Case Study: Literacy Connections

Literacy impacts everyone’s lives in various ways. Such as, someone and their career, the ability to read literature in general, one’s comprehension of reading and writing, or the ability to write a book. Each person takes his or her own path with literacy and consequently are formed by the sponsors of literacy present in his or her life. Being new to the term or not, sponsors come in various forms and can be positive or negative to someone and his or her literacy. The sponsors of whom I am going highlight are my parents, The Sesame Street Show, and my elementary and middle school St. Mary’s all of whom have been positive sponsors to my literacy by setting high expectations and providing quality teaching, which still impacts my literacy today.

Typically, people think of reading when they see a novel or a short story, but I think of reading when I’m out on the baseball field. When I hear the word “reading”, unlike most people, I think of a green grassy baseball diamond at night, with the lights lighting it up, filled with fans in the stands. Believe it or not, I read all the time on the field. I read the ball coming off the bat when I’m playing in the field. When I hear the “ding” of the metal bat and hard, rubber ball colliding, I know that there is a chance I could make a great play. I can see the ball getting bigger and bigger as in approaches me. I read the ball coming out of the pitcher’s hand,

I completed my literacy field experience at Isanti Intermediate School/School for all Seasons in Isanti, MN. I was able to complete my 20 hour observation in a 1st grade classroom (primary), a 3rd grade classroom (intermediate), and conducted fluency tests in a 5th grade classroom. Each class had approximately 22 to 25 students. Also during this literacy class, I was also able to spend a few days observing a 3rd/4th grade classroom and a kindergarten classroom through a couple of sub jobs I completed. I need to note that my understanding was that 3rd grade was part of the intermediate program so I completed half my observation and assessment time with a 3rd grade classroom and completed a 3rd grader assessment. I am happy to say

Can you remember what your teacher taught you back in kindergarten? Chances are she was introducing you to the basics of reading and writing. Literacy is the ability to read and write, and because I did not think I was very good at either of the two, it had never been my favorite thing to do. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I had an English class that I actually enjoyed. My teacher was Ms. Holly Eubanks. The past classes had boasted about how good of a teacher Ms. Eubanks was and how, even though she may take a while to grade your papers, she was always trying to help you improve in every possible way she could. On the first day

The learning provisions for development in literacy are extremely important and can be reached by using their language skills. They learn to communicate with others through three main ways: they are Speaking, Reading and Writing. These three areas interact with each other and develop the Childs self-expression and imagination. They must be given the opportunity within all different subject areas to use and extend their language so that their thinking skills progress to a higher level.

Literacy plays a huge role in my daily life. Every single day I read and write. Whether it’s writing an email or reading a text message, class assignment, discussion board, etc. My literacy journey is unique because I have had different experiences. As a result, this is how my literacy journey has let me to be the reader that I am.

One of the most eye opening experiences of my life occurred in the second grade. I would have never thought that doing one simple assignment in elementary school could change my whole perspective on literacy. My understanding of literacy was sparked when I had read my first real book. I remember sitting down on the vividly colorful carpet day dreaming about playing Mario Cart on my Nintendo 64 while everyone was obediently listening to the teacher read a book out loud. It wasn’t that I did not know how to read or listen, I just didn’t care. Reading to me used to be tedious because I did not understand the purpose of it. I did not grow up with the luxury of my parents reading to me because they weren’t literate in English, so I had to figure out for myself why literacy is vital in everyday life. My ongoing learning experience with literacy can be traced back to one simple visit to library.

As per our conversation, attached please find Literacy Connections budget for our Adult Basic Literacy program in Orange County.

What does it mean knowing how to read and write. I take literacy skill very seriosly that will help me in the future. I know such skills don't come easy, it requires hard work, sleepless night. The reason why I go to school is to make mistakes, correct them and not to repeat them again. I always improve my skills through curiosity to learn something new, not being able to read and write would keep me in a darkness without seeing beautiful things that surround me.

As most of you already know, Literacy Connections of the Hudson Valley, Inc. has taken over Literacy Orange adult literacy program effective July 1, 2017. Billie Hanlon, our Program Coordinator, will continue to manage program services and support students and volunteers in Orange County from our Middletown office.

Immigrants are a growing part of the labor force. As the foreign-born population has grown as a share of the total population,

Immigration is important for the growth of the economy because it’s a major contributions towards the economy. The United States has often been referred to as a global melting pot due to its assimilation of diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. Today, this metaphor may be an understatement. Edstam and Carlson an immigration activists reports that, without the extra work and consumption provided by immigrants, the economy of the United States would collapse. They include in the article saying that, despite the common notion that immigrants steal jobs from Americans, the 2005 Economic Report shows that The Federal Reserve in fact recently raised its benchmark interest rate because it observed a strengthening U.S. economy with reduced unemployment, rising wages and some labor shortages Immigrants continue to strengthen local economies through their higher productivity and increased consumption (Edstam and Carlson). An article by Savajlenka added, Studies show that competition with American workers among immigrants is very minimal and limited to the unskilled labor. Therefore, Savajlenka immigration analyst states that, “Numerous studies have documented that immigrants are needed to replace the large number of retiring Baby Boomers and that the future growth of the U.S. workforce will come from immigrants and their children” (Savajlenka). This is an additional like a shot in occupations that presently use several older employees, like janitorial and truck driving

Literacy Connections Adult and Family Literacy program has been helping adults learn to read and write, and function independently for the past 40 years. We also offer ESL classes to the growing immigrant community. We do this by recruiting and training volunteers to provide one-to-one and small group tutoring that is student-centered. We work with the lowest literacy level adults in Dutchess, Columbia, and Greene Counties.

As a human service organization that depends on funders, we face many challenges. But we remain steadfast in our commitment, and we are encouraged by the progress of our students, the dedication of our volunteer tutors, and the support of so many in the community.

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations-something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.” - Katherine Patterson. Literacy is a right. It is implicit in the right to education. It is recognized as a right, explicitly for both children and adults, in certain international conventions. Literacy is the ability to read and write, and also refers to having enough reading and writing ability to function in society. People who cannot read and write are called illiterate. People are called functionally illiterate if they cannot read or write well enough to do activities that are common in social settings they encounter. Such activities may include employment, schoolwork, voting, or worship. The power of literacy is something that can change the world. How far has literacy come since the beginning and what is its history; what are the causes of a lower literacy rate; what effects can lower literacy rates have; what about higher rates; what are some ways to improve the literacy rates and; what are some of the benefits to a higher literacy rate?