The ABCs of improving literacy
Published Thursday April 16th, 2009
Kids | Program needs volunteers to coach students
Wanted: New Brunswickers with "willing hearts" who will help build a better province by making sure all kids can read.
Education Minister Kelly Lamrock and Jamie Irving, publisher of the Telegraph-Journal and head of Brunswick News Inc., posted that notice Wednesday as they announced the creation of the Elementary Literacy Friends Foundation to address the literacy issue at the earliest stages.
The foundation is looking for volunteers from across the province to help more than 3,000 kids in Grade 2 who are struggling with reading.
It's a major effort to focus more attention on the critical period when children either make it and go on to enjoy literate and productive lives, or they fail and face uncertain futures in a changing world.
"We can identify about 3,000 students at the end of Grade 2 who need a little extra attention to be able to read," Lamrock said.
"We believe that community by community, if we use the networks of businesses, volunteer groups and universities, we can find each and every one of them a mentor. So with the help of Mr. Irving and Brunswick News - and the $250,000 we've put in as a government - we think we can train and recruit about 3,000 volunteers."
Much of New Brunswick's attention to date has been focused on helping adults improve their literacy skills.
The situation has become critical as the province moves from an economy based largely on harvesting natural resources to more high-tech industries that demand strong literacy skills.
It's estimated that 56 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 16 years and over don't have the reading skills needed to flourish in today's information and knowledge society.
Irving said literacy has been described as the "Morse code" for life in the modern world.
He said the key is to tackle the problem before it takes root, to help children who are having trouble reading before they become adults who have given up on literacy.
"We know that we can get to 100 per cent of young New Brunswickers through the school system," Irving said.
"The bricks and mortar are already there, the materials are already there. If we could pool the assets and bring the business community, the volunteer sector, the universities and the government together to build a real partnership, it's the first step in really moving the province forward.
"Before we do anything else, we have to make sure people can read so we can train them. It's a tertiary thing that has to happen."
Irving and Lamrock attended a literacy summit in Fredericton, where the Elementary Literacy Friends Foundation announcement was made.
Lamrock said the program puts the "public" back in public education.
He said that thanks to annual reading assessments, educators know all of the Grade 2 children who are having trouble reading.
Lamrock said there might be five in one school, 12 in another and maybe 18 in one of the larger schools. He said the teachers know who they are, know their parents and have their addresses and phone numbers.
He said all that's needed are volunteers - "willing hearts" as he called them - who will reach out to these children.
He said the volunteers can be from any walk of life, including retired teachers.
"There are retired teachers in every corner of this province who don't want to come back to the daily grind of the classroom, but who haven't lost that passion to make a difference," Lamrock told participants at the literacy summit.
"We're going to reach out to them."
Brunswick News has been working with Canwest's Raise-a-Reader campaign for the past three years and will continue to build on that with this project.
Lamrock said people interested in volunteering can contact him directly by email at Kelly.lamrock@gnb.ca.
He said he's going to be speaking to service clubs, university groups, volunteer organizations - whoever will listen to him - about the need to help the program.
"I want to thank the minister for taking hold of this and running with it. It's easy to say no. It's easy to walk away and say it's too complicated," Irving said.
"Everyone is coming together and saying we can solve this problem. The whole notion of a collaborative effort by government, UNB, the volunteer sector and all the communities across the province means that we actually have a chance at fixing this problem instead of watching it get worse.
"It's amazing how quickly things progress once you put a co-ordinated effort towards it,'' he said.
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Now he wants people to volunteer to be a surrogate teacher. Is that his way to bring NB's R-TARD status up to snuff?
:L
So ... what is Kelly and his tribe thinking? First offere $1,000 a head for an extra body in a classroom, now this.
The voluntary sector has grown exponentially since the late '80's, in large part due to down-sizing of government services. It is the largest of the three sectors ... yes larger than public and private ... and is our greatest economic engine when given a comprehensive understanding of its reach and impact.
This sector stumbles ... badly so ... due in large part to actions just like Kelly's which add to the burden instead of relieving the pressure.
When will we learn ... pun intended.
The manipulation of literacy scores is getting old. Notice the quote:
"It's estimated that 56 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 16 years and OVER don't have the reading skills needed to flourish in today's information and knowledge society."
That is right, "16 years and OVER". Yep, most of the literacy problems in NB are with the older population. Many of them have been out of the old school system for 50 years or more. Things have changed a tad bit since then and our literacy rates for recent graduates are actually quite impressive. The results are higher than the national average and beat Ontario. Lamrock fails to point out the good and relevant info, and seeks to be a false hero.
A shuffle is needed.....