====From Tom Sticht (retired International Consultant in Adult Education and longtime supporter of adult learners all over the world) ====
Greetings Adult Education Advocates!
During September 24-30, 2017 we celebrate Adult Education & Family Literacy Week. For some, particularly those new to adult education, it may not be clear just how adult education for adults may enhance the literacy development of their children.
For this reason I have compiled a 28 page anthology of 13 brief notes of mine with 11 illustrations and references for the professional development use of adult educators who would like to further explore the role of adult education in family literacy.
These notes address topics such as the transfer of knowledge and language usage from oracy to literacy; the intergenerational transfer of this competence from adults to their children; how oracy creates a “reading potential” for children and whether adults with low literacy typically possess much “reading potential”; how “fluid” abilities and “crystalized” knowledge may influence the assessment of adult literacy in different ways and lead to different conclusions about adult literacy abilities; and arguments against the views of some critics who attribute low literacy to low intelligence and do not think adult literacy education can accomplish very much to improve the abilities of these adults.
I have listed the contents of the report below. If you are interested in obtaining a pdf file of the anthology send me an email and I will send the file to you or CLICK HERE to access a copy online.
Tom Sticht Email: tgsticht@gmail.com
From Oracy to Literacy and Back Again: Investing in the Education of Adults, To Improve the Educability of Children!
[Introductory note: The term “oracy” referring to listening and speaking was coined by Andrew Wilkinson of the United Kingdom in the 1960s. The word “auding” as a parallel term to reading was coined by a blind student, D. P. Brown, in 1954 while working on his Ph.D at Stanford University. He drew the parallel as: hearing, listening, auding in relation to seeing, looking, reading. Both auding and reading involve the use of language in addition to the specific modality factors. All auding includes listening and hearing while languaging. All reading includes looking and seeing while languaging. Languaging refers to the processes involved in producing language representations of knowledge.]
Contents
1. Oracy, Adult Literacy Research, and The Fourth-Grade Plunge
2. The “Reading Potential” Concept: From Vienna’s Rathaus to the Common Core State Standards
3. Oracy: The Bridge to Literacy From Parents to Their Progeny
4. New Report Confirms a Hundred Years of Professional Wisdom About Parent’s Role in Developing Children’s Literacy Skills
5. Mind the 30 Million Word Gap!
6. Black-White Differences in Oracy and Literacy: A Needed Conversation
7. The Plight of Those With Oracy Difficulties in America
8. Oracy as a Predictor of Workforce Success
9. Some Misunderstandings About Reading
10. Critiquing Constructs of Intelligence and Literacy
11. The "Skills" Versus "Knowledge" Debate and Adult Literacy Education
12. Confusing Ignorance With Illiteracy
13. Theoretically You Can’t Teach Adults to Read and Write: But Just Keep On Doing It
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What did you find useful among Tom's notes? The topics are very intriguing. Please comment on your experience reading through the list! Leecy