<>Colleagues,

Below is a summary of the recommendations from a recent discussion here 
about possible topics and guests. There are many good ideas, although 
some may be better suited for other National Institute for Literacy 
discussion lists such as assessment or family literacy.. Some are ideas 
that I am now considering for the coming year on the Special Topics 
discussion list. I am very grateful to those who made these recommendations.

David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net


Summary of Recommended Special Topics Discussion Topics and Possible Guests

Immigration
· Local immigration policies and how they impact students and teachers 
of Adult Education
· The impact of the Bush administration’s Homeland Security plans to 
enforce current immigration laws and the development of a national plan 
for citizenship education. See http:// 
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070810.html
· Incarcerated immigrants: how many participate in ABE classes, and the 
long-term results for those who participate and those who do not (This 
could include a discussion of why some do not participate and how 
available these classes are to incarcerated immigrants, especially 
illegal immigrants.)
· Qualitative studies of immigrants pursuing ABE and ESOL education; 
perspectives of students, teachers and administration
· Collaborative efforts between state and federal agencies and 
non-profits to expand the human rights of immigrants, women, and low 
income pursuing education and self-improvement
· Immigrant integration and the role that language and literacy 
development can play in that goal – perhaps with a strong focus on what 
it takes to not only support immigrants making a new life in the US but 
how we as a society can do to support communities that have a hard time 
absorbing large numbers of newcomers – and what we in adult education 
can do so we don’t pit the different kinds of needs of native born and 
foreign-born citizens/residents against each other.

Possible Guests
· Professionals in the field to discuss their perspectives of immigrants 
working towards assimilation, citizenship and language skills

Technology
• Technological literacy: who has it, who doesn’t, how we can improve it
• Gender differences in technological pedagogy (for example, is there a 
difference between the way males and females teach basic technical 
skills? Do men and women have different learning styles when it comes to 
technology? How does this affect students?)
• What is being done around the US to better use educational 
technologies to provide more and better learning opportunities for adults?

Possible Guests
· Teachers in the field of technological literacy
· People who are using technologies in creative ways.

Corrections Education/Ex offender re-entry
(7 people mentioned this topic)
· Helping ex-offenders transition to productive lives has tremendous 
implications for our society. We are starting a new program and could 
benefit from learning from others who are already running successful 
programs.
· Transition programs for ex-offenders who studied in jail/prison and 
need to connect to educational opportunities in the community. Too many 
ex-offenders leave prison and are faced with immediate housing and 
employment needs, and have no easy access to complete their studies. 
Access to educational services becomes a way to reduce recidivism.

· Specific Transitions Issues:

1. Locating the appropriate program(s) in the community

2. Communication between programs to "hand-off" the student -- flow of academic info

3. Coordinating the Program and instructional delivery

4. Sharing information -- Since correctional ed has accountabilities that they have to meet as do community adult ed programs, is there a way to provide feedback on offender success.  The classic example is that all too often, the learner is ready to take the GED Test, but (s)he is released before the test could be taken.  (Yes, there are even tales of

the offender being pulled out the middle of the GED testing situation to be released.)  I am sure there are stories of the adult learner in the community ready to take the test, but does something that gets them incarcerated, so the community program would like to have feedback too. 

While we do not like to admit it, the "road" to transition goes both

ways -- so what info does each program want if on the receiving end of

the new student?

Are there effective models currently working?

· Literacy Volunteers of Westchester County is currently working on a 
Corrections Education version for their bilingual low-literate EL/Civics 
curriculum (Civics for Immigrants: From Native Language to English 
Literacy) and it is interesting to see what changes need to be made in 
language, content, and tasks. I would be curious about how others see 
the differences, specifically with regard to civics topics and tasks.
· I deal with the education of inmates in our local jail - some of whom 
are awaiting transfer to the penitentiary. I am particularly interested 
in how other programs are funded, as ours is volunteer instruction and 
jail paid testing for the GED. Also, interested in approaches for 
special education for those whose services have not existed for many years.

