Buffalo Creek Literacy Project

Join Us in the Fight Against Illiteracy

Jeff Pratt — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:21:11 +0000

Change a life! Volunteer to tutor an adult or child.
Make a tax-deductible financial contribution. It costs about $250 to train a tutor. Send your check to: Buffalo Creek Literacy Project, P.O. Box 626, Germanton NC 27019
Support your local schools and their efforts in reading instruction at all levels.
Read with your own children.
Spread the word. Start the conversation about literacy in your own neighborhood.
Learn more. Start with the links on our home page.
Call Jeff Pratt at 336-816-7758.

Literacy in Hard Times

Jeff Pratt — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:13:37 +0000

Because I’ve spent so much time in the last few years teaching reading, both to individuals and to small groups of students, I have seen first-hand the toll that struggling to read takes on adults and children. Through the teaching process, you learn a lot about the students you’re teaching and consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the issues that haunt them because they cannot read as well as those around them can. Almost every struggling reader has developed low self-esteem, the natural consequence of struggling to do something that most around you do not struggle to do. Because the inability to read well is so pervasive and impacts almost all aspects of one’s life, that single area of weakness overshadows significant strengths which every student that I have taught has. Part of the trick of teaching students to read is to focus on those strengths so that, even as they learn to read, they rediscover their own belief in themselves.

I recently saw some statistics that made me think about some of the broader societal issues surrounding literacy, especially the link between poverty and illiteracy. The Census Bureau recently released statistics (released in November of 2011) about local poverty in 2010. In Stokes County, the percentage of people living in poverty was 14.3%, up from 11% in 2005. That represents about 1,750 more individuals in Stokes County living in poverty in 2010 than in 2005.

Among school-age children in Stokes, the percentage rose from 14.1% in 2005 to 19.9% in 2010. If that number is accurate, that means that we are teaching over 40% more students impacted by poverty, today than we were just five years ago.

Economic hard times have affected all of us in recent years in some way, but they are impacting these students in ways that I don’t think we have given significant thought to. Poverty and literacy are inextricably linked. It is well documented that a student raised in poverty struggles more to learn to read than do their more advantaged peers. Students who leave school as poor readers are less likely to succeed as adults and are more likely to live in poverty as adults. According to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (another study is due in a few years), 41% of all adults at the most basic level of literacy (Level 1) live in poverty, compared to only 4% of those with the highest level of proficiency (Level 5). It is a cycle that constantly perpetuates itself.

When we teach students to read, we are helping to change their lives in a very personal and significant way. In a broader sense, we are also changing the world in which we all live. As economic hard times continue, it is more important than ever to increase our efforts to teach adults and children to read.

What Are Some Signs of Dyslexia?

Jeff Pratt — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:33:10 +0000

Difficulty reading single words.
Difficulty decoding nonsense words.
Inaccurate and labored oral reading.
Trouble with small function words.
Slow reading.
Poor spelling.
Fine motor skill difficulties.
Reading avoidance behaviors.
Delayed spoken language

What is the Definiton of Dyslexia?

Jeff Pratt — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:26:05 +0000

Dyslexia – Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and a reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Facts About Literacy

Jeff Pratt — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:11:51 +0000

In Stokes and Surry Counties, 54% of the adults read at levels 1 and 2. That means that these adults have trouble locating single pieces of information located in short text. They also have trouble locating or entering specific information on a form and performing simple math – see complete explanation in Literacy in NC by (Mary Siedlow/National Adult Literacy Survey/State Adult Literacy Survey).

In North Carolina: 52% of the adults read at levels 1 and 2.

In the United States: Between 46 and 51% of the adults read at levels 1 and 2.

In the world: Over 861 million adults are functionally illiterate, and 113 million children are not in school or exposed to literacy instruction.