Okay, so I have been seriously remiss in this section of our fabulous website.  Writing a thesis and now a regular e-newsletter have somehow left my pen strangely out of energy ink.

What is the newest news for me is actually the oldest of tales in the literacy world.  And that is, that we don't exist for most people except as a long sigh and a tsk tsk about the sad state of affairs in our education system.

Even Obama ignored us in his recent initiative encouraging everyone to go back to college for a year without any acknowledgement of the millions of adults who would not qualify for entrance.

I actually wrote my first letter in response to a New York Times article by Nicholas Kristof, who got my attention by mentioning the oft-quoted research statistic about the gap between the number of words spoken to pre-school children of educated versus non-educated parents.  His solution - send in a social worker to encourage speaking to children.  I tried not to send my usual blast of re-education, but asked sincerely why educating the parents was not the first solution to solving a 30 million word gap.  Can a social worker really do that?

It's new news, because I am on the other side of a masters degree focused on why the literacy field never gains momentum to make a dent.  On the other side with some clarity, more questions, and definitely more determination.

There is good news on the advocacy front - a national listserv has been buzzing with the good news of New Hampshire receiving a 75% increase in state funding for adult basic education.  Wow, the work involved is truly amazing.  I think about this type of campaign for our future, and try not to dwell on the thought that even if we worked to get our state to quadruple its investment in the DOE funded programs, it would still only serve a fourth of those who need it.  As Art Ellison from New Hampshire says: you have to be in it for the long haul.

I'm also very interested to see where the Declaration of the Right to Literacy takes us.  It could be just the message that our President needs to see the light. (go Margaret!)

Thanks for tuning in to this more regular broadcast.

Definitely in for the long haul -- Rachel