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LR/RI produces a bulletin roughly every two weeks in order to inform area practitioners of news, events, and calls for participation and also as a forum for posing questions, issues and discussion topics. The current bulletin is posted below. To read previous bulletins, go to Bulletin Archives.

September 25, 1998

Bulletin #52

Dear Colleagues,

New announcements, reminders, volunteer and employment opportunities, and notice of upcoming meetings. To post information, please contact me at LR/RI or leave a message (863-2839).

Thanks.

Janet Isserlis

____________________________________________________________

NOTICES

Sharing/discussion group for educators with an interest in women's issues in adult education will be held Thursday, October 1st , at 1 PM at the Rochambeau Branch library on Hope Street, in Providence. Please join us in as we continue planning for a half-day conference concerning women and learning to be held in March, and to continue our conversations about women, literacy and learning.

The Adult Literacy Council will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 11:30 to 1 at the Genesis Center, 620 Potters Ave. Legislative representatives and staff and learners from programs will be meeting to exchange ideas and concerns around adult education in the state. If you would like to participate, and/or plan to bring learners to the meeting, please contact LR/RI by October 1, so that the council can plan accordingly.

A Pronunciation Workshop for educators with an interest in ESOL in adult education will be facilitated by Nancy Fritz and Sandy Jacobi on Tuesday, October 20 at 3 PM at the Genesis Center. The workshop will address techniques for teaching that were presented at the TESOL Academy in San Antonio this summer. Excerpts from an audio course on accent reduction , "The Sound and Style of American English" by David Allen Stern, Ph.D., will be used, as well as clips from a video entitled "Pronunciation for Success". The workshop will be held in lieu of OctoberÕs discussion session for ESOL practitioners. Please join us.

Sharing/discussion group for educators with an interest in learning disabilities in adult education has been tentatively schedule for Thursday October 22, at 3:30, location to be announced.

Nursing Assistant and Medical Office Skills programs are available Tuesday and Thursday evenings through the Cranston Area Career/Technical Center. Tuition is $65; courses run about 4 months for nursing assistant and from October through May for Medical Office Skills. Students may take only one course per semester and only those interested in obtaining employment or upgrading job skills may enroll. GED, ABE and ESOL courses are also available, as is free vocational assessment. Call 785-8166. Registration begins September 14, classes start in October.

Windows95 & Microsoft Word97, an introductory course at International Institute of RI. Saturday mornings (9:00 - 12:00) and Afternoon (12:30 - 3:30). Both classes run for 8 weeks; the tuition is $100 includes Registration and Lab fees. Textbook is not included; limit15 people per class. Registration for the next afternoon session is open now until September 30. The class will begin on October 3. For morning class info, please call 784-4610. The International Institute of RI is located at 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907.

HRIC English for Work Program: ESL with a workplace-centered content. Students should be 18 years or older, and should be currently employed but in need of more English skills in order to advance on the job; or unemployed and looking for work. Classes are held at the International Institute of Rhode Island, Mondays through Thursdays, 9:30 to 11:30 am or 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Cost is $35 per month. To register, contact Julie Fischer at 784-4607.

NETWORK '98 Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education (MCAE) 1998 conference, October 28-29 at the Royal Plaza Hotel, Marlborough, MA. Workshops in the areas of health, math, civic/economic literacy, curriculum innovations, GED/diploma programs, technology, ESOL, family literacy and workplace education, as well as plenary sessions and exhibition hours. Early registration due by October 2; $45/day MCAE members, $65/day for non-members; $75/day after 10/2/98. For more information, contact LR/RI or MCAE at 1-800-339-2498.

For information about MATSOL (Massachusetts ESOL) professional development events (held on Saturdays) contact LR/RI, and cover workplace learning, standards and assessment, bilingual and ESL education. Registration is required; events are held at various locations throughout Massachusetts.

THE CHANGE AGENT is looking for an editorial assistant for its next issue on the theme of WORKING ACROSS DIFFERENCES - related to race, culture, class, gender and sexual orientation. Responsibilities: procure and edit articles in consultation with volunteer authors; co-facilitate two editorial board meetings; research and write one or more articles, and develop supplementary activities. Qualifications: excellent writing and communication skills; experience in editing other peopleÕs writing; background in adult literacy, GED or ESOL, committment to social justice. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Compensation: $20/hr, up to 125 hours on a flexible schedule, September, 1998 to February, 1999. Send letter, resume and writing sample to Silja Kallenbach, NELRC/World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210 phone: 617-482-9485, fax: 617-482-0617, email: skallenbach@worlded.org.

