Cheers for Cynthia for bringing up the obvious: politics plays a role in
literacy development and empowerment in every country including our own.
In terms of Iraq: Iraq had one of the best university systems in the
middle east and, now? US intervention has impacted education. That is
irrefutable.  And in the United States: government policy affects our
students' success in school and our adult students ability to access
services. In many states there are hardly any services for ABE
students... as we well know.
Carole Scholl
Portland Oregon


-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:00 AM
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Subject: ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 49, Issue 16

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of ProfessionalDevelopment digest..."




Today's Topics:

   1. [PD 4065] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
      (Cynthia Peters)
   2. [PD 4066] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
      (Steve Kaufmann)
   3. [PD 4067]   Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq (Bhofmeyer)
   4. [PD 4068] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
      (Kearney Lykins)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:38:28 -0400
From: "Cynthia Peters" <cynthia_peters at worlded.org>
Subject: [PD 4065] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
To: <professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <4AE58A33.D312.008D.0 at worlded.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Tom's article reminds me of some key aspects of literacy, including the
importance of understanding the context of events, of examining who is
saying what and why, and of being able to think clearly about events
despite the way that certain kinds of "talk" can obscure reality.

Professional Development for adult ed. teachers should include a lot of
support to teachers to figure out ways to help students not just learn
to read but to penetrate people's words in context. Those of us who are
teachers and who are already literate need to be supported to keep
reminding ourselves about harsh realities because it's tempting to
ignore them, especially since (as U.S. citizens) we have a large
responsibility.

For example, in reference to Tom's article below, if we are concerned
about literacy in Iraq, perhaps one of the most important contributions
U.S. citizens can make would be to examine our government's role there
over the past several decades, which includes numerous illegal and
immoral (not to mention useless and counterproductive) bombings,
invasions, occupations, economic boycotts (which do not literally drop
bombs on people but nonetheless cause 100s of thousands to die), etc.

Another example: A close reading of the text reveals the Orwellian
doublespeak of Army Spc. Tiffany Evans talking about how "...war and
economic hardships have caused the education system to suffer
significantly in the last two decades" -- as if the *source* of war and
economic hardship were not directly linked to her, indeed, to all of us,
as citizens of the country which launched an illegal pre-emptive war,
and which before that had driven the country into the ground through
absolutely vicious economic sanctions. 

I know there are many great professional development people out there
who are supporting teachers (and by extension, students) to look deeply
into texts and to provide pathways for all of us to use what we
understand to be happening in the world as a check on what we read. I
think we cannot underestimate the importance of that work!

Cynthia

-- 

Cynthia Peters
Change Agent Editor
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA  02210
 
tel: 617-482-9485 ext. 3649
fax: 617-482-0617
email: cpeters at worlded.org 
 
Check out The Change Agent online at: 
www.nelrc.org/changeagent 



>>> On 10/21/2009 at 7:41 PM, in message

<1256168464.4adf9c1096189 at webmail.znet.net>, <tsticht at znet.com> wrote:

> Colleagues: This being Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, with

our

> field's focus on media stories about adult literacy issues, I am

pleased to

> announce that the article will be published tomorrow on

> www.educationnews.org which has some 1.3 million unique visitors per

month.

> I hope to stimulate interest in adult literacy education in this

way.

> 

> Tom Sticht

> 

> 

> October 21, 2009

> 

> Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq

> 

> Tom Sticht

>                                                                   

> International Consultant in Adult Education

> 

> 

> In August of 1979 I was invited by the Director-General of UNESCO to

become

> a member of the jury which annually selects winners of UNESCO

literacy

> prizes. I gladly accepted the invitation and some two weeks later I

> traveled to Paris to begin what became 25 years of service on the

> International Jury for Literacy Prizes.

> 

> 

> In my first year of Jury duty I read a candidature submitted by the

> government of Iraq, Following discussion of the candidature by all

members

> of the Jury, it was decided to award one of the literacy prizes for

1979 to

> the Supreme Council of the National Campaign for Compulsory Literacy

of Iraq

> for initiating the campaign. Later,  historians A. Al-Rubaiy and K.

> Al-Zubaidy, writing in 1990, reported that, ?By 1980 the campaign

claimed

> 1,588,997 citizens had become literate. This figure represents 76.4 %

of

> the 2.3 million target population of 15-45 year-olds. Real gains have

been

> made, yet, in spite of the campaign's figures, it is still too soon

to

> evaluate the program in terms of achieving a high degree of adult

> literacy.?

