Increased Attention to Adult Literacy : U.S. Government and UN Join Forces
ProLiteracy’s 80 years of global experience have caused us to recognize the tragic reality that adult literacy, a crucial element of the development and poverty reduction process, is often missing from key international policy discussions. In the past few weeks, the adult literacy topic has been highlighted among top government and international organizations in three critical areas.
Educating Girls
Today, 796 million adults worldwide lack basic literacy skills; two-thirds of that population are women. UNESCO recently announced a joint project with the United States Department of State, targeting education rates among women. The program, “Better Lives, Better Future” will help stem dropout rates of adolescent girls as they transition from primary to secondary education. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes that this new focus will help policy makers effectively target education investments. “When we educate a young girl, we are shaping our world for a better tomorrow,” said United Nations Foundation CEO Kathy Calvin in a prepared statement “As part of the largest youth generation in history, adolescent girls need an education if they are going to help their communities move from poverty into prosperity. Providing girls additional schooling puts them on track for future success.”
Educating Soldiers
While low literacy isn’t proven to be the cause of poverty, it exacerbates and drastically compounds the problem. This week, NPR featured a story about the U.S. government’s conflict resolution strategy in Afghanistan; a key component is literacy. As the U.S. and its allies work with Afghan troops, they are finding that one of the keys to building the Afghan Army is teaching the soldiers to read and write. According to Lt. General William Caldwell, who was interviewed for NPR’s segment, “If all you want to do is tear something down, like the Taliban, then you don’t have to have any kind of literacy level. If you’re trying to build something up and sustain it, then you’re going to have to instill literacy into the force.” Since 2010, Caldwell says, the U.S. and its partners have been focusing on literacy and have been able to train over 90,000 young men. Today, a large number of recruits say they are joining the army “for the opportunity to read and write.”
Educating for Peace
As the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Army focus on literacy as a means to advance women’s education and strengthen troops in Afghanistan, , the United States Agency for International Development (USAID )has also launched an adult literacy project in Lanao del Sur, Philippines. The project integrates literacy into peace and conflict resolution. The “Literacy for Peace and Development Project (LIPAD),” will help adult learners develop critical consciousness on conflict prevention and peace building in order to play a central role in peace building and development in their own communities. LIPAD aims to enroll 12,500 adult learners in the province over the next three years. This particular model reflects ProLiteracy’s methodology: combining literacy-based skills and information at the local level help bring about lasting change and improvement in understanding and managing essential daily-life functions like home finances, health issues, and civic participation. Adult literacy and basic education should be an essential element of all development programs and strategies.
We at ProLiteracy are convinced everyday through personal stories, and articles like the ones shared above, that adult literacy is the key to a lasting solution to the challenges of poverty, conflict, and inequality.
Educating Girls
Today, 796 million adults worldwide lack basic literacy skills; two-thirds of that population are women. UNESCO recently announced a joint project with the United States Department of State, targeting education rates among women. The program, “Better Lives, Better Future” will help stem dropout rates of adolescent girls as they transition from primary to secondary education. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes that this new focus will help policy makers effectively target education investments. “When we educate a young girl, we are shaping our world for a better tomorrow,” said United Nations Foundation CEO Kathy Calvin in a prepared statement “As part of the largest youth generation in history, adolescent girls need an education if they are going to help their communities move from poverty into prosperity. Providing girls additional schooling puts them on track for future success.”
Educating Soldiers
While low literacy isn’t proven to be the cause of poverty, it exacerbates and drastically compounds the problem. This week, NPR featured a story about the U.S. government’s conflict resolution strategy in Afghanistan; a key component is literacy. As the U.S. and its allies work with Afghan troops, they are finding that one of the keys to building the Afghan Army is teaching the soldiers to read and write. According to Lt. General William Caldwell, who was interviewed for NPR’s segment, “If all you want to do is tear something down, like the Taliban, then you don’t have to have any kind of literacy level. If you’re trying to build something up and sustain it, then you’re going to have to instill literacy into the force.” Since 2010, Caldwell says, the U.S. and its partners have been focusing on literacy and have been able to train over 90,000 young men. Today, a large number of recruits say they are joining the army “for the opportunity to read and write.”
Educating for Peace
As the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Army focus on literacy as a means to advance women’s education and strengthen troops in Afghanistan, , the United States Agency for International Development (USAID )has also launched an adult literacy project in Lanao del Sur, Philippines. The project integrates literacy into peace and conflict resolution. The “Literacy for Peace and Development Project (LIPAD),” will help adult learners develop critical consciousness on conflict prevention and peace building in order to play a central role in peace building and development in their own communities. LIPAD aims to enroll 12,500 adult learners in the province over the next three years. This particular model reflects ProLiteracy’s methodology: combining literacy-based skills and information at the local level help bring about lasting change and improvement in understanding and managing essential daily-life functions like home finances, health issues, and civic participation. Adult literacy and basic education should be an essential element of all development programs and strategies.
