[NLA] NLA Discussion: Adult Literacy Programs' Response to 9/11

[Ira Yankwitt]

The Literacy Assistance Center in New York City was closed for nearly two
weeks as a result of our proximity to the World Trade Center.  The first
event we are hosting since reopening is a forum for adult literacy
practitioners on addressing the impact of the WTC attack and its aftermath.
 The forum is scheduled for this Friday, and the discussion will be guided
by very similar questions to those raised by Paul.  I will post a summary
of the issues that practitioners raise sometime next week, but among the
issues we anticipate discussing are:

* coping with grief, trauma and fear
* anti-Arab/Muslim/South Asian racism
* Middle East and South Asian culture and history
* militarism and US foreign policy
* immigrant rights
* civil liberties and racial profiling
* access to social services

We plan to hold follow-up sessions, develop an online list of resources,
work with teachers to develop curriculum, and host a bulletin board
discussion on our website.  We would welcome any thoughts and suggestions.

At 02:25 PM 9/26/01 -0400, you wrote:
>NLA Colleagues,
>
>In a recent posting to the NJALL (New Jersey Adult Learning and Literacy
Association) electronic list, Paul Jurmo, President of NJALL, wrote the
message which you will find below.  At the end of his message Paul poses
three questions which, it seems to me, apply to programs and policy makers
across the country, and which we might discuss on the NLA list.
>
>What are your thoughts as a teacher, program administrator, student,
policy maker, or other person who is concerned about the responsibility
which adult literacy programs and policy makers have to adult learners in
this post 9/11 world?
>
>"Dear NJALL Members, 
>
>In its meeting yesterday, the NJALL Board discussed how the recent
terrorist attacks might affect the learners and communities we serve and
our field as a whole. Here are some concerns and ideas that came up in our
discussion:
>
>-- Some programs are reporting that immigrant learners are afraid to leave
their houses and attend classes. 
>
>-- Some programs feel they should now put a new emphasis on intercultural
communications in their curricula.
>
>-- One program reported that some of their volunteers asked not to be
matched with learners of Middle Eastern background. 
>
>-- It is likely that One Stop Career Centers and other employment-related
agencies in New Jersey will be flooded with people who have lost their jobs
due to the disaster.  It is feared that these already-under-equipped
agencies will be unable to help these people. 
>
>-- If some of the New York-based employers now need to relocate to New
Jersey, those companies might benefit from workplace training programs to
re-organize and prepare their workforces. However, there are currently
limited resources provided to those kinds of programs and no real
infrastructure for helping companies plan effective, customized services. 
>
>-- Some fear that adult education -- which has already had to struggle to
get recognition and funding from policy makers -- will be pushed even
further down on the list of priorities as resources and attention are paid
to other important issues like security and short-term job placements. 
>
>These are a few concerns and ideas which were raised in a short discussion
among NJALL board members yesterday.  We would like to hear what the rest
of our members are thinking about these issues.  We would like to convey
these concerns and good ideas to policy makers in the coming months. We'd
thus be grateful if you now take a few minutes to respond to these
questions by October 5th: 
>
>1.  What impact is the September 11th attack having on the learners and
the community you serve?
>
>2.  What should adult education programs do to respond to this situation?
>
>3. What should state-level policy makers do to respond to the needs of the
learners and communities who have been affected by this disaster? 
>
>Thanks for your input. 
>
>Paul JurmoNJALL President, 2001-2002"
>
>David J. Rosen
>NLA List Moderator
><djrosen at massed.net>
>
>
>
>
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Ira Yankwitt
Director of Adult Literacy Services
Literacy Assistance Center
(212) 803-3356
iray at lacnyc.org