No subject

basis for the title of the later Action Agenda report). In this paper, I
wrote a section called Rethinking The Basic Nature and Mission of the
Adult Education and Literacy System in which I called attention to what I
thought were a number of misunderstandings of the AELS. One of these
misunderstandings, was the one referred to above, the idea that the AELS
is a temporary, remedial, second-chance education system that will go away
once the K-12 system is fixed.

Clearly, Pam’s comments indicate that the idea that I referred to as a
misunderstanding is not confined to those outside the adult literacy
education field, and that has led me to wonder how many agree with the
position that Pam has taken, that is, once the K-3 or K-12 system is
fixed, there will be no need for the AELS.

What does this position imply for the possibility of achieving the goal of
the Action Agenda that calls for a strengthened adult education, language,
and literacy system in the U.S.?

What implications does this position have for the idea of the AELS as a
permanent, lifelong learning system for adults?

Does this position weaken our advocacy for the AELS as a viable third
branch of publicly funded education in the U.S.?