystal
mentions below.  In addition to practitioner issues, our "traditional" ABE
students have raised concerns.  The "traditional" ABE students are concerned
about the change in the classroom's atmosphere because of so many younger
students.  They also express concerns about how much time teachers have
to spend on classroom management issues, having to share classes with
youngsters who aren't as goal oriented as they are, and who aren't taking
the classes as seriously.  "Traditional" students are also struggling with
having to sit beside students who are, in some instances, the same age as
their own children.

These issues have implications for professional development.  Teachers are
asking for more classroom management strategies and information about
curriculum development that will help them to engage younger students.

Mary Jayne Fay
ABE Certification Specialist
Mass. Dept. of Ed.

-----Original Message-----
From: Crystal_McFall at advantica-dine.com
[mailto:Crystal_McFall at advantica-dine.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 10:13 AM
To: nla at world.std.com
Subject: NLA Discussion: Meeting the Needs of Out-of-school Youth





Mr. Rosen,

I often ponder the questions you raised below.  It's apparent to me that
traditional schooling does not translate well with people 25 years and
younger.
Educators have not kept pace with social change, and it isn't enough to
install
computers in schools.  Lesson plans also have to account for the shift in
our
collective consciousness because technology is ubiquitous.  Not only do
things
move at a faster pace, we communicate in ways today that would have been 
foreign to us just 20 years ago.  Compound that with the reality of the
world becoming smaller with the use of computers, such that we move
towards a common language.

Think about that!  Everyone around the world with access to the internet
speaking the same language!  We take these changes for granted, and we miss
the
revolution that is taking place before our eyes.   This undoubtedly impacts
young people whether or not they have personal access to computers.  The
"mind
of technology" has long infultrated the media --- MTV and VH1 on television,
techno rock music from Europe, movies like the Matrix, etc. Young people
think
differently from their parents. They have the same concerns, basically, but
their approach to those concerns is different.  That means they probably
learn
differently, too.

What does this have to do eith adult literacy?  A lot, because, as you said,
we
are seeing more of these young adults in our programs.  Our challenge is to
recognize the shift in cultural outlook and to work with it, instead of
against
it.

Crystal McFall
crystal_mcfall at advantica-dine.com


====================================


David J Rosen <DJRosen at world.std.com> on 02/21/2001 06:51:53


To:   nla at world.std.com
Subject:  NLA Discussion: Meeting the Needs of Out-of-school Youth


NLA Colleagues,

Adult education programs which receive federal WIA funds serve people
who are sixteen and older and out of school. Young adults, people between
the age of sixteen and twenty-one, for example, may have different
needs from other adults.

Do WIA policies and regulations -- and do state adult education policies
and funding -- support the needs of out-of-school young adults?  If not,
what must be changed?

When young adults leave or are pushed out of public schools -- perhaps a
growing phenomenon with high stakes standardized testing  -- are they
served well by adult education programs?  Or do young adult program
models, e.g. alternative high schools, the Job Corps, youth service corps
such as YouthBuild or City Year, or charter schools serve them better? If
so, why?

What do young adults need that is different from what other adults need in
an education program, and how does our public policy address this now?

_If_ adult education programs are not the best models to serve
out-of-school young adults, how should we, as adult education
providers, respond to the probability of the growing numbers of these
youth in adult education programs?

And -- for those who are experiencing this already -- how does an increase
in young adult students affect your adult education program?  Is this
positive, and if so why?  Is it problematic?  If there are problems, what
are they, and how are you responding to them?

David J. Rosen
NLA List Moderator



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