Folks:

In the Barnes & Noble bookstore nearest my house there is a section with
books called study aids. Browsing these books lately, I noticed that there
were over a dozen books for studying to prepare oneself for the GED. One of
these books was entitled The GED for Dummies. I wondered how that would feel
for adults wanting to overcome the stigma of having dropped out of school,
discovered that their life chances in the U.S. were severely limited by not
having a high school diploma, and then sought to get their General
Educational Development (GED) certificate, sometimes called a high school
equivalency degree, to overcome this stigma.

I also wondered about what status the Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores,
such as Borders, that sell all sorts of educational materials, in addition
to the GED self-study materials, have in the adult education field? There
are many commercial enterprises in the adult education field, for example
many businesses that sell lessons in English or other languages, and I
wonder what their status is in the field of adult education.  For instance,
are such businesses eligible for federal and/or state grants?

I know that many non-profit businesses, generally referred to as community
organizations, which offer adult literacy education are eligible for
federal and/or state government grants or contracts if they meet the stated
requirements. Many religion-affiliated groups provide adult education.
Groups like OASIS for senior citizens provide lots of adult education
courses.

The largest group of institutions that offer adult education, including
literacy, numeracy, and English language training, are secondary education
organizations (e.g., high schools) which receive government funding. I
think the second largest group of taxpayer supported institutions providing
ABE, ASE, and ESL are community colleges.

I have read discussions about what certifications or qualifications adult
teachers should have. But I don’t know how these discussions apply in all
these different contexts. My question is, who should be included in and who
should be excluded from, the adult education field?

And do we really need The GED for Dummies?

Tom Sticht