LearnerLeadershipReflections

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Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:2096] Something to think about
From: Archie Willard

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

I'm not a part of the VALUE leadership training team, but I have been around adult literacy for some time now and I have done some things that might qualify me as having some leadership skills. Not having enough adult learners who have become leaders in this field has been a big problem. This has held back the progression and understanding of adult literacy in this country. Running an adult literacy program today takes a lot of hard work with all the things that are required now. Adult leadership is often not noticed by the programs because of the extra time it takes, and without adult leadership the real picture of adult literacy is not seen by our society.

Being an adult leader is something people don't decide to be. You become a leader when you have compassion about a cause. It will take a lot of hard work on your part and when you work hard and do something about it others will follow you because they also believe that what you are doing is the right thing to do. When this happens then you have become a leader. You cannot teach others to be leaders. What you can do is teach others to become good support people for this cause.

TO THE ADULT LEARNER WHO IS THINKING ABOUT TAKING VALUE'S TRAINING:

If you have a fire that is burning inside of you, and you want to see things better for people with poor literacy skills, and you are not looking for rewards, you are on the right track. You can build a lot of self confidence by taking the VALUE training.

I don't think you will be encouraged enough to develop your writing skills and writing is one of the hardest things you will face in becoming a good leader. But, no matter how hard it is, you will have to find a way to express yourself in writing if you are going to be effective as an adult leader. You will need to be able to write about and communicate your feelings on the internet if you want the literacy field to listen to you and to gain their respect. I don't feel our adult leaders are doing this enough at this time. Also, learn to be a critical thinker and to think for yourself.

I encourage all of you adult learners to think about taking the VALUE training if you get the opportunity. The field needs you. We all need you.

TO DAVID ROSEN AND OTHERS REGARDING ADULT LEARNERS AND HEALTH LITERACY:

In Iowa we are doing something about health literacy. The New Readers of Iowa have formed a partnership with The Iowa Health System. The Iowa Health System (IHS) is a group of twelve of the largest hospitals in Iowa. Patient safety is a big thing in the health field today. Patient safety and health literacy go hand in hand. Some of the New Readers of Iowa go to the IHS Patient Safety Team meetings. There is one main team and each hospital has a small group. We are working to place an adult learner on each of the small groups to advise IHS about their written materials. I feel IHS is very pleased to have our input. I'm now working as a co-chair of the Iowa Health System Patient Safety Team. I have also had the opportunity to travel to different Patient Safety meetings and conferences around the country. The last two years the Iowa New Reader Conferences have been devoted to health literacy. People from the Iowa Health System now come to the New Readers of Iowa meetings and conferences. We will be planning our next year's conference soon. All this has happened as a result of hard work here in Iowa by a lot of people.

TEACHING ADULT LEARNERS ABOUT HEALTH:

The New Readers of Iowa teach each other the little things that we know about health from our own experiences, and we learn by discussions about the things with which we have had difficulties when seeking health care. Adult learners remember and learn from each other better when they learn together. Through the years we have learned a lot different things from each other and gained a lot of confidence. I would say we all have become “street smart” as adult learners.

There is a big adult literacy problem in our nation today and our country just cannot see what's happening. Where is our nation going and where will it end up because of our poor literacy?

Thank You,

Archie Willard, Adult Learner

-- Archie Willard
URL - http://www.readiowa.org/archiew.html

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