Possible Guests
• Administrators in the criminal justice system and law officers who 
will openly discuss communication efforts and issues from their 
perspectives and interactions
• I have suggested two potential "panelists" to David who have recently 
completed doctoral dissertations that involved interviews with 
incarcerated individuals. While not focused specifically on literacy - 
their research does give voice to the views of students from whom we do 
not hear often if at all (i.e. actually incarcerated individuals). One 
paper focused on perceptions about corrections education, and the other 
about K-12 experiences of drop-outs who are now incarcerated -- each 
with a view to informing current educators about potential efforts to 
deter current students from such future ends.
• John Linton, former correctional educator and now Director of 
Correctional Education for the U.S. Department of Education
• Bill Muth, former Director of Education for the Federal Bureau of 
Prisons and currently a professor of correctional education at Virginia 
Commonwealth University
• Steve Steurer, former correctional educator and now Executive Director 
of the Correctional Education Association
• Carolyn Buser, former director of correctional education and current 
adult education specialist at the U.S. Department of Education who has a 
wealth of knowledge about how the adult education system and 
correctional education system works together.
• John Nally, director of CE in Indiana who is Chair of the Council of 
Directors of CE

Work-related Literacy/Basic Skills
• Work-related basic skills: What is now being done around the US and 
world (at national, state, and local levels) to help job seekers and 
incumbent develop the basic skills and other career tools (e.g., 
technical knowledge, credentials, connections, etc.) to move into and 
succeed in rewarding jobs? (Possible guests: In addition to US-based
people, we might invite representatives of New Zealand, the UK, and 
Canada to participate.)
• Looking at workforce education programs that are partnerships between 
businesses and local literacy organizations: the structure of the 
program, curriculum and assessments

Family-related Literacy/Basic Skills
• Family-related basic skills: What is now being done around the US and 
world (at national, state, and local levels) to help adults develop the 
basic skills and other life tools they need to help their families deal 
with educational, health, financial, housing, and other needs? (Possible 
guests: People who are thinking outside the box on what constitutes 
"family literacy.")

Civics-related Literacy/Basic Skills
• Civics-related basic skills: What is now being done around the US and 
world (at national, state, and local levels) to help adults develop the 
basic skills and other life tools they need to participate actively as 
community members and citizens? (Possible guests: People who are 
thinking outside the box on what constitutes civic literacy/citizenship 
education.)

Leadership
• What is being done to build leadership for adult education among 
stakeholder groups (e.g., employers; populations with low levels of 
reading skills, language fluency, and educational attainment; criminal 
justice agencies; etc.) who theoretically should have an interest in 
this field but who have largely been silent and invisible? (Possible 
guests: critical thinkers in this area. Maybe tie this in with the state 
policy topic below.)
• Adult learner leadership: What is being done to promote/develop the 
leadership capacities of adult learners? Why is it important to do so? 
What are ways of doing so? What are challenges and resources for doing 
so? (Possible guests: Representatives of national, state and local adult 
learner groups and the practitioners they work with.)

Policy
• State policy: What are states doing to build adult learning systems 
that prepare adults for work, family, and civic responsibilities? 
(Possible guests: Representatives of some states which have shown 
innovation and commitment regarding adult education policy.)

Advocacy and Public Awareness
• How to encourage adult learners to advocate for education for 
themselves and others including those for whom the GED is not a viable 
goal.
• What do the public, donors, and elected officials REALLY need to know 
about the impact of low-level literacy skills in our country so that 
professionals get the help that they need to meet service demands? What 
is essential information we should be collecting or calculating? We have 
to appeal to different audiences: What messages are attractive to the 
general public vs donors vs elected officials?
• How do we grab the attention of the general tax-paying population and 
major funding organizations to the critical need of literacy programs. I 
have seen the extensive research and results but not seen strategies to 
engage the general and specific populations.
• There was a big push in the wake of the 2000 National Literacy Summit, 

>From the Margins to the Mainstream, an Action Agenda for Literacy. Seven 

years later we are still very clearly at the margins. Was it the wrong 
agenda? In a nutshell, the agenda was three pronged.

Priority 1- Resources
Priority 2- Access
Priority 3- Quality

Could we use the discussion list to revisit and reformulate an Action 
Agenda? As a first thought, I would think that Priority 1 would be 
answering the following question: How do we make a compelling case to 
the general public, the media, the politicians, and policy makers that 
the achievement of universal adult literacy (in English) is central to 
the preservation of our nation’s founding principles as well as our 
social and economic well being?

Possible Guests
· People with influence who have the ability to be advocates… or people 
who are adversarial who also have influence. We could learn from those 
who are anti.

System Building
• In a time of limited resources, are adult educators retreating from 
building effective learning systems or are we finding new ways and 
resources to provide more and better quality services? (Possible guests: 
Critical thinkers in this area. Maybe tie this in with the state policy 
topic above.)
• What is the essence of the US ABE/ESOL system (what works and what 
doesn’t?) and how does it compare to systems in other countries?

For example, In the U.S. the adult education system is somewhat (ok a 
lot) separate from the job training and workforce development system 
making it difficult to implement integrated models that combine 
education and training. How are other countries managing to embed 
language and literacy development into services designed to help
adults get jobs with a future.

