[NLA] Gut response for Art

[Thomas Sticht]

Recently Marsha Tait said,

Quote" For a long time I have been convinced that one of the problems with
Tom Stitch's [sic] definition of the AELS as those programs that receive
state and federal funding is that the definition excludes all those otherproviders who don't." End quote

I do not understand why this is a problem. Marsha has headed Literacy
Volunteers of America, an organization consisting of a set of affiliated
programs systematized by the rules, regulations, mission, and goals of the
parent organization, LVA. But note that defining a system of volunteer
literacy educators as LVA members leaves out Laubach and other volunteer
literacy educators. But that is OK, because Laubach has its own system of
programs united by its organization's rules, regs, etc. In short, both LVA
and Laubach are names for different adult literacy education systems.
[This is undergoing change I understand, and the two orgs. are merging
into a new, larger system of volunteer adult literacy education].
When I refer to the AELS I am referring to a subset of all the adult
education and literacy providers in the nation, just as LVA and Laubach
are two subsets and will soon be one subset. The subset I am referring to
as the AELS is that subset which receives some or all of its funding from
the state grants progrm of the WIA/Title 2: AEFLA and agree to abide by
the rules, regs., etc of that law. Yes, this leaves out those providers
who do not work under this law. But this is no different than saying that
LVA leaves out providers who do not work under LVA affiliate rules, regs.
etc.
Also, I note that in my message for Art and the NLA list on speculations
about the loss of enrollments in the AELS, I made the point that I thought
some CBO programs left the AELS and took their students with them. So I
did not say that all the students who were lost from the AELS did not
receive any instruction. Instead I said that they did not receive
instruction in programs that were still members of the AELS.
I agree with  all those, including Marsha, who think that it would be
useful to have a better understanding of the entire set of adult literacy
providers in the nation, although I am not certain what would be done with
such information. But as I said in an earlier note, it is more than my
plate can hold to just try to understand the AELS and to advocate for more
access to it and greater funding for it. The National Literacy Act of 1991
tried to open up the AELS to a greater number of CBOs, and I find it very
disappointing that just 7 years later, the accountability requirements of
the 1998 WIA/Title 2: AEFLA would be implemented in such a way as to drive
hundreds of CBOs and hundreds of thousands of their students out of the
AELS. That does not seem like a very good way to increase access to the
AELS to me.
Tom Sticht







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