CALL FOR ARTICLES The Change Agent (see theme description, above) wants teachers' and learners' opinions, ideas and experiences in and out of the classroom on the theme, and looks for different kinds of writing: learning project descriptions, sample lessons, book/movie reviews, personal stories, interviews, dialogues, plays, poems, math activities, cartoons, drawings, graphs, photo- graphs. The Change AgentÕs mission is to provide news, issues, ideas and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice related concerns part of their teaching and learning. Please send writing (on PC disk, if possible), pictures or drawings to: Marie Horchler [email: mhorchler@worlded.org] or to NELRC/World Education, (address, phone, fax as above). Please let us know your intent to submit by 10/31. All articles will be considered and must be received by 11/20/98. Final content decisions are made by The Change Agent Editorial Board; referrals to people/ programs working on projects related to the theme of this issue are welcomed.

The current issue of the Change Agent focuses on work, and is available through LR/RI. If you have not yet received a copy, and would like to, please contact LR/RI. A few copies of past issues are available, and are also online on the Eastern LINCS website http://easternlincs.worlded.org/TEACHERS/ChangeAgent/

Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee, is scheduled to speak at Leung Gallery at Brown University on Monday, September 28 at 8:00 p.m. A vigil/rally against child labor and sweatshops will take place that same day from 5-6 p.m.at the Wal-Mart in Seekonk, MA on Rt. 6, at which Kernaghan and several Rhode Island clergy members will speak. For more information contact Chuck Schwartz, at the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, 463-9900. 

volunteer opportunity

The RI Family Literacy Initiative, a library based literacy program offering classes in most RI libraries, needs volunteers. In the East Bay we need volunteers for 2 classes, East Providence (6:30-8:00) and Warren (10:30-12:00). Both classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting October 6, for 10 weeks. Volunteers will receive training on teaching methods and more. We focus on beginner to intermediate ESL, offering conversation, written and computer literacy for adults, and also offer preschool and school aged programs while adults are learning. For volunteer information contact Kristen McKenna at 434-2719. Please pass the word on to interested students as well. We are directly associated with the Providence Public Library's literacy programs; for more information about area programs contact Debbie Peterson at 455-8016 or email dpeterson@edgenet.net

two more volunteer opportunities

The PAWTUCKET PUBLIC LIBRARY FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM is looking for teachers to work with learners from many countries in English for Speakers of Other Language classes, Tuedays & Thursdays for 2-1/2 hours. Volunteer trainings will be held on September 22 and 23 with classes beginning on October 6th. Contact Barbara Gordon, 725-3714

PROJECT HOPE (PROYECTO ESPERANZA) in Central Falls needs teachers for English for Speakers of Other Language and Citizenship classes. Contact Stella Carrera, 728-0515

Native Armenian adult GED student seeking English tutor for twice a week sessions. Willing to trade languages--will teach Armenian and/or Turkish in exchange for English. Also willing to negotiate salary. Contact Ani at 401-353-7575.

Creating Domestic Peace: what's your role? The RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence's 4th annual conference will be held on Friday, October 9th at the Hotel Viking in Newport. The conference's 5 tracks are prevention and education, criminal justice, health care, emerging issues and the role of battered/formerly battered women in the movement. Registration is $25, but can be waived for low income participants, and is due by October 2. For more information contact LR/RI.

Adult Learning: The Essentials of Building Community and Defining Direction: The American Association for Adult and Continuing Education 1998 Conference November 18-22, Phoenix, Arizona. Early registration ends September 30th; registration costs range from $275 to $750 (less for retirees and member students). For more information, contact LR/RI, or visit the AAACE site (http://www.albany.edu/aaace/) to register online.

reminder: Adult Literacy Council membership is renewable each year and is due on September 30th. If you haven't received information about membership, please contact LR/RI for information.

International Conference on Women and Literacy January 24 -26, 1999, Atlanta, Georgia.

