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The Exchange - Spring 2006
Wedgeworth calls for more, better adult education
Our nation needs a sharp increase in support for adult education programs, said Robert Wedgeworth, president of ProLiteracy Worldwide, nonprofit agency based in Syracuse, New York. Wedgeworth was keynote speaker for the Wisconsin Celebration of Literacy.
Although the U.S. census does not directly measure literacy, it does offer a warning, Wedgeworth said. Immigrants who arrived in this nation in the 1990s, he said, reported the lowest levels of education and English-speaking ability of any group of newcomers since the 1890 census. Half of the children of illiterate parents grow up unable to read and write, research shows. The national literacy expert says that America is heading for an explosion in the number of immigrant children who grow up unable to read, write or fit into society.
Federal funding for adult education remains steady at about $580 million, but Wedgeworth argues that the nation should double or triple funding to attack problems such as poverty, crime, workplace accidents and illiteracy among immigrant children.
A federal snapshot of literacy released in December, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), found that one in six U.S. adults cannot perform simple literacy skills.
"To many people, that's shocking," Wedgeworth said as he issued a call for “a new conversation” on creating a comprehensive and fully coordinated adult literacy and basic education system. Education is not just for children; learning is lifelong and necessary for both economic productivity and personal fulfillment, he said.
-- Mary Moze
Student Writing
“My Life Was Spared”
My name is Elizabeth Wah. I was born on December 26, 1987 in Liberia. Liberia was founded in 1821 by the free slaves of America. It had its independence in 1847. Before I was born, the corrupt Doe Government ruled my country. Thousands of people fled the country to Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire because the government was taking away the rights of the people.
When I was five years old, Liberia was invaded from Cote d’Ivoire by rebel forces. At that time, my family was moving back and forth between villages and forests in order to stay alive. Unfortunately, the enemy bullets killed my mother. After the death of my mom, we left with our father for another village and stayed until the rebels came there. Things were rough and, sadly, we were separated from our father.
My two brothers and I were alone in the forest with nothing to eat at all. Luckily a woman found us and took us with her. While leaving the forest, we joined other displaced persons, and we started moving together. This made us more visible to the rebels who were shooting and killing many people. Some of us survived this attack only because we pretended to be dead by lying among the dead bodies and covering ourselves with blood. We only got up hours after the shooters left.
Later, we were captured by other rebels and driven to a prison camp. There, they killed people every day. I watched helplessly as they cut my brother’s throat.
My own time to die was about to come when other fighters attacked the camp. They freed us, and we were allowed to flee to Cote d’Ivoire. My older brother and I survived, but other family did not. To this day, I do not know if my father is alive or dead.
-- Elizabeth K Wah
The Adult Learning Center
