UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 2, Page 3
September 10, 1992
Employee benefit; Adult literacy training is more than just ABC's
People are more willing to admit they have a drug problem than
acknowledge they have a reading problem," according to Pat Howe,
coordinator of the University's Adult Literacy Program.
Howe has spent 15 years teaching adults how to read, a portion of
that time with adult students at the Chesapeake Job Corps Center in
Cecil County, Md. For the last five years, the focus of her attention
has been the University of Delaware community.
"When I tell people I teach people to read at the University, the
response is one of surprise," she said.
She explained that her work shouldn't be that startling,
especially since 60 percent of the American workforce reads at between
a fifth- and tenth-grade level.
"The University is a microcosm of the business world. We have
employees at all levels," Howe said, "and we're a business community
as well as an academic community."
On campus, she conducts a 30-week course in a conference room at
87 East Main St. The size of the class is no larger than 10 students.
This allows her to give individualized attention and, at the same
time, arrange for activities and class work that foster a certain
level of interaction among the students.
Employees who have taken advantage of the offer include workers
in housekeeping, grounds, central stores and the skilled trades units.
She has also had a few salaried staff who wanted to improve their
reading skills.
"The ability level of the people," said Howe, "is anywhere from
total non-readers, and we do have some on campus, to people with a
high school diploma but who may need to improve to take college
courses or others who might want to get their high school diploma."
For whatever reason, it's a long, hard process for most people to
admit that they have a literacy limitation.
"I tell them if they have the courage to make the phone call to
sign up for the testing, they have taken the biggest step," said Howe.
"It takes a lot of courage to admit you have a literacy problem.
There's a real stigma attached to it.
"No one will look at you funny if you have a problem with math,
but they will if you admit you have trouble reading. There shouldn't
be any different reaction."
Howe said many people with reading difficulties worry about
losing their jobs if someone finds out.
"They're afraid their supervisor will fire them," she said. "They
tend to hide it from everyone except one close friend, or a spouse,
someone who is trusted to keep the secret for them. Even in their own
family, the children might never even know, but the spouse will know.
This is not unusual."
Over the years, Howe has taught some individuals who had gone to
elaborate lengths to keep their personal low level of literacy a
secret.
One man, in his mid-50s, had a third-grade reading ability and
worked for a major corporation as a union manger who represented
people at grievances. When Howe, who was his teacher at an evening
course, asked him how he was able to function, he explained that he
took his secretary to all of the meetings. He told her she had to do
the minutes anyway, and his handwriting was too hard to decipher.
Another man, who had become an adult evening student, said he
would call his wife at home whenever he couldn't read something. Howe
said his wife was thrilled when his literacy skills improved, because
it allowed her to get out of the house and it was no longer necessary
for her to be tied to the phone in case he needed her help.
Nationwide, said Howe, there are millions of poor readers.
However, each one feels he or she is alone. When she begins her
classes each fall, Howe said the students arrive and tend to keep to
themselves, as though they have an imaginary shell around themselves.
Then, as the classes progress, they begin to take down the shield
and share their experiences, frustrations and successes with one
another.
Howe uses a phonics-based program, employing explanations that
try to show how certain rules of grammar and punctuation evolved and
why things are written and read as they are.
She said it's been recognized as very effective, and the adult
-based literacy programs elsewhere have sought her input regarding the
program.
With her University students, Howe has had several successes.
Some of the participants have gone on to get their G.E. D.'s, others
have entered college and are taking evening courses. These people, she
added, are able to take advantage of one of the University's greatest
benefits-college and continuing education courses. Before they were
able to read at an acceptable level, this benefit only existed on
paper. Now, she added, it has some meaning.
"A lot of people think that literacy courses are for dummies,"
said Howe. "It's not the case. The classes can be used to improve your
skills because of the increased demands of advanced technology. We
also are here to assist those who need help with basic skills. Our
program covers the full range of literacy needs."
-Ed Okonowicz