adult literacy

National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week Begins Today

/ The Old Crank / 1 Comment

I’m heading to Baltimore today to join Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) for an event at the South Baltimore Learning Center in recognition of National Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFL) Week.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) recently introduced, for the fifth year in a row, a House resolution designating the week of September 23-29, 2013 as AEFL Week. (Rep. Sarbanes is a supporter.) Meanwhile, in the Senate, for the third year in a row, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) have introduced a bipartisan resolution that does the same.

Programs and state/local governments around the country have also passed resolutions recognizing AEFL week, and there will be events all week to recognize the work of adult and family literacy programs and students nationwide.

Health Literacy Problem “Poses a Challenge for the Success of the Affordable Care Act”

/ The Old Crank

According to the National Journal, the Congressional advisory committee on Medicare (MedPAC), is concerned that poor health literacy discourages patient involvement in treatment decisions and substantially increases the cost of Medicare.

The article also reminds us why health literacy should be of particular concern to President Obama in the coming months:

The health literacy problem also poses a challenge for the success of the Affordable Care Act. Once the exchanges open on Oct. 1, the millions of new patients added to the system in the coming years are expected to have high rates of health illiteracy, as many of them may not have had health insurance before.

As noted in the article, improving health literacy “is a stated priority for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.”

Lobbying for Literacy

/ The Old Crank

State Advocacy 2013The National Council of State Directors of Adult Education recently released the results of a survey on the use of paid lobbyists for adult education  at the state level.

Eight states reported using paid lobbyists. In all of those states, lobbyists are funded by the state adult education professional association. In six of those states, they work for those associations directly. In the other two states, the associations pay for lobbying services by contributing to coalitions that were organized to advocate for a broader range of education and human service programs.

I suspect the actual number of broad-based coalitions that at least do some advocacy that’s at least relevant to adult education funding or policy is actually a bit larger—even if they don’t do it directly. This survey was apparently focused on direct lobbying for adult education. But most statewide coalitions that advocate for funding for human services or education probably at least nominally include adult education as one of those services. It may be that those coalitions are not actively engaging policymakers on the issue of adult education, and/or may not really be working with adult education advocates in the state to integrate the need for adult education into their talking points. Raising the profile of adult education within these kinds of broad advocacy coalitions is a subject worthy of further discussion, I think.

International Literacy Day

/ The Old Crank

(Updated Below)

International Literacy Day 2013Today is International Literacy Day, an annual observance aimed at focusing attention on the importance of literacy to individuals, communities, and societies around the world. According to new data released today by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over 774 million adults on this planet do not know how to read or write (two-thirds of which are women), and roughly 123 million children not only lack basic literacy skills, but are often without access to any education at all.

According to UNESCO, on the basis of current trends, 743 million adults will still lack basic literacy skills in 2015, the deadline for the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

September 8th was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO back in 1965, and first celebrated in 1966. In my experience it tends to get a bit more attention outside the Unites States, although there are events here in the U.S. as well.

Every year, for example, the International Reading Association (IRA) hosts an event marking the day in Washington, D.C. This year’s event, “Career Ready Reading: What Employers Need from Schools and How We Can Work Together,” focuses on the connection between reading skills and career-readiness. This event reflects the IRA’s theme for this year’s ILD: “Invent Your Future,” aimed at highlighting “the crucial literacy skills that prime students for success in school, work, and life.”

UNESCO also picks a theme for each year’s celebration. This year’s theme is “literacies for the 21st century.” According to UNESCO, this means highlighting the need for not only basic literacy skills, but the need to “equip everyone with more advanced literacy skills as part of lifelong learning.”

In his International Literacy Day message, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “In our knowledge-based era, literacy is a foundation for a more just, inclusive and sustainable world.”

Here are some additional ILD links you may find of interest:

thumbnail of ILD 2013 infographic

  • To illustrate the disparities in adult and youth literacy rates, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics has created an interactive map with literacy statistics from 150 countries and territories, including literacy rates by sex and the correlation with national wealth. UNESCO has produced a huge ILD 2013 infographic (click on the thumbnail on the right for the full version) that highlights these statistics.
  • UNESCO is also hosting a colloquium in Paris tomorrow and Tuesday, entitled, “Advancing towards a Literate Twenty-first Century.” According to UNESCO, the colloquium will discuss the idea of a Global Coalition, a multi-stakeholder Partnership for advancing a literacy agenda proposed to be launched in November.
  • “On International Literacy Day, Let’s Remember the Children Who Don’t Have a Chance to Read” — blog post by Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education.
  • “What Literacy has Done for Us” — article from the Norwegian Refugee Council.
  • Editorial in the Gaston County N.C. Gazette.
  • Editorial in the Times-News (Alamance County, N.C.) — “Raising literacy in the community raises us all.”
  • Editorial in Davidson County, N.C. Dispatch.
  • Three ways to celebrate International Literacy Day today  — ChicagoNow
  • Free admission to any Florida state park today for anyone who presents a valid library card, a book checked out from the library, or donates a new or used, family friendly book!
  • Editorial in the Daily Star (Bangladesh)
  • Pakistan will celebrate the International Literacy Day 2013 with a three-day nationwide campaign to enrol at least 500,000 out-of-school children. More on ILD in Pakistan Today. Meanwhile, The U.S. has announced the launch of a new $160 million dollar Pakistan Reading Project to boost the reading skills of 3.2 million Pakistani children.
  • Statement from Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares.
  • Here is a story about an ILD event at the U.N.’s office in Armenia. And here is one about a similar event in Azerbaijan.
  • Speaking at the International Literacy Day celebration held in New Delhi, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee called for achieving a literacy rate in India that is “at par with leading countries in the world.”
  • Here’s a post I wrote last year on ILD 2012.

And remember, in the immortal words of Krusty: “Give a hoot, read a book.”

Give a hoot, read a book

UPDATE 9/17/13: Here are some more links to ILD 2013 activities and announcements from around the world that I’ve come across since my original post: