. 6
7)

MAD HATTER 17

 

Illiteracy in British Columbia
1986 August 20
Page 03

*refuse supervisory promotions at work because they can't deal witii the
paperwork;

*if they run sinall businesses, must depend upon spouses or trusted
partners to do all their paperwork;

*as parents are often not able to help their children with homework -
it's worth noting that nearly 90% of people with 0-8 years of schooling had
parents with 0-8 years of schooling (10).

Aren't there enough programs already, isn't it all being taken care of?

*the Ministry does not release statistics on the number of adults
enrolled in literacy programs in BC. However, we do know that:

*those who have education are those most likely to get more: only
about 4% of undereducated British Columbians enrolled in any kind of course
in 1983; for those with some post-secondary education, the rate was 8 times

_ as high;

*the share of all courses taken by the undereducated was about one-
fifth their share of the population (11).

So what is it like to study literacy as an adult?

WN
— ee

4)
5)

—

2)

*as you discuss these issues in your community, you will learn a lot
about that, but let's leave the statistics, and give the last word to an
adult learner:

What have I done

these last thirty odd years

but hide and worry,

not knowing how to ask for help
without looking like a fool,
thinking that I could not learn to
read or write

to learn.

Sources

19381 Census, Cat. 92-914, Table 11.

1981 Census, Cat. 92-924, Table 9.

1981 Census, Cat. 93-934, Table 13. |
Getting to Know Your Community: Data for Adult Education Programming in
British Columbia, 2nd Edition. BC Ministry of Education, 1984, C-9

British Columbia Association for Mentally Rare tye People.
.1981 Census, Cat. 92-921, Table 5.

Labour Force Survey Annual Averages (1975- 83), at. at fo Cat. 71-001

(December 1984 and December 1985). .
-1981 Census, Cat. 92-928, Table 7. ~ =
‘1981 Census, Cat. 92-928, Table 7.

* HO) Educationally Disadvantaged Adults: SA: profiles ¥Cariddian Association for
“Adult Education, 1985, p. 41. ° ; i
iii) Educational ly Disadvantaged Adults, “pr aag sot .

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