Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2019

What Would You Do? Adult Literacy - ABC 9 pm :: Futon Critic


What Would You Do? Adult Literacy - ABC 9 pm
Futon Critic: 8.23.2018

A worker makes fun of a customer struggling to read from a café menu in Jasper, Alabama.

How will others react to this scenario on adult illiteracy, an issue that effects 32 million adults in America?  WATCH 9:00pm




Adult
2019: Adult Literacy in the United States, NCES 2019-179
2013: OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD
2009: Literacy of America's Least Literate Adults, NAAL 2003
2006: Literacy of America's College Students, AIR
2007: Literacy in Everyday Life, NAAL 2003
2003: National Assessment of Adult Literacy, NAAL
2000: Programs for Adults in Public Library Outlets, USDE, NCES
1992: National Adult Literacy Survey, NALS



Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Only 17 Percent of Parents Believe Reading is Top Priority During the Summer

New Survey: Only 17 Percent of Parents Believe Reading is Top Priority During the Summer; Kids Spend Nearly Triple the Time Playing Video Games or Watching TV

Macy’s and Reading Is Fundamental Launch Be Book Smart Campaign June 18 to Support Children’s Literacy

WASHINGTON – (June 18, 2014) – Despite research that indicates the importance of summer reading in preventing children from losing literacy skills, only 17 percent of parents say reading is a top summer priority, according to a new survey from Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Macy’s. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, also finds that children spend nearly three times as many hours weekly watching TV or playing video games as they do reading in the summer. More than 1,000 parents with children ages 5-11 completed the survey online in April.

Results of the survey are made public as Macy’s and RIF launch the 11th annual Be Book Smart campaign to support children’s literacy. Be Book Smart begins June 18, and invites customers nationwide to give $3 at any Macy’s register in-store, to help provide a book for a child and get $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. Macy’s will donate 100 percent of every $3 to RIF. The campaign ends July 13.

“Many families think of reading as eating your vegetables—good for you but not necessarily a treat. Reading is the best vacation. It takes you places you never dreamed you would visit, and summer especially is a time when kids can immerse themselves in the topics they like best,” said Carol H. Rasco, CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. “Thanks to our partnership with Macy’s, we are bringing more books to children who need them most and starting them on a journey to a lifelong love of reading.”

More than 60 percent of parents in the survey said they do not believe their child loses reading skills over the summer. However, existing research shows that summer learning loss is a major problem, particularly for low-income children who can lose up to three months of reading skills because of limited access to books and learning opportunities while out of school. The key to helping children maintain and even improve their literacy skills over the summer is providing access to quality books that they can choose based on personal interests.

Full survey results are highlighted in an executive summary by Harris Poll. Key findings include:
• On average, parents say their child spends 17.4 hours/week watching TV or playing video games, 16.7 hours/week playing outside and only 5.9 hours/week reading.
• Parents who consider reading to be extremely or very important are twice as likely to have a child who reads every day.
• Children who were involved in a reading program last summer were up to two times more likely to read every day. Yet, over half of parents said their child did not participate in a reading program at all last summer.
• Last summer, children who read because they wanted to were twice as likely to read than children who read because they had to.
• Despite the proliferation of e-books and digital formats, 83 percent of parents said their child preferred print books for summer reading, compared to 7 percent preferring tablets and 4 percent preferring e-readers

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Read 'em and Weep: Crazy Ones' Sizzling Season Finale

First Look: The Crazy Ones' Sizzling Season Finale
TV Guide: 4.03.2014 by Rob Moynihan

Read 'em and weep! Simon (Robin Williams) and his team try to keep the local library from closing by using a very unconventional method on The Crazy Ones' two-episode season finale (both airing April 17 on CBS).

"Robin and Brad [Garrett] had a ball with this episode," says exec producer Tracy Poust. "Shooting this scene was a blast, but we filmed outside the one night it rained in Los Angeles. We finished right as the rain came down."

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

In Focus Martin Sheen on Community Literacy Programs

In Focus Martin Sheen on Community Literacy Programs
InFocus: 9.10.2012: by kelly broox

In the information age, being able to digest the written word is more critical than ever to success in society. For millions of Americans, the task of reading and comprehending material is difficult. The TV program In Focus Martin Sheen is exploring how groups around the country are helping people learn essential reading skills.

In the United States, about one in five adults have the highest level of reading comprehension— that is 20 percent. On the other end of the spectrum is about 14 percent of Americans who have serious difficulty reading according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy.

In Focus PBS is working to highlight community groups around the country that are trying to reduce this alarming statistic.

One novel approach that is showing results in adult education classrooms and community centers around the country is to teach reading through application. By using the types of reading materials that people encounter in their lives, teachers can help adult students improve their skill and understand the necessity of reading. READ MORE !

Resources for Community Literacy Programs
Southern California Library Literacy Network @ Southern California and California
American Literacy Directory @ National - International – Statistics

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

In Focus Martin Sheen on Adult Literacy Challenges

In Focus Martin Sheen on Adult Literacy Challenges
In Focus: 7.25.2012 by Kelly Broox

As our economy becomes more information based, the ability to read and understand the written word has become more critical than ever.

