The Hants Learning Network

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News...

The Nova Scotia School for Adult Learning honours local community literacy volunteers

International Literacy Day Celebrations are held on September 8th each year to recognize the outstanding achievements of adults who have succeeded in their return to learning. Literacy networks in Nova Scotia have long recognized the crucial role played by volunteers in supporting their Adult Learning Programs. The Skills and Learning Branch of the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development formally recognizes the valuable work of those volunteers at this celebration. Two local volunteers, Sandra Milbury of Ashdale and Mike Giffen of Kentville were honoured, as well as the Valley Community Learning Association.

Sandra and Mike have shown that they have gone above and beyond the call of duty as a volunteer, and are most deserving of recognition for their dedication to community-based learning. Sandra has served as Co-Chair for the Hants Learning Network for the past 6 years. She works tirelessly to create supports, such as transportation, to enable them to access life long learning opportunities. She is a worthy recipient of the Provincial Community Literacy Volunteer Award.

Mike was awarded the Patricia Helliwell Volunteer Tutor Award. Awarded for the first time in 2007, this recognition of excellence is dedicated in the memory of Patricia Helliwell. Patricia was the founding member and coordinator of the Hants Learning Network Association, until her untimely passing in May of 2006. As a volunteer tutor for fourteen years, Patricia's tireless spirit, compassion and devotion to adult learners provided an enduring role model for all to emulate. Mike has been a volunteer tutor with the Valley Community Learning Association for the past seven years and demonstrates a profound dedication to adult learners. Mike was one of the many tutors trained by Patricia Helliwell. Like many in the field, he cared about her a great deal - a caring he passes on to those he tutors.

The Valley Community Learning Association was awarded the Family Literacy Achievement Award for its project based at Cambridge District School. Five schools in West Hants expect to offer family literacy programs this year

Pictured from left to right are Rod Franklin, Adult Education coordinator, Mike Griffen, Patricia Helliwell Volunteer Tutor award, Sandra Milbury, Provincial Community Literacy Volunteer, and Peter Gillis, Coordinator VCLA and Family Literacy award recipient.

Mission Statement...

Hants Learning Network Association works to improve the lives of residents by promoting lifelong learning and providing opportunities for all to improve their literacy skills in a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment.

The mandate of the society is...

To examine and address the adult and family learning needs of the community
To promote awareness of adult and family learning programs in the community
To facilitate coordination of adult and family learning programs in the community
To identify and access funding for programs
To communicate with other learning networks and literacy groups

Background...

Prior to 1994 a group of community people held meetings in an attempt to identify and address literacy needs in Hants County, Nova Scotia. This group was originally known as the Literacy Committee and was made up of interested individuals, tutors, learners, and representatives from other community groups with a desire to promote literacy.

In January 1994, the NS Department of Education introduced the Community Learning Initiative (CLI) with a mandate to enhance the skills of community members and to answer community-learning needs through local learning networks. The Literacy Committee began meeting monthly and actively solicited participation from additional community organizations and individuals who were prepared to provide organizational and administrative leadership.

In March 1994 a daylong organizational meeting was held which resulted in the formation of the West Hants Learning Network Association. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the Registry of Joint Stocks in June 1995. It has since been renamed the Hants Learning Network Association.

In Memoriam

Patricia Helliwell

Founding Member and Coordinator

1994-2006

We will miss you dearly.

"In a contemplative fashion,

And a tranquil frame of mind,

Free from every kind of passion,

Some solution let us find.

Let us grasp the situation,

Solve the complicated plot-

Quiet, calm deliberation

Disentangles every knot."

The Gondoliers, W.S Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan

What is Literacy?

Literacy is the essential skill.

It is the ability to use printed information to function in society, at work and in the family.

It is the combination of thinking and social skills we need to analyze and use information to control our own lives, achieve our goals and develop our knowledge and potential.

Adult literacy matters, so where’s the money?

Literacy is a universal issue, one that is a concern for both developing and developed countries. The United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012) aims to extend the use of literacy to those who do not currently have access to it. The Decade will focus on the needs of adults with the goal that people everywhere should be able to use literacy to communicate within their own community, in the wider society and beyond. Literacy efforts have so far failed to reach the poorest and most marginalized groups; the Decade will particularly address such populations under the banner of Literacy for all: voice for all, learning for all.

Literacy is a right
Literacy is a foundation for all further learning
Literacy carries profound individual and social benefits
Literacy matters for poverty reduction

One in five people over the age of 15 cannot communicate through literacy or take any part in the surrounding literate environment. The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2002 spelled out the scope of the challenge: over 861 million people without access to literacy. Two-thirds of these people are women, with illiteracy adding to the deprivation and subordination to which many women are already subjected. Literacy is a human right. Basic education, within which literacy is the key learning tool, was recognized as a human right over 50 years ago in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a scandal that this right continues to be violated for such a large proportion of humanity.

In Canada, we also have issues that must be addressed. The International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey 2003 (IALLS) reveals that 42% of Canadians do not have the literacy skills they need to cope with the rapidly changing skill demands of a knowledge-based economy. The percentage of Canadians with low literacy skills is virtually unchanged since the first survey in 1994. It is no longer sufficient to heavily invest in a person’s education just until young adulthood. Without lifelong learning opportunities, our human capital falls behind in literacy and other essential skills. Training cannot be effective if people lack basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills.

Spending on literacy skills is justified by several studies that suggest literacy matters for economic well being:

Canadians with lower levels of literacy have lower rates of employment and lower earnings. (IALLS, 2003)
Investment in human capital, such as education and skills training, is three times as important to economic growth over the long run as investment in physical capital. (Literacy scores, human capital and growth across 14 OECD countries, Statistics Canada, 2004)
A 1 % increase in average literacy rates would yield a permanent 1.5% increase in income per person and a permanent 2.5 % increase in productivities. (Public investment in skills: Are Canadian Governments Doing Enough? C.D. Howe, 2005)
The Conference Board of Canada estimated that a male and a female with higher literacy skills may be expected to earn an additional $585,000 and $683,000 respectively over a lifetime, compared to a counterpart with poor literacy skills. (The Economic Benefits of Improving Literacy in the Workplace, Conference Board of Canada, 1997)

In Nova Scotia , we need to improve our literacy levels or be left behind. The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) calls for a stronger commitment to literacy. Without it, the entire region faces “being marginalized in an economic environment that places an increasing premium on knowledge, skills and adaptability.” (APEC Report Card, March 2006)

NS Literacy Statistics

38% of adults aged 16-65 lack the literacy skills to function effectively at home, at work or in the community (IALLS 2003.) This represents 250,000 Nova Scotians.
7500 Adults in West Hants do not have a Grade 12 diploma (Statistics Canada)
a 1% increase in literacy level yields a 1.5% increase in Gross Domestic Output per capita (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 2004))

Literacy is more than words on paper. Its involves interpreting graphs, charts and numeracy skills, as well as problem solving. The impact of low literacy levels affects many areas- poverty, health, justice, employment and social status.

We know that literacy barriers are sidelining many Canadians. This inequality and loss of potential has serious consequences. So why isn’t more being done in programming, in policies, and in advocacy? Where is the investment in people, to ensure that no one is left behind?

Sources:

United Nations Literacy Decade

For more information on literacy and the IALLS survey

please visit http://www.abc-canada.org/literacy_facts/

Board Members...

Board Executive