A newly released report by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies showed that adults in the United States ranked below or near the bottom in basic math, reading, and problem-solving compared with other developed countries.
This has major implications for the workforce and our society in general since citizens with low-literacy skills are at greater risk for becoming unemployed, earning poverty-level wages, and being in poor health. That’s why the Greater Homewood Adult Learning Center offers quality, learner-centered instruction at no charge to adults ages 16 and older.
With fall classes starting up, we checked in with one of the Center’s 22 tutors about her progress working with one of our learners. Roza has been working one-on-one with Richard for 9 months, meeting weekly to work on blending sounds to make words.
“I enjoy Richard’s positive attitude most,” Roza says. “He doesn’t let things stop him. He says ‘I’ll try’, he’s always willing to try. He’s up for anything.”
Roza and Richard have been working on reading and writing skills. Roza writes the stories that Richard dictates so he can see his stories on paper. They do a variety of exercises with his stories to help him decode words and read the story from beginning to end.
“He has great stories,” Roza says, “and if we write them together, he can work on reading them.”
Richard is one of the estimated 810,000 Maryland adults needing literacy services – that’s more than the entire population of Baltimore City! We celebrate his commitment to learning and Roza’s commitment to Richard.