For Illiterate Americans, Help is on the Way . . . sort of via VALUEUSA

For Illiterate Americans, Help is on the Way . . . sort of
Medill Reports: July 22, 2009 by Chris Linden

WASHINGTON—Question: What do a retired teacher, an auto worker and a multi-million dollar business owner have in common ?

Answer: They can’t—or couldn’t—read.

National estimates suggest nearly 90 million American adults are just like them. Many would have trouble reading a headline, and it’s likely they struggle to read this story, too.

Marty Finsterbusch can read this sentence, but he has difficulty writing it – even though he holds a college degree. As the executive director of VALUE, Finsterbusch and his nonprofit group train literacy volunteers and push for better adult education programs.

Finsterbusch, who is in his forties, can read and comprehend a sentence, he said, but a learning disability makes it difficult for him to write. He uses computer programs to read emails and dictate messages.

“My reading level is there, but I can’t put it in writing,” Finsterbusch said.National surveys suggest that illiteracy is most common among the poor and immigrants. Finsterbusch’s entire organization, based in Media Pa., is run by highly-functioning adults who can neither read nor write.

Since he joined an adult education class in the mid-1980s, Finsterbusch has been involved with literacy coalitions to ensure other adults get the same opportunity. He launched VALUE in 1998 to continue pushing for education programs.

Bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate last week could provide new resources for adult learners, including increased access, more funding and workforce and technology training. But cash alone—which could equal half a billion dollars—only skims the surface of the problem, advocates said.

“We’re really fighting to get a seat at the table,” said Jeff Carter, executive director of DC LEARNs. READ MORE !