Congratulations All Around

This month we recognize the dedicated work of some of our students. Congratulations to  Kisha, Victor, Eddie, Lorraine, and David. 

We understand Lorraine has plans to register for GED testing within a few weeks.  Congratulations also go to Kenneth, James, Naddler, Paul, and Edward.

Our ABE instructor Tammy says these students set an example each and every day with lots of hard work, logging hours and hours of studies in on reading, language arts, writing, social studies, science, and math. 

We appreciate the chance to work with you on your education goals.

Now Live: Conversation Essentials Online

Katie Devanny and Katie Walton attended the Sunshine State ESOL conference last weekend to present the online version of Conversation Essentials.  This new Jacksonville Public Library resource helps English language learners practice English.  The methods are non-traditional, without books and handouts.  Participants may drop in to a guided conversation when their schedules permit. 

In a landscape of shrinking operating budgets, Katie Devanny wanted to explore a way to serve intermediate-level English language learners without the initial evaluation, ongoing assessment, and retesting required in traditional classes. 

slog (verb): to plod (one's way) perseveringly especially against difficulty

Adult ed students are at it all the time.  They log long hours getting to and from class, waiting for libraries to open, waiting for their classes to begin, and pressing on with language arts, reading, or math studies. In our program we have students who have logged hundreds of hours in our systems and others who are completing their first twenty or thirty hours.  While it may not feel like it, each session is an achievement.

Lakoste is one of our ABE students who hopes to sit for the GED this year.  He arrives early for class.  He will devote four hours in a single visit to his studies.  He works on our lobby computers and routinely takes math and essay assignments home with him.  We try to introduce him to each new student so they can see how it's done.

This morning we presented him with an award that recognizes his educational efforts.  He's pictured here making his way through the seemingly endless supply of ITTS lessons. He wants a GED so that he can get a better job.  "Employers don't promote people who don't have an education," he says. "I'm going to get my GED."

Inspiring stuff.

Broad Implications: Isaiah

This is part of our Broad Implications series.

One of CAL's students was leaving the Community Transition Center one afternoon as I signed in. He wasn't being released; that happened more than a year ago.  He was leaving CTC this particular afternoon as a mentor; he had returned to help other inmates.

Really glad to see him, I asked "What did you tell them?"

"I told 'em all about my story: drugs, gettin' clean, starting a new life. How blessed I am." He smiles broadly and gives me a great hug in front of the Watch Officer. "There was a hundred or so in the room."

Isaiah had served time at the jail and then at CTC.  He met one of our math instructors back then.  

Broad Implications: Leon

photo: jacksonville.citysearch.com

JPL's Center for Adult Learning receives state funding to offer basic adult education services to remote, unserved populations. In years past this meant cultural orientation for refugees and offering math instruction to ex-offenders. 

This year we are offering classes to inmates who want help with their reading, writing, and GED preparation - skills for both work and life. The services include assessment testing, remedial reading, writing, and math classes, and limited  GED tutoring.  

It's worthwhile to take a closer look at some of these adult learners, their goals, and their personal stories. Some are parents.  Some operated small businesses.  Some had crippling tragedies.  For others, JSO's classwork is the first time they have felt comfortable in an educational setting.

Conversational quotes are recalled from memory, an attempt to recreate some class discussions which were not recorded. 

Leon is a young black man in his twenties awaiting sentencing at the jail.  He is the parent of four girls and says he worries about someone taking advantage of them.  "I need to be there to protect them and I'm not sure their mother gets the risk."

ESL Spotlight: Sui's Homework Assignment

He comes twice a week to learn English.  He is young, Burmese, with a shy smile.  He is blind and independent.  In spite of room and floor changes, he continues to make his way into our library, navigating security detection gates and corridors lined with easels promoting Tax Season Assistance and Sci-Fi weekends, elevators, and new classroom furniture arrangements.

If we could just get him to do his homework.

Sui [pronounced SWEE] learned British-English Braille in a refugee camp in India.  Katie Devanny tells us about his unique challenges.

Refuge and Relief

I was relieved to hear from a student I will call Debra who called this morning after recent absences from class.  The last time we saw her she had a terrible black eye.  An abusive relationship had prompted Debra to avoid the library where she and her male companion studied together regularly.

Thinking a seat in another class held at a different time and day might help, I asked, "Would you like a different class time?" She assured me that wasn't necessary. Debra had pressed charges, the boyfriend had been detained in jail, and she was secure at an emergency shelter.

Pew Research: Community Reading Habits

Pew Research has an interesting piece on the reading habits of communities here.  Take a look.

Brag Board Revisited



Bragboard, December 2012



Challenging.  Fewer hours of service at our Main location and reduced access to instruction overall offered up many challenges to us during October and November. Thankfully we were able to secure additional classrooms and resources both inside and outside the library.

If our students were confused about class times, they were in good company; teachers were stumped, too.  Our area of the library has standing appointments twice a week with about 240 individuals, so changing library hours not once, but twice, entailed quite a few calls and conversations involving work, bus, and personal schedules. Students accepted the new normal and met in new classrooms at different locations with many new faces.

Education Matters. Really.

Take a look at the global numbers on adult literacy here from Proliteracy and the local figures on our school district here.

New Hours, Same Great Programs

Starting October 1st, JPL will observe new hours of operation.  Check out the new schedule for our 21-branch system.

While most are disappointed by the reduction in service hours, you will still find all of the great programs and services you have enjoyed.  Electronic filing of government claims and job search access.  A violin concert on Saturday October 6th. Refocus on the 80's books, music, movies, and television with the Museum of Contemporary Art. Children's programming, ESL Conversation Groups, the Fast Track Reading System curriculum, and with your library card, access to the very best remote access education and testing resources.

Broadband Access

Library Journal reported August 21st on the number of Americans lacking broadband access according to FCC statistics.

Strong Legs

You wonder how they manage, how they have the legs to get here some days. Car wrecks and house fires. Failed auto transmissions and emergency dental extractions. Sick children and unforgiving supervisors. Elderly parents and predatory salesmen. Unannounced daycare center closures by state regulators and broken-down buses.

myLOC.gov: Exhibitions

Here's a look at the New England Primer, "for the more easy attaining of the reading of English," from the Exhibitions at the Library of Congress.  The collection highlights the books that shaped America.

NewsOK: Fighting Illiteracy

Take a look at this coverage of the work of Community Literary Centers, Oklahoma City.