> 

> 

> Thirty years after  receiving a UNESCO literacy prize in 1979, UNESCO

put

> out a press release on International Literacy Day of September 8,

2009

> stating that ?The Iraqi adult illiteracy rate is now one of the

highest in

> the Arab region, particularly in rural areas, where almost 30% of

the

> population is unable to read or write. Significant gender disparities

are

> also a matter of concern with illiteracy rates higher than 40% among

> women.? The press release announced UNESCO?s commitment to

reducing Iraq?s

> illiteracy rate by 50 percent by 2015.

> 

> 

> What happened to Iraq?s high level of literacy following the

National

> Literacy Campaign of the late 1970s? According to a July 2008

newspaper

> article by Army Spc. Tiffany Evans, from the Multi-National

Division,

> Center for Public Affairs in Iraq, ??war and economic hardships

have caused

> the education system to suffer significantly in the last two

decades.

> Schools fell into disrepair, enrollment dropped, and literacy levels

> stagnated.?

> 

> 

> Now a new National Literacy Campaign has been initiated by the Iraqi

> government to meet pressing needs, including the need for security

against

> terrorist attacks. In keeping with the National Literacy Campaign,

adult

> literacy programs have been initiated by coalition forces in Hawijah

to

> help some 500 men aged 18 to 30 years acquire literacy needed to join

the

> Iraqi Army. A news article by Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson in June,

2008

> quoted Ahmad Magebi Abdullah, a Sunni-Arab attending the literacy

program,

> saying, ?I couldn?t go to school in the past because it was too

dangerous.

> I want to have an education. I want to be able to read and write.

There was

> no hope until now.?

> 

> 

> The coalition forces literacy program costs about $450 per student in

the

> initial program conducted by coalition forces. It provides a model

for the

> National Literacy Campaign with the Iraqi Ministry of Education

funding

> future programs. According to coalition forces leadership, ?Its

money well

> spent. The true Al Qaeda in Iraq uses this lack of education to

generate

> willingness to participate in their activities?the majority of their

> membership is illiterate and uneducated.?

> 

> 

> According to Army Major Virginia Brady, ?Literacy helps to

cultivate one?s

> critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills change the way a

mind

> works and thinks about stuff. Children copy their parents, and by

educating

> the adults, the children will want to learn, too.? Brady goes on to

explain

> that ?Women, in particular, directly affect children?s

perceptions?.a

> government-supported program could change how women perceive their

world,

> and they can change how children see the world.?

> 

> 

> These are hopeful thoughts. But from my experience in seeing adult 

literacy

> education move from the margins to the mainstream of thought in Iraq

in 1979

> and then have to do it all over again in 2009, I have learned that

literacy

> is a double-edged sword that cuts two ways. It can embolden those

with

> ideas bent on domination, or it can empower those with ideas aimed

at

> liberty and freedom.

> 

> 

> Now the question is - which way will the sword swing this time in

Iraq?

> 

> 

> Tom Sticht

> tsticht at aznet.net 

> 

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list

> professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov 

>  

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 

> Email delivered to cynthia_peters at worlded.org 

> 

> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki



>

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Devel
opme


> nt



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:26:05 -0700
From: Steve Kaufmann <steve at thelinguist.com>
Subject: [PD 4066] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
	<professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
	<f1a6e820910261126o12a90664j99e22862ec0b0bbe at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Most people who struggle with poor literacy face serious obstacles,
since we
are surrounded by writing. It is a part of our environment, our cultural
environment. To improve the reading and writing skills of these people
is an
immense job, given the scale of the problem. Political views on Iraq or
other issues of domestic or international policy is quite a different
matter.

Steve Kaufmann
604-922-8551
 <http://www.lingq.com/?referral=steve>
<http://www.lingq.com/?referral=steve>


--- @ WiseStamp Signature <http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install>. Get
it
now <http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install>



-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
604-922-8514
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:20:51 -0400
From: Bhofmeyer <bhofmeyer at ciesc.k12.in.us>
Subject: [PD 4067]   Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
To: "The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List"
	<professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <d0ed1c87b10017dc676f2abfe92dc2ea at ciesc.k12.in.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Cynthia,
You are correct to encourage critical thinking and evaluation skills in
our instruction of adult learners and in PD for instructors. Such skills
will benefit our learners in life and work. However, I believe that a
critical part of that instruction includes teaching them to consider all
sides of an issue and then to make up their own minds after having
weighed the information. To do so, we must be sure to offer - or provide
resources for them to discover -  solid information without prejudicing
the information. That may mean they reach conclusions contrary to our
own. However, if we do not approach topics with a good measure of
objectivity we risk sacrificing the very lesson we strive to teach. 

Barbara Hofmeyer
Professional  Development Consultant
Indiana Adult Education 
Professional Development Project
bhofmeyer at ciesc.k12.in.us
260-572-6296
FAX: 260-927-8720



-----Original message-----
From: "Cynthia Peters" cynthia_peters at worlded.org
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:11:04 -0400
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Subject: [PD 4065] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq


> Tom's article reminds me of some key aspects of literacy, including

the

> importance of understanding the context of events, of examining who is

> saying what and why, and of being able to think clearly about events

> despite the way that certain kinds of "talk" can obscure reality.