Another example, here in the U.S., family literacy focuses on teaching 
language and literacy skills in the context of life skills and helping 
parents understand the U.S. school system so they can help their 
children succeed. Other models (in the UK and some in Canada), help 
parents who’ve had few opportunities for schooling acquire the content 
knowledge their kids are learning (math, social science, geography, 
history) so that when there are questions the child has (about school, 
homework, tests), the parents can answer them with authority. I can see 
this system meshing nicely with what the GED is trying to do but if 
would be good to hear from experts in other countries about their 
insights into what has worked and what hasn’t.

Learning Disabilities (styles, disorders, differences)
• We know that students drop out of high school for a variety of 
reasons. How many drop out because they do not fit into the standard 
educational model? One respondent noted that many adult learners do not 
do well in traditional test-taking situations. Would they do better with 
alternative assessments? Should we educate them using the same model in 
which they were previously unsuccessful? How many are AD/HD? How many 
have what a psychologist my describe as a "Anti- Social Personality 
Disorder"? Should we continue to try to put them in a one-size-fits-all 
learning situation? Is it even practical, given the limited adult 
education resources, to try to assess differences beyond literacy levels?

Writing
• How to develop/encourage/support independent/critical readers and 
writers. At what point do/can adult learners "leave the nest" and 
challenge ideas on their own? Is that not the epitome of literacy?

Assessment
• Assessment as a way to capture what counts and giving learners the 
opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and skills in ways that reflect 
real life tasks. Have we all just gotten so beaten up by the required 
standardized testing that there is no room or desire to consider 
alternatives?

•Exploring both (1) assessments of the learner before and after 
instruction and (2) what
degree of English language functioning is sufficient for learners to 
continue developing language proficiency on their own. The federally 
funded ESL assistance provided through programs, like the Refugee 
Resettlement Program, expect the ESL activities it funds to focus on 
economic self-sufficiency and on the learner's ability to function in
the workplace. Those who contract with resettlement providers struggle 
with knowing (i) what expectations to have of ESL activities and (ii) 
what results are sufficient.

Other Topics

• How do we know that the learners we work with have reached the 
"critical/independent" stage of literacy where they can stand on their 
own and continue their learning? When should a program certify the 
learner - that is, does having "gone through" the program suffice for 
the learner to have reached the level of independence that enables 
him/her to be a continuing and active learner, or should more be 
required? How should teachers should be trained, how should curriculum 
be designed, how should programs be designed to support learners 
becoming critical and independent readers?

Other Possible Guests
• Local and national policy makers willing to discuss impact of literacy 
issues and plans for reform

In the future, emphasize:

• Discussion of student profiles and specific, personal, qualitative 
anecdotes about students, ESOL and ABE teachers
• More focus on specific students, classes, and student populations 
(such as immigrants, adults, K-3, 4-6, postsecondary, etc.) Look from 
the ground up and not the top down in order to really make sense of the 
issues related to literacy and THEN apply the information to the level 
used by policy makers and administrators
• More links to national and local studies with follow up discussions 
(but not too many studies at one time)
• Further explanation and exploration of related statistics and how 
these impact daily interactions between students and teachers in Adult 
Ed and K-12

• Simultaneous unification of the ABE and Literacy field. We all came 
together when ABE was on the verge of being cut. We need to be proactive 
(not that I have been) not reactive.


Other Comments

• Use live chatting instead of asynchronous text discussions
• Combine topics (e.g. corrections, data and advocacy – including 
learners as advocates) using the Special Topics list for synergistic 
discussions
• Begin some discussions "ourselves" before inviting guests. It could be 
that with 'just us' questions will bubble up that we can then seek 
responses to/input from others with particular expertise?
• Slow down and really pace ourselves between conversations
• Why have we not compiled statistics in a way that serves all of our 
purposes? Most of the data on the NIFL web site is very dated. That’s sad.
• I don’t think we are very politically outspoken. Over the past seven 
years, the media has failed us and the many of us have opted to be 
CAREFUL about how we express our discontent. Support for people most in 
need has dwindled down to a pathetic state and, in general, the outrage 
is but a peep in the night. It’s disgusting. I don’t know that it serves 
us to bash The Administration…but let’s stop pretending that there 
wasn’t a genuine attempt to dismantle the ABE systems just a couple of 
years ago. The worst kind of politics is when one side doesn’t want to 
acknowledge blatant abuse of the public…because it makes their party 
look bad. I don’t really care for the left or the right. We need to do a 
better job of being on OUR OWN SIDE…the side of greater literacy for 
all. We need to take risks that might regenerate the movement. I’m 
under- impressed with discussion lists in general. They tend to be heavy 
on philosophy, intellect, and light on raw truth and gutsy calls to action.
-----