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Archives for June 2017

What’s Your Story?

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The theme for our conference this year is Tell your story, and many of our workshops. and events focus on the importance of expressing those stories.

Every one of us has a person, experience, or idea that acts as our driving force for working in adult literacy. It could be the memory of a parent reading to you, an interaction you had with a student, or even your own struggle with education. Whatever that story is, we want to hear it!

Literacy Texas and DEAR Texas invite conference attendees to kick off the conference with us at 5:30 PM on Sunday, July 30th and share true stories related to literacy, education, teaching, reading, and writing. No need to write it down or bring notes — this casual storytelling competition is the perfect opportunity to meet other attendees, chat over refreshments, and break the ice with some truly awesome storytelling. You’ll be in good company, too! We will be joined by Texas authors Larry Farmer, Larry Morris, Kathleen Shields, K Wendt, and Arlene Gale (who is also joining us as a presenter on Monday).

After we’ve heard everyone, we’ll hand out prizes for the Most Humorous, Fan Favorite, and Best Overall stories. If you’re not a fan of public speaking, no pressure — feel free to join as an audience member. It’ll be an evening of honesty, humor, warmth, and inspiration, and we hope to see you there!

Conference Registration

Every Texan Deserves To Read

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If you’re reading this blog, you probably know that Literacy Texas is an organization dedicated to adult education and literacy. We focus our efforts in this area because the adult learner population in Texas and in the United States as a whole has been under-served for many years, and because we know the difference that literacy and education can make on a person’s life. But our motto is this: Every Texan deserves to read. And for over a million economically disadvantaged children in Texas, reading is made much more difficult by lack of access to books.

Illiteracy is cyclical. 43% of adults with the lowest reading levels live in poverty.1 On average, their children hear 30,000,000 fewer words by age 3 than their more affluent peers.2 Outside the home, economically disadvantaged children face more hurdles to their education. In low-income areas, 1 book is available for every 300 children, versus an average of 13 books in middle- and high-income homes.3 That lack of access to books leads to lower reading levels, and children who do not read on level by the end of Grade 3 are 4 times more likely to drop out of school.4 Individuals without a high school education earn an average of $10,000 less per year than those with a diploma, and $24,000 less per year than those with a bachelor’s degree.5 See where we’re going with this?

So while our focus is and always has been on adult literacy, Literacy Texas is taking this opportunity to shine a light on children’s literacy. During our conference next month, we are partnering with Give More Hugs, a San Antonio-based nonprofit that helps underprivileged students develop a love of reading, learning, and creativity. We will be accepting donations of new and gently-used books, each with a handwritten inspirational message, for their Books Share program. Every book we receive will be put in the hands of a child at a Title I school in Texas.

If you are planning to attend our conference, we encourage you to bring a book (or two, or as many as you’d like) to donate to our book drive. At the conference, you’ll have the opportunity to sit with Give More Hugs volunteers and write your inspirational message in the cover of each book you donate. If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so by clicking the button below.

Register

If you are unable to make it this year, we welcome you to send your children’s books to us:

Literacy Texas
406 East 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701

Literacy Texas and Give More Hugs know that books can be a beacon of hope and light in the lives of children in poverty. We look forward to making that light shine a little brighter with your help.

Sources

  1. Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
  2. American Educator
  3. Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2
  4. Annie E. Casey Foundation
  5. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

An Interview with a Conference First-Timer

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This week, we’re pleased to bring you another interview with a little perspective from a former first-timer. Take note of Pranjali Mardhekar’s insight and practical advice, and share your own questions and impressions of our conference below!

Last year was your first time attending the Literacy Texas Conference. What was it that first piqued your interest in the event?

PM: The Literacy Texas Conference came highly recommended by my colleagues at Harris County Public Library and Literacy Advance of Houston. The decision to attend was an easy one to make after having looked at the program and there being a possibility of receiving a scholarship. The topics for the sessions were indisputably interesting and a lot of them were relevant to me as a volunteer tutor for refugees and low-income population. I found that there was something in it for everyone in the field of adult education. Moreover, it seemed like a great opportunity to interact with some of the laudable people and organisations who are at the forefront of shaping adult literacy in Texas. I learned a lot from the sessions I attended and I must say the conference exceeded my expectations.

You’ve attended both the annual conference and one of our regional symposiums. How did each of the experiences differ for you? What do you think makes the conference valuable for those that have already attended a symposium?

