Tom - Thank you so much for this piece of information.  I work in Rochester with many Africian Americans and I know they will find this interesting.  Love history
----- Original Message -----
From: tsticht at znet.com
Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2007 6:54 pm
Subject: [Workplace 1016] Milestones in Adult Literacy
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov, technology at nifl.gov, workplace at nifl.gov


> October 2, 2007

> 

> Milestones in the History of Adult Literacy Education

> 

> Tom Sticht

> International Consultant in Adult Education

> 

> In a number of venues in the last few years I have presented a speech

> entitled "The Shoulders on Which We Stand." This presentation 

> has reviewed

> a number of great adult literacy educators who have worked to 

> teach reading

> to adults from the time of the Civil War to World War II. After the

> presentation I have often been asked for references to any 

> papers I have

> written about this history of adult literacy education, and I 

> have provided

> a reference to papers on the www.nald.ca library web pages. But 

> those papers

> do not include any photographs or other graphics that I use in my

> presentation.

> 

> Now the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) has produced a 

> new electronic

> newspaper series called QEd. This e-newspaper is available on the

> www.nifl.gov web site. The QEd will present a series of five e-

> papers on

> the scientific evidence for adult literacy educators. 

> Additionally, the

> series will provide a series of brief notes from my presentation 

> on The

> Shoulders on Which We Stand called Milestones. According to the first

> issue, "Milestones features some of the exceptional people who 

> have been

> part of the long history of adult literacy education in the 

> United States.

> It also illustrates the movement toward integrating professional 

> wisdom and

> scientific approaches in teaching reading to adults."

> 

> In the NIFL newsletter in addition to text there are photos or other

> graphics that those who have attended my presentation have asked 

> about. Now

> you can acquire a series of historical Milestones with text and 

> photos that

> can be used to inspire adult educators in their work by letting 

> them see

> that they are part of a long term effort by some people just like

> themselves. These are people dedicated to helping adults learn 

> to read and

> write and they provide The Shoulders on Which We Stand today. 

> The text of

> the first Milestone follows.

> 

> "HARRIET A. JACOBS:

> LITERACY AND LIBERATION

> by Tom Sticht

> 

> One of the earliest accounts of teaching an adult to read

> comes from the slave Harriet A.Jacobs (1813-1897).Even

> though it was unlawful to teach slaves to read,Jacobs ’owner ’s

> daughter taught her to read and write.In 1861,after she

> became a free woman,Jacobs wrote "Incidents in the Life of a

> Slave Girl Written by Herself "(Jacobs,1987/1861).In the

> book she tells how she helped an older black man,a slave like

> her,learn to read:"I taught him his A,B,C —his progress was

> astonishing —At the end of six months he had read through

> the New Testament and could find any text in it."

> Later,Jacobs taught literacy to former slaves in the

> Freedmen ’s schools during Reconstruction following the

> Civil War."

> 

> You will find a photo of Harriet Jacobs in the first issue of 

> the QEd.

> Collect all five issues of the QEd for a nice illustrated set of 

> Milestonesof adult literacy education in the United States.

> 

> Thomas G. Sticht

> International Consultant in Adult Education

> 2062 Valley View Blvd.

> El Cajon, CA 92019-2059

> Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133

> Email: tsticht at aznet.net

> 

> 

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