The International Conference on Women and Literacy is designed to bring together a diverse constituency of researchers, practitioners and policy makers to pose problems and develop an understanding of the linkages bewteen women's lives and their literacies. This conference is presented by the Center for the Study of Adult Literacy at Georgia State University, in collaboarion with Georgia Tech's Lifelong Learning Network, Laubach Literacy Action, Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women and the Centre for Literacy of Quebec. Issues for discussion will include women and literacy as they relate to: welfare to work, health, ethnicity and domestic violence. Participants will examine: research, policy issues, applied practice and learners' perspectives. Early registration fee of $100 includes conference materials, 2 continental breakfasts lunch, an evening reception, and refreshment breaks. Hotel information: $105 per night, single or double occupancy, Renaissance Atlanta Hotel 590 West Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA Reservations: 1-800-228-9898 For more information, or an application, please contact Sandy Vaughn at 404-651-1400 or alcsvv@langate.gsu.edu

-- > deadline for proposals for the conference has been extended to October 1st. Contact Sandy Vaughn for more information.

soon to be released: New Inquiry Project applications should be ready to mail within the next two weeks. Inquiry Projects will be starting in November and will continue through next June. Applications will be sent to programs and will also be available on LR/RI's website. If you wish to apply and don't receive an application by mid-October, please contact LR/RI.

[FYI - I will be away on Monday and Tuesday, 9/28-29, at a meeting, but will be back in the office on Wednesday].

THE COUNCIL FOR ADULT AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING 1998 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE - LEARNING IN THE FAST LANE: Any time, any place, anywhere November 5-7, 1998, Crowne Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona.

New technologies are revolutionizing educational and training institutions, putting the adult learner in control and challenging educational providers to rethink curricula, instruction, assessment, support services, quality, and costs. The Conference will focus on Technology, an area addressed by Recommendation III from the report engendered by the Commission for a Nation of Lifelong Learners. Sessions will focus on: Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) technological support for students, Workplace learning, Interactive and asynchronous learning strategies, On-line and computer-based services, Lifelong learning implementation, Public policy and PLA, Cultural diversity and lifelong learning, Adult learning theory and assessment. Contact 1-888-734-CAEL (2235) for more information (until October 30, 1998),or online: HTTP://WWW.CAEL.ORG/CONFWORK/INDEX.HTM

GRADUATE SCHOOL TUITION HELP FOR NEW AMERICANS

November 30 is the deadline to apply for graduate tuition help from the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans (online at http://www.pdsoros.org). Eligible candidates must be between the ages of twenty and thirty (not older than 30 as of November 30, 1998.); candidates must hold a Green Card or have been naturalized as a US citizen or be the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. Information is available by contacting Soros Fellowships at: 400 West 59th St., NY, NY10019; Phone: 212/547-6926; Fax: 212/245-8381; email: pdsoros_fellows@sorosny.org.

new on the website:

- An update on VALUE, the national learner organization, (go to learners), new postings on the links, women and literacy and inquiry pages, as well.

- Research Agenda for Adult ESL The National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education, in collaboration with National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy and with additional sponsorship and support from Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, has published a Research Agenda for Adult ESL. Its objectives are to provide funders with clear priorities for funding; to provide researchers with support for proposing specific projects; and to provide a focus for dis-cussion about how to improve adult ESL programs. The document incorporates feedback from learners, instructors, program administrators, policymakers, and researchers, and is available, free, from NCLE, 4646 40th street NW, Washington, DC 20016; (202) 362-0700 extension 200, or can be downloaded from NCLE at http://www.cal.org/ncle (and is also linked to LR/RI's ESOL page).

- The Key on line - Monthly newspaper for adults in Wisconsin's basic education and ESL programs.  http://www.keynews.org/ (and is linked to LR/RI's learner page).

Legislation - the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (HR 1385) - has been linked to LR/RI's homepage. Information about finding texts of legislation is on the home page as well as a direct link to HR 1385.

ESOL - links to ESOL sites around the web, as well as teaching ideas from an area practitioner.

Making Connections across culture: Critical reflection on a feminist adult education resource - by Arlene Wells. A report on a research project that examines the way in which one feminist literacy resource does and doesn't accommodate the needs, strengths and cultures of women learning and teaching in adult literacy programs. The report moves beyond an analysis of one curriculum document into a careful reflection of the ways that race, class, and gender (among other things) interlock and contribute to helping or hindering women's learning. The welfare reform page has been updated, as have other pages around the site. Please contribute your input and feedback to the site.