> 

> Professional Development for adult ed. teachers should include a lot

of

> support to teachers to figure out ways to help students not just learn

> to read but to penetrate people's words in context. Those of us who

are

> teachers and who are already literate need to be supported to keep

> reminding ourselves about harsh realities because it's tempting to

> ignore them, especially since (as U.S. citizens) we have a large

> responsibility.

> 

> For example, in reference to Tom's article below, if we are concerned

> about literacy in Iraq, perhaps one of the most important

contributions

> U.S. citizens can make would be to examine our government's role there

> over the past several decades, which includes numerous illegal and

> immoral (not to mention useless and counterproductive) bombings,

> invasions, occupations, economic boycotts (which do not literally drop

> bombs on people but nonetheless cause 100s of thousands to die), etc.

> 

> Another example: A close reading of the text reveals the Orwellian

> doublespeak of Army Spc. Tiffany Evans talking about how "...war and

> economic hardships have caused the education system to suffer

> significantly in the last two decades" -- as if the *source* of war

and

> economic hardship were not directly linked to her, indeed, to all of

us,

> as citizens of the country which launched an illegal pre-emptive war,

> and which before that had driven the country into the ground through

> absolutely vicious economic sanctions. 

> 

> I know there are many great professional development people out there

> who are supporting teachers (and by extension, students) to look

deeply

> into texts and to provide pathways for all of us to use what we

> understand to be happening in the world as a check on what we read. I

> think we cannot underestimate the importance of that work!

> 

> Cynthia

> 

> -- 

> 

>



------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:18:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kearney Lykins <kearney_lykins at yahoo.com>
Subject: [PD 4068] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
	<professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <395050.49558.qm at web37902.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Cynthia,

Perhaps?when the?Army Specialist made her remarks, she was not being as
Orwellian as you imagine. It could be that her knowledge of Iraq's
hardships included the?history that began prior to the American
sanctions and invasions.?The Iran-Iraq war, in which half a million
people were killed comes to mind, as well as the less-than-benevolent
rule of Saddam Hussein. 

If pre-1990 Iraq had a sterling reputation for making great strides in
literacy and professional development,?I haven't heard about it. ?


Kearney Lykins
?
?
Kearney_Lykins at yahoo.com
?




________________________________
From: Cynthia Peters <cynthia_peters at worlded.org>
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Sent: Mon, October 26, 2009 11:38:28 AM
Subject: [PD 4065] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq

Tom's article reminds me of some key aspects of literacy, including the
importance of understanding the context of events, of examining who is
saying what and why, and of being able to think clearly about events
despite the way that certain kinds of "talk" can obscure reality.

Professional Development for adult ed. teachers should include a lot of
support to teachers to figure out ways to help students not just learn
to read but to penetrate people's words in context. Those of us who are
teachers and who are already literate need to be supported to keep
reminding ourselves about harsh realities because it's tempting to
ignore them, especially since (as U.S. citizens) we have a large
responsibility.

For example, in reference to Tom's article below, if we are concerned
about literacy in Iraq, perhaps one of the most important contributions
U.S. citizens can make would be to examine our government's role there
over the past several decades, which includes numerous illegal and
immoral (not to mention useless and counterproductive) bombings,
invasions, occupations, economic boycotts (which do not literally drop
bombs on people but nonetheless cause 100s of thousands to die), etc.

Another example: A close reading of the text reveals the Orwellian
doublespeak of Army Spc. Tiffany Evans talking about how "...war and
economic hardships have caused the education system to suffer
significantly in the last two decades" -- as if the *source* of war and
economic hardship were not directly linked to her, indeed, to all of us,
as citizens of the country which launched an illegal pre-emptive war,
and which before that had driven the country into the ground through
absolutely vicious economic sanctions. 

I know there are many great professional development people out there
who are supporting teachers (and by extension, students) to look deeply
into texts and to provide pathways for all of us to use what we
understand to be happening in the world as a check on what we read. I
think we cannot underestimate the importance of that work!

Cynthia

-- 

Cynthia Peters
Change Agent Editor
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA? 02210

tel: 617-482-9485 ext. 3649
fax: 617-482-0617
email: cpeters at worlded.org 

Check out The Change Agent online at: 
www.nelrc.org/changeagent 



>>> On 10/21/2009 at 7:41 PM, in message

<1256168464.4adf9c1096189 at webmail.znet.net>, <tsticht at znet.com> wrote:

> Colleagues: This being Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, with

our

> field's focus on media stories about adult literacy issues, I am

pleased to

> announce that the article will be published tomorrow on

> www.educationnews.org which has some 1.3 million unique visitors per

month.

