Family Literacy Day 2012

Family Literacy Day 2012, a set on Flickr.

Crafting for Family Literacy Day 2012 – surprises, laughter and learning

Our small celebration of Family Literacy Day was filled with surprises, laughter and learning.

All our projects together

No only did our participants span 50+ years in age, but we had abilities of all levels, we created pouches from an original pattern written by one of our own, and some of our participants turned from attendee to instructor.

Hey Google: Look at what Google + has done for our Hearing Impaired Learners!

Photo by cambodia4kidsorg

We integrated Google Apps in mid-2009, amid some skepticism of how this would fit into our Literacy program.  The benefits were immediate and palpable.  Not only did we now have a unified email handle, we now had communication and collaboration at our fingertips.  It wasn’t long before Google became a normal part of our program.

Now, to give you a bit of background on our program, Sioux-Hudson Literacy Council runs 4 programs: the Literacy and Basic Skills program, the Sioux Lookout and Hudson Learning Centres, and our online program, Good Learning Anywhere.  We have many unique and, I think, wonderful opportunities for adult learners, both locally and province-wide.

Family Literacy

January 27^th has been designated Family Literacy day…

such a formal title for something I feel is so intimate. Reading with my kids has always been our “special time”. I was fortunate to find a love of books early in life, and have been equally as fortunate to share this with my kids, Jacob (8), and Ashley (6).

I LOVE stories – they take me far away, to places I only can only dream of and introduce me to people that I am amazed at and where happy endings DO happen. When it’s library day at my kids’ school, it’s usually me that is eagerly opening their backpacks searching for the new book!

Around the age of 6, my son wasn’t into the stories anymore. The Berenstain Bears were too young, he wasn’t enjoying or getting into the suspense of the Magic Tree House and Harry Potter was WAY too scary. I started to worry about him losing his joy of picking up a new book.  And then it happened.**

The Not-So-Complicated Adult Literacy Equation

The one thing that I really like about math is that, for the most part, there is one correct answer.  It is usually either right or wrong.  It is black or white.  It is yes or no.  There is very little emotion with math.  It is all about the facts and decisions are based on the facts.  However, many people find math to be complicated.

So here is my version of what I call the Not-S0-Complicated Adult Literacy Equation.  An adult learner can achieve their goals with three criteria:

1. Attitude
2. Opportunity
3. Skill

Now this does sound very Dale Carnegie-like but I actually heard this at a youth hockey practice.  And I feel strongly that it applies to the adult literacy sector.

Attitude + Opportunity = Skill

Opportunity + Skill = Attitude

Skill + Attitude = Opportunity

A learner (or a youth hockey player for that matter) requires a minimum of these two criteria for the equation to equal success.

1. If a learner has the right balance of motivation (attitude) and learning opportunities, the end result will be a learned skill.
2. If a learner takes advantage of an opportunity and applies their skills, the end result will be a highly motivated and confident learner.
3. If a learner is motivated and has strong skills, they will have opportunities to succeed.

This literacy equation is not that complicated because it makes sense for learners.  For a learner, this equation may help them determine for themselves the missing value for them to solve their own adult literacy equation.

In my experience, the missing value seems most often to be attitude and motivation.  It’s very important for me to really inspire learners to get them excited about learning.  It’s also important that I am up front with learners and tell them that while this equation is not-so-complicated, I can’t answer it for them.