|
February 25, 2008
Adult Literacy Focus of Two-Part ABC Nightly News Segment
Features Interview with National Institute for Literacy
Living in the Shadows Series Reveals Plight of Adult Learners
A preview of Tuesday's ABC News special is currently online.
WASHINGTON-Millions of Americans live daily with a troubling secret-they aren't able to read or write at a level that allows them to function in society, to achieve their goals or to develop their knowledge and potential. Today in a World News Tonight segment, ABC News Correspondent Pierre Thomas will talk candidly with some of those adult learners and to the director of the National Institute for Literacy about the extent of the problem and the solutions. Part one of the series, Living in the Shadows: Illiteracy in America, will air on Monday, Feb.25 at 6:30 p.m. EST. Part Two, Out of the Shadows, Overcoming Illiteracy, will air on Tuesday at the same time.
"The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce reported that low literacy levels among a large portion of the nation's adult population are particularly threatening to America's future because the majority of workers who will be in the workforce in 20 years are the same people who are in it now," said Dr. Sandra L. Baxter, Director of the Institute a Federally-funded agency charged with providing national leadership regarding literacy.
At a time when approximately 93 million adults still cannot read above a basic level and even more cannot perform simple, everyday quantitative literacy tasks required in this society, Baxter called the ABC News series an unprecedented opportunity for those in the literacy community to unveil the extent of a problem that many in the nation thought had gone the way of the horse and buggy.
"It's not too late to change this picture," said Dr. Troy Justesen, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education. "Investing in adult literacy is a strong partnership among local, state, and national programs," Justesen added. "Adults who can read and read well are critical to a strong economy."
Says Baxter: "Literacy skills are the building blocks for success in our families, in our schools, in our communities, and in our economy. And the Institute, along with its Federal partners is committed to making sure that every individual in our nation has those skills. I hope that this national news segment will spur people to action-to volunteer, to seek literacy support, to dialogue, and to transform their communities."
Resources:
|
|
Home