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Note: Several VALUE members (including current board members Archie Willard, Pat Blackwell, and Marty Finsterbusch, and former board members Dale Christianson and John Zickefoose) participated in the National Literacy Summit held in Washington, D.C. on February 14 and 15, 2000. The Summit allowed adult literacy administrators, teachers, researchers, funders, and learners to suggest new directions for adult education. VALUE Chairman Archie Willard filed this report:

The Summit is over. Now it is time to think about what was said. When the Summit was being planned I admit I had some big questions about what was about to happen. I was not part of the planning committee, but I did make some special requests for the adult learner participants.

I asked to have a conference call for the adult learners (before the Summit) and to have some interpretation of the draft paper for them. The National Institute for Literacy was very helpful and set up a conference call for this purpose. During this conference call, two professionals from the literacy field gave their interpretation of the draft paper and also people from NIFL went over the Summit plan with the adult learners. This helped the adult learners to more fully understand the draft paper and to know more about what the Summit would be like.

Sunday night before the Summit, the adult learners had a face to face meeting with each other, people from NIFL, and people from the field. Because I worked with NIFL to set up this call and meeting, I had prior meetings with NIFL and I could see some of the hard work that was taking place to put this Summit together. The people I worked with were very conscientious about every decision they made, knowing that whatever decision they made the Summit could not include everyone. They just tried to do the best they could. A big thanks to everyone who worked on putting the Summit together.

Arriving at the hotel the night before the Summit, I sensed an excitement in everyone by just being there. I feel that the Summit was a good example of how democracy takes place in our country. I feel the work at this Summit will only bring good things to our field and to the people who need a second chance in life.

After the opening ceremony on Monday morning, we broke out into seven working groups. Many who came to the Summit have the skills to have their voices heard and the competition was great to be able to speak at the Summit. This was apparent in my working group, as I’m sure it was in every other group. People came to be heard and they brought their agendas with them.

In our working group, it was pointed out that everyone’s voice needs to be heard and this worked for a short time. We talked about making the system better, making the field more professional, with more pay, and the great need to keep doing good research. There was talk about the cost of all the different things this field wants to accomplish and the money it would take. We also discussed how different groups could go to Congress to lobby for new laws and to get more needed money. Many more subjects were discussed, too. I thought all the subjects needed to be discussed, but we did disagree on their priority.

An idea of mine, which got little support, was that literacy programs should also be places that adult learners can feel comfortable in going back to, after they have entered the workforce. The programs could be places they could come to for support when needed. I feel that this is needed because many adult learners have a fear of losing their jobs just for asking questions about how to perform new tasks on their job.

I am an adult learner and it is no secret that I feel that adult learner involvement is crucial in solving literacy problems. Through hard work and help from some of the others in my working group, we got some mention about adult learner involvement on one of the papers that was taped up on the wall. Before the noon lunch all the ideas from all the papers that were taped on the wall were combined, interpreted, and condensed into a statement by the person that our working group delegated to present it.

At the end of the lunch the seven working groups presented their work to the entire group. Somehow the words "adult learner involvement" got lost in the condensation of the statement. Some of the people from my group strongly supported the adult learner involvement. One person had pointed out that we need to address people of diversity and that adult learners fit into that category; and that everyone needs to be involved and to become partners in making change. He felt if this did not happen, twenty years from now there would be people meeting at a Summit to discuss the same problems that we are discussing today. At the end of the day a manufacturing representative said that "the adult learner involvement was not in any of our recommendations but when my business solves problems we involve the consumer" or words to that effect.

There had been a discussion in our working group about "them" and "us". From this discussion it became apparent that there is more of a gap between the literacy field and the adult learners than had been realized. When we still refer to each other as "them" and "us," I feel that the gap in understanding between adult learners and the field must be closed before we can make positive changes. As pointed out by the gentleman from manufacturing, we need to talk to our consumers to know their needs, then work with them to fill their needs.

Monday night I was among about 40 people who met and debriefed. All nine of the adult learners were at this debriefing. The entire group of adult learners had had the same problem of trying to get "adult learner involvement" written down on the paper within their group. At the end of that day we all felt disappointed with the way things were going.

The next day was a better day and at the end of the Summit people were given an opportunity to speak in the large group about what had happened at the Summit. Some people brought up the fact that there had been no mention about "adult learner involvement" in the statement. They also spoke about the absence of race, class, gender, disabilities, sex, and people who speak a different language; these are people problems and they need to be addressed in this paper. I also feel that if there is adult learner involvement, then the VALUE organization should have a big part.

I feel that everyone at the Summit came to work hard and to do what he or she could to help literacy.

Archie Willard
Fredericksburg, VA (US)
archiew@1bigred.com
PHN - 540-368-1419
FAX - 540-368-1419
URL - http://207.28.234.137/archiew.html

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