REMINDERS, RESOURCES:

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy has recently released a set of informative fact sheets outlining for practitioners and others the projects with which NCSALL researchers are currently engaged. Project histories, plans, and implications for practice are all highlighted in the fact sheets. Projects include studies of Learner Motivation, Impact of Literacy Programs on Adult learners, Adult Multiple Intelligences, Home Literacy Uses, Adult Development and Literacy Learning, Staff Development, Assessment, GED Impact, Health and Literacy, and Reading Diagnostics, Anyone interested in reading about one or all of the projects or anyone who may be interested in project participation information may receive copies by contacting David Hayes at (401) 331-9261. (The PDRN bulletin, including a link to the NCSALL fact sheets is also available online.

From a July 13 NIFL press release: New Report Explores Connection Between Low Literacy and Poor Health

Incorporating health education directly into literacy programs could be an important step towards helping low literate adults improve their health. Research has found a close connection between low literacy and poor health.  A key factor is that health education materials are generally written at the 10th grade reading level or beyond, so adults with low literacy levels generally do not benefit from the information.

The report, Empowerment Health Education in Adult Literacy: A Guide for Public Health and Adult Literacy Practitioners, Policy Makers and Funders, identifies ways of incorporating health education into literacy programs and includes suggestions for how to best bring information on early detection of breast, cervical, and testicular cancer into the adult literacy classroom.  Ideas for incorporating family violence issues into the curriculum are also included. The report is the result of a 2-year participatory action research project conducted by Marcia Drew Hohn, Ed.D., SABES Director at Northern Essex Community College in Lawrence, MA, and is available at no cost by calling at 1-800-228-8813. Dr. Hohn conducted the research and produced the report as part of a Literacy Leader Fellowship award from the National Institute for Literacy.

From Jan Richter, KidsCampaigns Outreach Specialist, Benton Foundation jan@benton.org on the NIFL-family listserv: I am the Outreach Specialist for KidsCampaigns, a comprehensive web site (http://www.kidscampaigns.org) providing information and tools for people to act on behalf of kids, from volunteering to voting. One of my duties is to compile and write the KidsCampaigns Weekly, a weekly email newsletter that briefs kids' advocates on what's in the news about kids' issues and what's new on-line to inform and engage KidsCampaigners -- advocates, concerned citizens, parents, service providers, etc. If you're interested in subscribing to the KidsCampaigns Weekly, you can sign on by sending an email to listserv@cdinet.com, with the message subscribe kids-weekly YourFirstName YourLastName

list servs:

LEARNER is intended primarily for adult learners. LITERACY is a general list for adult literacy practitioners and others. Information on these electronic lists is below.

LEARNER To subscribe to LEARNER, send an email message to: listserv@nysernet.org

Skip the message header and in the body of the message, type: subscribe LEARNER Yourfirstname Yourlastname All submissions to LEARNER should be addressed to: LEARNER@nysernet.org Questions regarding the list should be sent to: Beverly Choltco-Devlin Moderator, LEARNER bdevlin@dreamscape.com

LITERACY To subscribe to LITERACY, send an email message to: listserv@nysernet.org

Skip the message header and in the body of the message, type: subscribe LITERACY Yourfirstname Yourlastname All submissions to LITERACY should be addressed to: LITERACY@nysernet.org Questions regarding the LITERACY list should be sent to: Beverly Choltco-Devlin bdevlin@dreamscape.com

Welfare to work listserv: from Glenn Young - For those interested in the subject of welfare reform and learning disabilities, there has been a listserv created through NIFL. To sign up, please send a message to: listproc@literacy.nifl.gov write in the body of the message subscribe nifl-wtwld and your name. Do not write anything in the subject line and do not use any dots or dashes other than between nifl and wtwld. (Click here for more information on listservs).

Stats resource available: The State of Literacy in America: Estimates at the local, state and national levels, is now available, free of charge from the National Institute for Literacy. While the use and abuse of statistics can be daunting, the volume is of interest - it projects literacy abilities and problems on local levels using the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) as a basis for these estimates. For a copy of the publication, call 1-800-228-8813.

