[NLA] follow-up to a proposal to "save" the NIFL

[Thomas Sticht]

Andy has painted a pretty dreary scenario for what might happen to the
NIFL  in the future if the new Director and Board are not from the adult
literacy field. But I think his concerns, while serious, are not totally
necessarily disasterous for the NIFL. After all, when Andy took over the
NIFL as Director, he had no experience working in the adult literacy
field. He was a staffer for Congress and worked on the Even Start and
other education legislation as a policy person and picked up his
information in discussions with adult educators and learners.
Interestingly, before that his Ph D was in child development, not adult
education.

Also, top members of the present NIFL staff whom Andy has indicated he
admires and has a lot of faith in were not adult educators either before
assuming their NIFL positions. Sandra Baxter's Ph D is in administration
and social policy and before coming to the NIFL she worked for the U. S.
General Accounting Office as an evaluator in K-12 education. When she
started working at NIFL it was as the Director of the Partnership for
Reading, with an emphasis on children, youth and adults. As Interim
Director, she now oversees all the NIFL's activities for children, youth
and adults. Christy Guillion's prior experience before coming to NIFL was
as a staffer for Congress and earlier she was a 3rd grade teacher. Before
Christy took over policy for NIFL, Alice Johnson had that position and
she, too, did not have an adult literacy education background, though I
believe she had done some tutoring. Like Andy and Christy, Alice was a
staffer for Congress before joining the NIFL.

What all this suggests to me is that even if a new Director of NIFL does
not have an adult educator's background, that person can learn a lot about
adult literacy education by conferring with NIFL staff who have lots of
experience, with folks at OVAE/DAEL,  and with members of the adult
literacy education field who will share information with NIFL leadership
and staff. This type of educational activity can also be accomplished with
the new NIFL Board.

So while I have earlier stated my concerns that the Board had no
specialist in adult literacy education, and I share concerns that adult
literacy education may play a lessor role in the NIFL's future, I don't
think the change in key players necessarily spells disaster for the field
at NIFL. What this means is that all of us will have to see to it that the
new Director and Board are brought up to date as quickly as possible on
the way we view the field of adult education and literacy development. I'm
sure ProLiteracy Worldwide will make its views known, and I have already
started my educational process by sending papers to future Board members.
Others may want to do this, too.

Tom Sticht
tsticht at aznet.net




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