Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / May 29, 1986, edition 1 / Page 5
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# May 29, 1986 W Page A5 II : H v . \ Coping with i The author is the president of First Union Corp. Henry carries a newspaper with * him to the factory so his fellow workers will think he can read. Susan wants to be able to read aloud to her 3-year-old daughter. George makes excuses to avoid ? aetivering packages to a part of town fte is not familiar with "because he cannot read street signs./."" A third of North Carolina's adults share a tragic secret - they cannot read a road sign, a warning label or an election ballot. In bur state's information society they are outcasts - marginally Employable, burdened with feeling* of inadequacy and unable to contribute fully despite high Native intelligence. < \ ' More than: 1.5 million of our approximately six million citizens hever completed high school, and AnA i ? nave less tnan an eighthgrade education. Most of these fcedple are functionally illiterate, v "^?Winston-Sale r ? i .v ' , " An independent, local ? 'K ' . ' NEWSROOM: Robin Barksd ~ editor; Karen Hannon, ty H. Bichsel Truhon, copy edi ' SPORTS: David Bulla, sports ' PHOTOGRAPHYi James Par Blue, Joe Daniels. ADVERTISING: Julie Perry; . Art Blue, Wenna Yvette Jarr ; OFFICE STAFF: Barbara Milt Stephanie Walls, Fernice W PRODUCTION: Vinson Dewl manager; Tim Butner, Keith ' ' Bichsel Truhon. CIRCULATION: Veronica Gi Blandelia McMoore, Angela liwbnvpbnl ,r 'bnorpmc I Xns lf>J vnlrtn\< f-'iv ,? 1" 91Z <!,! i4B M ? V KEEf zy Member FDIC N o HE FOWUM lliteracy in ou ik WB<I wmmw By BEN T. CRAIG and their numbers increase by 20,000 every year. It is not, of course, a problem limited to North Carolina. One out of every nine adults in the United States cannot read at alL In addition, there are another 47 million u/hn arm KnrH?r1in? si ?.vm ?? ?*W ?M V WV1 %*V1 AlliV U" literates - who can function, but not well. Tragically, however. North Carolina has the third-highest percentage of illiterate adults. It is an economic and a social problem that costs our state hundreds of millions of dollars and untold human misery. It affects all of us. Although businesses in this state employ more than 600,000 functionally illiterate people, more than 200,000 are unemployed. The drain of illiterates on the economy and our tax dollars can be measured in m Chronicle?r Yv owned newsoaoer ^ - a V ' t ' ale, community news pist; John Hinton; Yvonne tor; Cheryl Williams. * editor. ker, photo editor; Art advertising manager; les. s, Brenda Sykes, ?? ardlaw, Verisia West. berry, production Holland, Yvonne H. lions, Harry McCants, Ross, James^)fxon. Vacuo 'YOUR _'j ,v ?) ?? ^BE Vf ? :^ws&3tv^B5 v m I .' :' v^'^V- v:; WKC';\7# v 3v* '' *$& '/ 91 ts'>>"*Kft?-/S^ ?> w^&Sr^-- M j KJI i More opinions, ,w~ columns and features. ir state their numbers in social welfare programs, in our prisons, in our juvenile-delinquency programs and in our unemployment lines. The problem can also have a dangerous impact on our daily routines, when you consider that illiterates are all around us - as drivers who cannot read road signs, employees who are unable to read instructions dealing wtih chemicals and parents who cannot decipher warning labels on their children's medicine bottles. Major efforts have been under way in this state for several years to combat the problem, and these efforts have been supported by leaders in the business, government, civic and education sectors. But there is much more to One of the most exciting developments is a pioneer program at Charlotte's Central Piedmont Comunity College called ABLE, (Adult Basic Literacy Education). It uses computers and instructors to teach adult imiiummiiiiiiiiinmiiiiiinnHiiiMiiiiiMiHmHiHiM Robinson > has been particularly interested in training black folks to win elections, though there are opportunities to learn how to run campaigns more effectively. But4'we already know about politics.