We at ProLiteracy are convinced everyday through personal stories, and articles like the ones shared above, that adult literacy is the key to a lasting solution to the challenges of poverty, conflict, and inequality.
Wonderful food for thought this morning. I especially enjoyed the insight that tearing something down a la terrorism can be done in ignorance but building requires education. So true.
ReplyDelete*Just noticed my original (6/12/11) posting is not recorder*
ReplyDeleteThe number of women not being able to read worldwide is astounding. Never would have expected to see numbers such as these. This brings to light how global women are far less educated than men. When considering this from the U.S., it is mostly males who are behind in reading; therefore as they grow into adulthood, women remain higher in literacy as they do in school. What effects do global inequalities play in the literacy experience?
This is a a very interesting thread. The number of illiterate people in the U.S. is really surprising. This is a major issue around the world. As educators I am uncertain as to how this problem can be solved it is such a large problem.
ReplyDeleteSolving an issue can appear to be approachable through education but I think it goes farther than that. In situations like this I am thinking inequality of gender, economic and location of where the individuals live play a major role as well. I don't think just because one is allowed to come into the classroom they are learning to read. This is sad but true.
ReplyDeleteLashanda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. As educators though I feel it is important to help these student learn to read and become comfortable in the classroom so they can see the value of an education. Many times individuals do not see why an education is important, especially now in this economy when many students are going to school, graduating, and then not being about to find work, such as my son and his fiancee. It is horrible in the state of Illinois right now. There is no work, therefore, how do you encourage someone to spend the money and get a college education???
As regions are living through economic crises, is there a way to position literacy so that it is also valued as a way to explore and propagate our cultural lives?
ReplyDeletekirstucker
ReplyDeleteGood question. I really think that maybe this depends on the culture. Do all cultures value literacy as we do, and do all communities in the U.S. even value literacy like they should?
Kathy
Kathy
ReplyDeleteNow you have asked one of the golden quesion! "do all communities in the U.S. even value literacy like they should?" I must admit that some communites simply do not value literacy as much as they should. I am a middle school teacher. On our state standardized test, we continuously have African American students performing below the standards in Reading and Math as compared to white students. As an African American it saddens me that I have a difficult time getting parents to attend conferences; yet, at sporting events their attendance is high.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI too am an African American middle school teacher and totally understand your frustration. To answer Kathy's question I really do not think literacy is valued. When thinking about various cultures, the stresses of making money and having material success I don't believe equates with educational success. Not realizing that learning is life long, people in low socioeconomic conditions value things rather how they can use what they have learned to make things of value.
As I focus on the word standards in the word standardized, it makes me wonder what type of standards have been set in worldly and its impact on various cultures.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteAre you familiar with Alfred Tatum's work? What about New Literacy Studies? NLS posits the notion that we all have/use multiple literacies. Within this context, some literacies may be valued over others. We can use critical theory/critical pedagogy to help us explore why certain literacies are valued over others.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf we are to believe that 796 million figure that represents the illiterate adults, what about those who are not yet adults? If world population is over 7 billion, how many are adults and how many are not? Does this not mean that we have many millions, possible a billion or more young people who are potential illiterates? This is the big picture on this issue and we must not only teach those illiterate adults, but provide the young with education so that they do not add to the adult illiteracy number.
ReplyDeleteHi all, here are some interesting facts: The Education For All-Global Monitoring Report, January, 2010, finds that out of the total 759 million illiterate adults in the world, India still has the highest number.
ReplyDelete“Over half of the illiterate adults live in just four countries: Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan,” the report said, adding the progress has been “painfully slow” and threatens to obstruct the Millennium Development Goals.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/education/issues/article82886.ece
Wow everyone! These are great conversations – we are so excited to see people galvanized around literacy and our blog postings. @LaShanda hit the nail on the head from her July 4th posting by saying “the issue goes farther than that...” We at ProLiteracy believe that low literacy among adults is a contributing factor to other social issues; this is why literacy should be integrated into solutions for many other challenges like homelessness, gender inequality, domestic violence, crime, and economic disparity. We also believe that education is only one component for low adult literacy rates. The other two are unaddressed/undiagnosed disabilities and migration/immigration.
ReplyDeleteBelow we’ve included some stats you might find interesting from a report on the ROI of Adult Education (will include link below). They found that if only half of the U.S. dropouts from the Class of 2008 from 45 metropolitan areas had proceeded to graduate, they would have contributed the following additional combined economic benefit to their communities during an average year:
•4.1 billion in additional earnings, compared to their likely earnings without a diploma;
•An additional $2.8 billion in spending and $1.1 billion in investments;
•They would have purchased homes worth $10.5 billion more mid-career than they would have been able to buy as dropouts, and spent an additional $340 million on vehicle purchases each year;
•Their additional spending and investments would have likely generated 30,000 new jobs, increasing the gross regional products of their areas by $5.3 billion at around the time they reached the midpoint of their careers; and
•State local tax revenues in each of the areas would have increased as a result of this increased economic activity – an additional $536 million in an average year.
