Every time Everett resident Ramesh Prasad pays a bill or opens a book on a long bus ride, he says he feels fortunate — a year ago he couldn’t read or write.
Although they are largely invisible, there are many men and women like Prasad, 55, in the state. The Legislature is looking at ways to promote adult literacy.
House Bill 2899 would launch a study on the status of adult-literacy education. It would also fund a media campaign to raise awareness about the availability of literacy programs and services. The bill would set aside $184,000 for these efforts in the 2007-09 biennium.
Originally from Fiji, Prasad is one of 1,568 students enrolled in Adult Basic Education and English as a Second Language in the Volunteer Literacy Program at Everett Community College.
“I’m not an educated man. We were very poor in Fiji; we were not able to go to school. But here, I said to myself, ‘I need to learn to read and write, and do a good job in this country.’ Education is very important for everyone in this world, old and young,” Prasad said.
Prasad entered a classroom for the first time in his life when he took teacher Karen Hemila Schilde’s ESL class in spring 2007.
Schilde said Prasad’s passion to learn makes him a very special student.
“Several weeks into the course, he revealed that whenever someone had asked for his address before, he had to telephone his son to get (it),” she said. “He proudly announced that after three weeks of our ESL class he could not only read and write his own address, he could read and write the addresses of everyone else as well.”
This only demonstrates how hard it is to survive in this information-driven culture without basic education, Schilde said. “You just can’t slide by without having adequate literacy skills; it’s a vital part of being an adequate employee, parent and citizen,” she said.
The literacy program is in its 21st year. It is mostly run by volunteers. As it has become more popular, classes have been added in Marysville, Monroe and Arlington, Schilde said.
Adult literacy is an important issue, said Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, who heard testimony on the bill in the Senate Higher Education Committee last week.
“We’ve always had educated people and uneducated people (in the United States). Today, times have changed because of technology and we need all people to be educated to stay competitive. This bill is a good deal.”
The bill will provide resources to gather information to help direct people to services, said Kathy Cooper, policy associate at the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, one of the agencies that would be involved in the program if the bill passes and is signed into law.
Thousands of people around the state lack basic literacy skills, which often prevents them from being a valuable part of the economy, Cooper said. “One of the things we are aware of is how critical literacy is to our families and economic future. It’s a problem we can resolve if the people who need services can be connected with those services,” she said.
Washington already has a number of literacy programs and it’s only a matter of helping people access them, said Rep. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, the prime sponsor of the bill.
“We are currently serving 5 to 10 percent of people who need services. We are really looking at about 35 percent of constituents who can’t accurately fill out a job application. Our residents are our human capital. Imagine their experiences, if they are illiterate, in being full members of our society. … The barriers are enormous,” Darneille said.
Darneille volunteers at the literacy division of the Tacoma Community House, a nonprofit organization advocating for different ethnic groups.
“I’ve been a volunteer since last June,” she said. “I never thought about how information you have can affect your status with other people and your kids. Knowledge really is power.”
Gretchen Utnage, a 26-year-old mother of three from Gig Harbor, takes classes at the Tacoma Community House. She said she wants to move beyond learning to read and write. She also wants to go to college, start her own business and write a book.
Utnage said the program definitely has an impact on her relationship with her children.
“Before I started, I wasn’t able to read their paperwork from school or help them with their homework,” she said. “Now I could do it myself and not be ashamed. My oldest one is 7 and it’s good that she’s proud of me.”
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