The TV program In Focus Martin Sheen is exploring education issues that impact all Americans, and one of the most pressing in the information age is insuring that adults can read.

Reading and writing of course are important to everyone, but for adults illiteracy means not being able to complete a job application or medical form. It can also be dangerous if an adult cannot read directions on medications. READ MORE !

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Corona Library :: John Zickefoose Learned To Read At 35, Now Shares His Literacy Struggle With Kids

From illiterate to role model
Once, John Zickefoose couldn't read to his children or order from a menu. Today, he's a school board member and Corona library advocate.
LA Times: January 5, 2011 by Carla Rivera


The metamorphosis is as quick as the turn of a page: John Zickefoose is a hyperactive goose, a laid-back bear, a monkey, a tiger. The children at the Corona Public Library squeal with laughter as the man whose name rhymes with Seuss becomes louder and more animated.

There was a time when reading the simple words of a picture book would have proved impossible for Zickefoose. He spent years in school overwhelmed with sadness that nothing came as easily to him as it did for others. He would become rowdy, preferring to be kicked out of class than to be called on by the teacher.

Zickefoose was functionally illiterate, unable to read a prescription label, his children's report cards or a menu. He was diagnosed as a young boy with dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and didn't learn to read and write until he was 35.

That's when everything changed. He became a poster boy for the Corona library's adult reading program, began to speak publicly about his own struggles and was named the library's literacy director. He founded a nonprofit youth organization.

And on Dec. 7, Zickefoose, 52, was sworn in as a member of the Corona-Norco Unified School District Board of Education.

For the boy who couldn't understand the words on his high school diploma, the journey to the school board was the culmination of a vow to do something meaningful in life and help prevent others from starting out as he did.

"I'll be able to bring, quite frankly, an unusual perspective of what it feels like to be in the classroom and be a failure," Zickefoose said. "I don't want any child to go through what I went through."



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An estimated 30 million American adults can't read a newspaper or fill out a job application. Many have learning disabilities. Others are dropouts, victims of failing school systems. Some are immigrants with deficient English language skills who may also be illiterate in their native tongues.



But Zickefoose is also an anomaly. Only about 5% of adults who need services receive them, mainly because there is still so much shame attached to the condition, said David C. Harvey, president and chief executive of ProLiteracy, an international advocacy group. Zickefoose serves on the board of directors.



"John is a national role model because one of the most effective ways to break down that stigma is to have people who have had this problem talk about it," Harvey said. "He's a shining example of what can happen when someone gets services and puts those new skills to work."



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Now outreach coordinator at the library, Zickefoose appears to be straight-arrow, business-minded, even professorial. But his tie, with an imprint of the Looney Tunes' Tasmanian Devil, hints at a whimsical nature.



He formed UNITY (United Neighbors Involving Today's Youth) in 1996, and it has evolved into a coalition of 80 public and private agencies that have secured more than $17 million for the Corona-Norco school district. A generation of students know him as Mr. Z from his appearances at school assemblies where he preaches perseverance, using his own life as an example.



As a school board member, Zickefoose wants to prepare students earlier for college and a career and to pursue more outside funds for such school programs as arts and music. READ MORE !

Monday, December 29, 2008

Rancho Cucamonga Library - Conquering Illiteracy: One Man's Fight

Conquering Illiteracy: One Man's Fight
A Grandfather Reads His First Christmas Story
Good Morning America (ABC): Dec 27, 2008 by Lisa Fletcher, Nicole Young & Michael Milberger


Two years ago, reading a holiday book to his 3-year-old grandson Chip would have been impossible for Charles Goolsby. But this year, after countless hours of hard work, Goolsby is finally able to read a holiday story -- something he was never able to do for his own son and daughter.

One California man conquers a decades-long battle with reading."I was totally humiliated, a grown man with reading and writing skills that are not up to par," said Goolsby, 56, of Fontana, Calif. "I had nothing to lose, because I was at my bottom, my lowest point."

Recently divorced and recovering from heart surgery, Goolsby was entering a new phase of his life. Fixing car transmissions was his specialty. He even owned his own business with the help of his son, but facing retirement, his safety net was disappearing.

"If I needed something, I'd always say, 'Well, give me the paper, I'll go home and fill it out,' or I'd take my wife with me," said Goolsby. "People with the same disability that I have, you know how to get around stuff, you learn the shortcut for someone to help you."

It's not uncommon to find adults headed for retirement who do not have sufficient reading skills. Goolsby began as one of 30 million American adults who cannot read beyond a simple sentence and the 7 million who can't read at all, according to the National Institute for Literacy.

Rosie Manela, adult literacy program director at the Rancho Cucamonga Library, where Goolsby takes literacy lessons, said fear of embarrassment often prevents adults from seeking help.

"It is sad, because in this fast-paced technology, this competitive global economy, our country is going to suffer if we don't do anything about that," she said. READ MORE