Source: http://bit.ly/maFQnI
@lori.michels -- We want to acknowledge that low literacy is a reality regardless of age or country. Many great programs focus on k-12 education; we at ProLiteracy believe that educating parents is a key component to educating children.
ReplyDeleteAlesha Anderson, International Program Coordinator, ProLiteracy
To All,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that most programs need to begin in the K-12 area. Literacy is a global problem, that if not addressed soon enough ends up a problem in colleges with adult learners. Here is the United States I feel that the use of technology has not helped. Children at a very young age have access to cell phones computers, etc. Therefore, in some households children are not forced to read and/or write. Everything is done on the computer or via text message. As many of us know text messages now are all short hand such as OMG or TKS. Therefore, do children know how to spell thanks. Technology can be our friend if used correctly, yet in many ways it can be our enemy.
Kathy
@Kathy ... Hi! We agree that literacy is a global problem that needs to be addressed across all age groups. Technology has certainly impacted the way we communicate! We are looking forward to exploring and learning how this new medium will help us reach new adult learners and provide them with new resources and materials in ways we could not before…
ReplyDeleteAmy Schmitz/ProLiteracy
I can appreciate and agree with the comment posted on July 20 about the belief that educating parents is a key component to educating children. For example, on our state standardized test in the area of math, minorities continue to struggle to pass. Through informal conversations with teachers and some students, I have learned that some parents simply can not assist their children at home because they lack the necessary skills. I am a sixth grade language arts teacher, and I realize that the math that sixth grade students are required to know is moer advanced than it was when I was their age. We definitely need to empower parents to help their children with math homework and studying for test.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteDon't you think sometimes we worry too much about tests. I remember when my children were going through elementary school and they did these timed math test. They did them for each area, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You were not allowed to move to the next level until you passed the prior one. I always wondered why were we so concerned about how children could perform on a series of timed math tests. I think if we made learning interesting and life valuable to folks, then maybe they would see the value in it and learn things easier. Teach they why we are teaching them these math skills, what is the importance. As Lori said, children in other countries do not know how to read at all, yet when you see one of them learn how to read, then you really can see the glow in their face. Many may not understand the importance of learning to read because the life and world around them does not know nor encourages to learn how to read.
Alesha,
ReplyDeleteWhat statistics do you have that reflect actual progress in literacy?
@lori.michaels – it’s challenging to evaluate the state of adult literacy in the U.S. Here’s what we do know:
ReplyDelete• Our most recent statistical report indicated a 5 percent increase in the need for adult literacy and basic education services
• Waiting lists climbed to 76 percent from 71 percent the year before
• At the same time, funding is being cut—our members reported a decrease of $6 million in funding compared to two years ago
What these statistics show, we feel, is the impact from the 2008 recession. Increasingly, adults are finding they need to refresh even basic skills in order to be competitive in a tight job market. We also feel these statistics reveal a greater awareness of the need for adult literacy programs and resources.
We hope that the National Center for Education Statistics will soon undertake another assessment on adult literacy so we can see what progress has been made, if any, since 2003.
Folks,
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think it is very tough to determine the literacy in the U.S. or even outside the U.S. There are so many who do not come outward to tell individuals that they do not have literacy skills. I think we need to direct our attention to children. Although, those of us who teach adult learners need to work with them to help improve their reading and writing skills. Then hopefully, these skills can be passed on down to their children.
Kathy
I agree with Kathy. I believe that it takes too many resources to provide literacy skills to an adult. Focusing on the literacy needs of children will eventually solve the adult literacy problem.
ReplyDeleteLori,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!!! I think schools need to stop passing children along from grade to grade. My stepson what one of these children. Went one semester to college and dropped out. Never took the books out of the trunk of his car. Not sure what level he reads and/or writes at. I watched his high school graduate him when they never should have. The counselors had had enough of him and did not want to work with him any more. So, like many others, he was pushed on through.
Kathy
Considering the daunting fact that two-thirds of illiterate adults are women shows how much brain power is being marginalized. As the key care-takers of future generations, one would think the importance of literacy would be recognized. Years ago, there was a study that revealed that the most effective form of birth control was education of women. With strained resources, and global warming, it would be a highly effective to reverse this issue.
ReplyDelete@Unknown: we agree—there have been quite a number of organizations that point out how educating women contributes to reducing many other social challenges around the world. Certainly our staff at ProLiteracy advocates for increased access to education for women!
ReplyDelete-Alesha Anderson, Program Manager, ProLiteracy
Improving literacy in all spectrum is pivotal for the improvement of organizations, communities, and families.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your folks postings.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to watch the unfolding of national and international policies related to these three agenda items: Educating Girls, Educating Soldiers, and Educating for Peace.
I had read this blog back in September 2011 but realized my comments were not posted. Since then, we have seen futher military changes in the world. I totally agree that literacy and education are tools for building a successful society. I invision a world where all have equal opportunity to grow and learn. Making a difference one by one.