PM: I attended the Gulf Coast Literacy Symposium earlier this year. It was an enjoyable and intimate gathering of peers from in and around the Houston area. It allowed a lot of interaction among the attendees which was wonderful while being as informative as it could be in a day. The annual three-day conference, however, gives the attendees access to a much larger pool of information and an opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced adult education professionals. Another aspect that sets the conference apart from the symposiums is the presence of several publications and organisations that set up their information desks. I was introduced to a myriad of useful resources (some that are given out free of cost!) available to tutors that I was not aware of before. The keynote speakers and award recipients at the conference were a source of inspiration and motivation, which I think is important for us as volunteer tutors – to be reminded that we are indeed making a difference. For me, personally, it was incredible to see the various admirable things people do and the creative ways in which they are resolving issues in the field of adult education.

What are you most excited for at this year’s conference?

PM: I had a truly enriching experience at the conference last year and it was mostly because of the sessions I attended. Similarly, this year I am looking forward to attending sessions where I improve and gain new perspectives on my ESL teaching practices. I am not, however, looking forward to choosing one session over another, which I know is inevitable!

Do you have any words of wisdom for people attending for their first time?

PM: There are 60+ sessions and you can’t attend a third of those even if you wanted to! I was a tad bit intimidated by the choices I needed to make! There is a high possibility that a session that sounds very interesting is overlapping with the one that sounds exciting and fun. I’d recommend going through the program and break-out session topics and synopsis thoroughly beforehand. If two sessions you’d like to attend are taking place at the same time, see if you can meet the presenter and request copies of their PowerPoint and/or handouts.

There were a lot of people at the conference last year and I was unable to meet some people I would have liked to only because it was too difficult to locate them! If you seek to network, organise your time because the tea breaks and lunch breaks simply whiz by!

I wish I had carried a backpack instead of a shoulder bag given the number of handouts, brochures and freebies I was carrying around by the end of each day. I also remember it being freezing inside the hotel, so if you’re like me, someone whose toes and nose are perpetually frozen, it might be a good idea to carry an extra layer even though you could bake a bun in the Texan heat outside the hotel.

This is me ending with a cliché – most importantly, enjoy yourself!

Pranjali Mardhekar is passionate about teaching English and Adult Education. She has a Master’s in English Language and Literature and has gone on to earn the CELTA certification from Cambridge University. She is currently doing the Diploma in TESOL from Trinity College, London in pursuit of a career in teacher training. She has been teaching English as a Second Language and literacy alongside Hindi and French since 2012, most notably in India, New York, and Texas. Pranjali has a deep belief that pedagogy must honour learner engagement and learner choice to be successful.

An Interview with a Conference First-Timer

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It can be difficult to know what to expect at an event, particularly one that is new to you. That’s why we’re bringing in a little perspective this month, in the form of interviews with former conference attendees. Our first is with Elizabeth Hollenbeck, a first-timer at our 2016 Conference.

Last year was your first time attending the Literacy Texas Conference. What was it that first piqued your interest in the event?

EH: A colleague who had attended the year before raved about the experience and encouraged me to look into attending. I didn’t know what to expect because the material would be practically all new to me, but I was eager to check things out and felt confident I would learn a lot.

Literacy Texas holds regional symposiums, in addition to our statewide annual conference. What do you think are the benefits of the two types of events?

EH: I missed the symposium in January because I had the flu, so I don’t have first-hand experience with that event. However, I did arrange for two of my staff to attend, and they raved about the experience! I am very sad that I missed such a great opportunity. I imagine that the material and energy were very similar to the annual conference. The annual conference was a wonderful way to connect with other librarians and organizations across the state, so one benefit of attending a local symposium would be the chance to connect with folks and organizations closer to home where partnerships would be more easily made.

What are you most excited for at this year’s conference?

EH: I’m excited about learning more about working with volunteers to provide more/better services for adults. I’m also excited about learning some strategies for adult student retention and collecting outcome/impact data (as opposed to inputs/outputs) for our adult services and programs.

Do you have any words of wisdom for people attending for their first time?

EH: Don’t wait to register! Sign up right away and try to get a room in the conference hotel. There are lots of opportunities to share meals with new people and learn about what other libraries and organizations are doing in their communities. If you’re attending with colleagues, try to arrange it so that you attend different sessions than your coworkers so you can maximize the learning and collect the most handouts and resources to bring home. Also, be sure to take advantage of the final day’s workshops! Amazing knowledge at your fingertips. Enjoy!

Elizabeth Hollenbeck is the Reference Department Supervisor at McAllen Public Library in deep South Texas. She believes wholeheartedly in literacy and lifelong learning, and is passionate about working continuously to improve McAllen Public Library’s services to adults in the community.