[NLA] When Your Working Days Are Over

[Chris Francisco]

Tom,

Thank you for addressing these issues in such a truly touching and 
meaningful way.  We must advocate and continue the struggle in the face of 
a government that can and will cast a blind eye to our students needs.  Be 
well.

peace and love,

Chris Francisco

                                 "The only way out is through"
                                                 Fritz Perls



At 07:43 PM 3/24/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>Research Note                  March 24, 2002
>Tom Sticht
>
>When Your Working Days Are Over..What's The Sense of Literacy?
>
>Is there a reason for governments to support literacy education once a
>person's working days are over? After all, where's the return on
>investment? In 1861, Harriet  A. Jacobs wrote her book, "Incidents in
>the life of a slave girl written by herself." In it she tells the story
>of her work to help an older black man, a slave like her, learn to read,
>not for improving his productivity at work, but to reach for a greater
>reward for himself at the end of his life. In Jacob's own words, which
>includes her renderings of dialect, she describes an incident that
>occured around 1850:
>
>Quote: "I knew an old black man, whose piety and childlike trust in God
>were beautiful to witness. At fifty-three years old he joined the
>Baptist church. He had a most earnest desire to learn to read. He
>thought he should know how to serve God better if he could only read the
>Bible. He came to me, and begged me to teach him. He said he could not
>pay me, for he had no money; but he would bring me nice fruit when the
>season for it came. I asked him if he didn't know it was contrary to
>law; and that slaves were whipped and imprisoned for teaching each other
>to read. This brought the tears into his eyes. "Don't be troubled, Uncle
>Fred," said I. "I have no thoughts of refusing to teach you. I only told
>you of the law, that you might know the danger, and be on your guard."
>
>He thought he could plan to come three times a week without its being
>suspected. I selected a quiet nook, where no intruder was likely to
>penetrate, and there I taught him his A, B, C. Considering his age, his
>progress was astonishing. As soon as he could spell in two syllables he
>wanted to spell out words in the Bible. The happy smile that illuminated
>his face put joy into my heart. After spelling out a few words he
>paused, and said, "Honey, it 'pears when I can read dis good book I
>shall be nearer to God. White man is got all de sense. He can larn easy.
>It ain't easy for ole black man like me. I only want to read dis book,
>dat I may know how to live; den I hab no fear 'bout dying."
>
>I tried to encourage him by speaking of the rapid progress he had made.
>"Hab patience, child," he replied. "I larns slow." At the end of six
>months he had read through the New Testament, and could find any text in
>it.":End Quote
>
>Should a government of the people, by the people, and for the people
>deny education and literacy in the 21st century to any adults who, like
>Uncle Fred, do not seek to learn to read and write to improve work
>skills for productivity, but rather for the simple dignity that comes
>from feeling that with improved literacy they "know how to live?"
>
>Last year we learned that some 10 million of our fellow adult citizens
>were so lacking in literacy that they could not even take the National
>Adult Literacy Survey. This year the President of the United States
>asked for no more funding for adult education and literacy development
>than we had last year, which amounted to less than $200 per enrollment
>in the Adult Education and Literacy System of the United States.
>
>How far have we come in the 150 years since 1850? What would Uncle Fred
>say today? Have we learned fast? Have we got all the sense?
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