Resource available: Teaching and Learning with Internet-based Resources, by Susan Cowles, is available in hard copy or on line at http://www.nifl.gov/susanc/inthome.htm From the on-line introduction: "Literacy students, instructors, program administrators, and other life-long learners are all in the group moving along the information superhighway. Some people have been running for a while; others are just starting down the road. Beginning to use the Internet can sometimes seem as grueling as participating in a marathon. This short course is designed to make the journey as informative and enjoyable as possible." To order a hard copy of the document, please call 1-800-228-8813. Susan Cowles is a Literacy Leader Fellow for 1996-97; this document is her fellowship report to the National Institute for Literacy.

from previous bulletins:

LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION ON-LINE (from Fran Keenan at the Center for Applied Linguistics): http://www.StateServ.hpts.org provides current and exclusive state legislative information on welfare reform & immigrants. The 1996 welfare law rewrote the rules for immigrants, originally cutting $24 billion in cash, medical, and food stamp benefits. Although $12 billion in SSI benefits were restored in 1997, states are still challenged by the cost shifts from federal to state and local safety net programs, and are determining whether and how to serve particularly vulnerable immigrant populations. State legislation is summarized by cash assistance, medical assistance, nutritional assistance, and naturalization. Also available on-line are the Project's popular new series of issue briefs "Welfare Reform & Immigrants." Currently posted are briefs on: State Trends, Nutritional Assistance, and TANF. The website was launched by the Health Policy Tracking Service at NCSL. StateServ also provides information on state policies and legislation in the areas of adolescent health, HIV/AIDS, and youth access to alcohol. The website is supported with grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Ford Foundation. For more information on StateServ, call The Health Policy Tracking Service at 202-624-3567 or e-mail them at: info@hpts.org.

For more information on Welfare Reform & Immigrants, contact Ann Morse, Immigrant Policy Project, (ann.morse@ncsl.org) or Jeremy Meadows (jeremy.meadows@ncsl.org). We welcome your comments. (The IMMIGRANT-NEWS-L distribution list is a service of NCSLnet, the Electronic Information Network for State Legislatures. National Conference of State Legislatures. For information on NCSLnet services send a blank e-mail message to: NCSLnet-Info@ncsl.org).

AIDS RESOURCES ONLINE

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1s national AIDS clearinghouse is located at http://www.cdcnac.org. It's Up to Us: An AIDS Education Curriculum for ESL Students and Other English Language Learners, by Henry Lesnick, is available on line at http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/homepages/lesnick/AIDS. AVERT, AIDS Education and Research Trust, a British site, is at http://www.avert.org/ World AIDS Day is observed on December 1st, but the need to work on appropriate educational strategies around HIV and AIDS prevention education persists year round.

PROJECT BASED LEARNING AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

How is the internet being used in adult education? What are some helpful uses, and how do we sort through the huge amount of material available on line? Susan Gaer is interested in helping programs link to one another, and has been doing so through an email project homepage on-line, at http://www.otan.dni.us/webfarm/emailproject/email.htm. If you have or know of similar learner work on line, please contact Susan at SusanG2@aol.com. As well, David Rosen (who in addition to advocacy work, has done a great deal of work on and research into using the internet) has asked that we have a look at the inquiry maps on the Adult Literacy Resource Institute1s home page. As he explains, "[a]n Inquiry Map is a group participatory research process on a topic of high interest to the group. Participants (in this case, adult learners) make their own questions, and then set about finding answers to them. The Inquiry map is a process which is never finished. Many of the questions go unanswered, are only partially answered, or have only one answer given where other points of view are possible. So, there is room for other participants to join in the process at any time, to add their answers, their comments on the answers already given, and questions which they might also choose to research." Questions, answers and comments can be posted to David Rosen <DJRosen@world.std.com>, and he'll add them to the inquiry map. So, it keeps on being an inquiry process with each new person who reads and adds to it. He welcomes additions of questions and answers; as you may know, many internet sites run threaded conversations on a variety of topics. The ALRI sites are: http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/LTC/ALRI/I.M.html and http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/LTC/ALRI/IM3.html (How to make inquiry maps). The LR/RI website has added a page about technology and learning as well. The page consists of the beginning of a discussion about the ways in which technology can be used interactively -- is the screen just a big flashy workbook, or is there more to it? Your comments can be sent by email, fax or regular mail, and will be added to the page to continue the conversation.

and also from previous issues:

Workshops available - During the past few years I've worked with a team of women from around Canada, through the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women, on Making Connections: Literacy and EAL Curriculum from a Feminist Perspective. The curriculum was developed for learners in basic education and English language programs. A series of workshops have been developed and are available to anyone in the area with an interest in learning more about incorporating the curriculum and its approaches into their own work. Please contact me (Janet) at LR/RI for more information and/or to schedule a workshop. Information about the curriculum is also available online at http://www.nald.ca/canorg/cclow/EAL.HTM. While the cost of the curriculum document itself is $20, there is no charge for the workshops.