> I hope to stimulate interest in adult literacy education in this

way.

> 

> Tom Sticht

> 

> 

> October 21, 2009

> 

> Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq

> 

> Tom Sticht

>? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

> International Consultant in Adult Education

> 

> 

> In August of 1979 I was invited by the Director-General of UNESCO to

become

> a member of the jury which annually selects winners of UNESCO

literacy

> prizes. I gladly accepted the invitation and some two weeks later I

> traveled to Paris to begin what became 25 years of service on the

> International Jury for Literacy Prizes.

> 

> 

> In my first year of Jury duty I read a candidature submitted by the

> government of Iraq, Following discussion of the candidature by all

members

> of the Jury, it was decided to award one of the literacy prizes for

1979 to

> the Supreme Council of the National Campaign for Compulsory Literacy

of Iraq

> for initiating the campaign. Later,? historians A. Al-Rubaiy and K.

> Al-Zubaidy, writing in 1990, reported that, ?By 1980 the campaign

claimed

> 1,588,997 citizens had become literate. This figure represents 76.4 %

of

> the 2.3 million target population of 15-45 year-olds. Real gains have

been

> made, yet, in spite of the campaign's figures, it is still too soon

to

> evaluate the program in terms of achieving a high degree of adult

> literacy.?

> 

> 

> Thirty years after? receiving a UNESCO literacy prize in 1979, UNESCO

put

> out a press release on International Literacy Day of September 8,

2009

> stating that ?The Iraqi adult illiteracy rate is now one of the

highest in

> the Arab region, particularly in rural areas, where almost 30% of

the

> population is unable to read or write. Significant gender disparities

are

> also a matter of concern with illiteracy rates higher than 40% among

> women.? The press release announced UNESCO?s commitment to

reducing Iraq?s

> illiteracy rate by 50 percent by 2015.

> 

> 

> What happened to Iraq?s high level of literacy following the

National

> Literacy Campaign of the late 1970s? According to a July 2008

newspaper

> article by Army Spc. Tiffany Evans, from the Multi-National

Division,

> Center for Public Affairs in Iraq, ??war and economic hardships

have caused

> the education system to suffer significantly in the last two

decades.

> Schools fell into disrepair, enrollment dropped, and literacy levels

> stagnated.?

> 

> 

> Now a new National Literacy Campaign has been initiated by the Iraqi

> government to meet pressing needs, including the need for security

against

> terrorist attacks. In keeping with the National Literacy Campaign,

adult

> literacy programs have been initiated by coalition forces in Hawijah

to

> help some 500 men aged 18 to 30 years acquire literacy needed to join

the

> Iraqi Army. A news article by Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson in June,

2008

> quoted Ahmad Magebi Abdullah, a Sunni-Arab attending the literacy

program,

> saying, ?I couldn?t go to school in the past because it was too

dangerous.

> I want to have an education. I want to be able to read and write.

There was

> no hope until now.?

> 

> 

> The coalition forces literacy program costs about $450 per student in

the

> initial program conducted by coalition forces. It provides a model

for the

> National Literacy Campaign with the Iraqi Ministry of Education

funding

> future programs. According to coalition forces leadership, ?Its

money well

> spent. The true Al Qaeda in Iraq uses this lack of education to

generate

> willingness to participate in their activities?the majority of their

> membership is illiterate and uneducated.?

> 

> 

> According to Army Major Virginia Brady, ?Literacy helps to

cultivate one?s

> critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills change the way a

mind

> works and thinks about stuff. Children copy their parents, and by

educating

> the adults, the children will want to learn, too.? Brady goes on to

explain

> that ?Women, in particular, directly affect children?s

perceptions?.a

> government-supported program could change how women perceive their

world,

> and they can change how children see the world.?

> 

> 

> These are hopeful thoughts. But from my experience in seeing adult 

literacy

> education move from the margins to the mainstream of thought in Iraq

in 1979

> and then have to do it all over again in 2009, I have learned that

literacy

> is a double-edged sword that cuts two ways. It can embolden those

with

> ideas bent on domination, or it can empower those with ideas aimed

at

> liberty and freedom.

> 

> 

> Now the question is - which way will the sword swing this time in

Iraq?

> 

> 

> Tom Sticht

> tsticht at aznet.net 

> 

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list

> professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov 

>? 

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 

> Email delivered to cynthia_peters at worlded.org 

> 

> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki



>

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Devel
opme


> nt

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov

To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
Email delivered to kearney_lykins at yahoo.com

Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Devel
opment


      
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Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 
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opment

End of ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 49, Issue 16
*******************************************************