*' "We can't afford to learn campaign management." Wrong. We -cannot afford not to dramatically increase the number of trained political operatives. If you want to play major-league ball* then you have to invest major-league resources. Campaign managment training is available from several sources. i? l?M Lm < iJMiWiVi ju via Ha busin] Hrae^t J % W w?i>tese PRIC6&? Afuhe TCWATI students to read. The computer program reduces the amount of time it takes to teach the basic skills. This project is an example of . cooperation between government, business and community, which joined to fund the na? tionally recognized program. The ABLE project has been implemented in five other countries, and as a result of its success, the state Legislature approved funds last year to put the com=rom Page A4 These sources include the national parties, the state parties, party auxiliaries such as the Young Democrats or the Republican Women's Club and political action committees such as the North Carolina Association of Educators' PACE or the 21st Century PAC. : However, availability is not the problem. Our political leadership iiiusi commit 10 investing the resources to train political operatives and then use these operatives and the sound campaign techniques they have learniuv*.*:.' j.- . -w r; ii >W ;? *>/. svr;' slkEl ESSQN , /^^^W^Rflfifr;' '*-|5aj6^ v>i <fcl*V. <* ' ,/'i-. lli^*WttI ^Bt XW^6lM?^^4^x;':TBfc nt^aH %'"-^v'': j^M ^.KiyiLJ# w^ 9K!7-' mi**' .^D ^PBSr^^ I^Hr , irszirj. 0II cermcell&ar 29LJf /flPBM^JMftfH^ puter program in all of the 58 community colleges across the state. In addition to the ABLE program, the community colleges after Adult Basic Education classes, and there are literacy councils throughout the stale uffering tutoring to those trying to imorove their rMHin# cHllc ah a ? -??? vwwiiq aniu J rUl of these programs are free. Compare a lifetime spent isolated from the literate world, where reading the local j 1 . ' ed to win elections. '' However, waging more effective campaigns addresses only part of the political empowerment challenge. I say this because the most promising way for blacks to increase political power ic thrmioh /?Kon??l1!??? w uu vrwQn vmumviiiiig puiuiwai efforts into the Republican Party? and a number of its candidates to a much greater extent than has been the case in the past. I found this paper's endorsement of several Republicans facing primary races very interesting. Interesting from the .sniftto vr.wl'j.'r.nun rng.) . t nr^T M n rJ v'?v / r ? * QANlb THEM 3HB A ?g| _ '">: V^B '- /: ^(B?,: '" >58 ? ^Hr ^^liflHj^''' S* SjMMP^v '^SHBHB^P^ ' W i 4mBBS^s^ ^P fl . / <-? ' 'v^"'kStiu'*' WW ;JH^HB&IS??h9HF m ^JjEgjfSzPr^ 'v/.j^fr^eSaSMM^BIF ^Jfl 1 ^H > i NOi%# WIATIOM ! we&Jm wummrw ip w VYWW y / 4 newspaper and handling your own financial affairs is impossible to the relatively short time it takes to obtain basic reading skills. You can see that literacy programs are - incredibly costeffective. Business leaders should appreciate this better than-anyone. Yet, while teaching an adult to read is not difficult, the process is complicated by the stigma I associated with illiteracy. As a Please see page A14 ^ > ? wi?n? 1HIWMMWW?II???n?imMHHHIHII?IIHH I 3 ; . I ' I - -; < standpoint that not a single .employee of the paper could .make any impact in these races at the polls, because none of them ! are registered Republicans in Forsyth County. But the Chronicle's staff should not be singled out j \ for special attention. Almost the t entire black community is very M comfortable letting other folks , ; pick the candidates for the GOP in the fall. Can we afford to be the only f ! ethnic group in the country that ' plays one-party ball in a twoPlease see page A13 N A ' ?>' . teni.rJ, i i' * r' r ?i? "" i * ? ?I J '? t t \ A I / I ' ;; OVE, I i It could be new equip- j ' ment, a building expansion or a need I for working capital. I Anytime your business is faced with a major expenditure, you're faced with a lot of financial decisions. Including a loan. Wachovia can help you with that decision. We offer a variety of j ways to borrow. And we welcome the opportunity to tailor a loan to your particular situation. When you're ready I to make your move, it's I good business to talk to t Wachovia first. WacRovia. I Where the money's coming \ from. ! i i r i i \ I I i ' !" I ' . i " r ' I | .. - - :
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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May 29, 1986, edition 1
5
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