Weekly Program - Literacy and Rotarians

 
Rotarians are involved with many types of literacy projects around the world.  Our president mentioned some literacy projects our members have already been engaged with in our own district, such as collecting and pallatizing books to be shipped around the world with the "Books for the World" project.  We have committed our club o a scholarship program to sponsor a student in Nicaragua through college.  One of our members initiated a new library program for a local non-profit for women with a special emphasis on self-help skills.   In our Rotary District we also have clubs embracing the "Dolly Parton Reading Program" to provide a home library for young students to encourage an interest in reading.  Some clubs participate in a school dictionary program.  There are programs designed to improve literacy for all ages - beginning school years to teaching illiterate adults.  Rotary indeed makes a difference!
 
Following are ideas for how to get involved in your community as suggested in the

Rotary International and the International Reading Association Literacy

Project Guide:

Improve access to books and learning materials 

Support schools and teachers 

Adopt a school
Teacher training 9

Enhance classroom learning
Early childhood literacy
Adult literacy
Student mentoring
Concentrated Language Encounter (CLE)

Promote community development

Improve community health
Address special needs

For most of us, reading and writing are as natural as breathing. But nearly 800 million adults worldwide lack the literacy skills needed to complete a job application, understand a child’s report card, or read a prescription.

Rotary International and the International Reading Association know that literacy is an essential ingredient for reducing poverty, improving health, encouraging community and economic de- velopment, and promoting peace. Since 2002, RI and the IRA have combined their resources and skills to advance literacy in communities worldwide by

  • Providing books and educational materials

  • Building and supporting schools

  • Mentoring students

  • Training teachers

  • Establishing literacy programs for children and adults

Whether through volunteering your time and expertise, providing financial support, or building awareness, you can empower people and communities through literacy.  In additional to the projects supported by our club and our district, following is another example of a fine project in Brazil:

 

Concentrated language encounter (CLE)

CLE projects in Brazil

Rotary Districts 4520, 4560, and 4760 (Brazil); 6900 (Georgia, USA), & 7080 (Ontario, Canada)

The concentrated language encounter (CLE) method teaches reading and writing through group activities. This process is supplemented by developmental language exercises that teach sentence construction, grammar, and spelling. The method requires only basic supplies, including paper, scissors, binding material (such as yarn or twine), colored pencils or crayons, and cardboard, making it a low-cost way to boost literacy.

In 1997, a nearly $400,000 pilot CLE project was launched in the city of Contagem, Brazil, with the support of The Rotary Foundation and Rotary districts in Brazil, Canada, and the United States. As of 2008, about 1,900 teachers trained in the CLE method have taught more than 72,600 Brazilian students how to read and write.

This YouTube video is an exploration of the definition of literacy: more specifically, of what it means to be a literate person in the 21st Century. Both producers are reflective practitioners who have strong literacy backgrounds. As practising teachers they have a vested interest in this subject. The producers realize that new media in a technological world is shaping the lives of youth and that as a result, redefining the literacy skills that will be necessary for youth to be able to function successfully in the world they are growing up in. The latter implies, by necessity, that the how, what and why of teaching literacy must also change. As a result of having the supposed static, print-centric notion of literacy upturned, the producers became interested in finding out if other educators at their worksites were experiencing this shift and in exploring how these educators were grappling with the notion of what it means to be a literate person and the corresponding implications in terms of their own teaching practise. Were they indeed rethinking what it means to be literate in an information and communication technological world, or upholding the traditional print-centric, paper and pencil viewpoint?
What Does it Mean to be Literate in the 21st Century? is an important and relevant issue that invites dialogue from all practising educators who work with youth. The world is changing and schools are required to make those changes necessary to help youth become fully competent, critical, and thoughtful citizens in the world they live in.
 
Thank you for your attention.  There is much to do to improve literacy, modify teaching to meet the needs in the community, and improve lives to make this world a better place for future generations with improved health and ability to support families.  There is something you can do either via "sweat" equity or financial support for a viable program.