Youth in Adult Education

Integrating Youth into Adult Literacy Programs

Dear Readers,

Here at TCALL we aim to please, so when we asked you what one of your pressing concerns was in the field, a resounding number of you responded that you wanted information on integrating youth into your Adult Literacy programs. As a way to offer guidance, we offer you this issue of Literacy Links.

When I think of the term multigenerational, I have lots of positive associations with it. Idyllic images of grandparents and perhaps even great-grandparents interacting with a younger generation come to mind. Curiously, though, when I speak to adult educators about their multigenerational classrooms, while I sometimes hear stories of what is working, oftentimes, I hear the “nightmare” stories—discipline problems, conflict, disruptions, behavioral problems, and classroom management issues. These issues are not unique just to the younger adults in the classroom. Sometimes the classroom “problems” are created by the adults who are also a part of the adult/youth mix. Since younger populations are a growing reality of adult literacy programs across the state, how can we serve the youth in our adult education classrooms while still serving the older, more traditional aged student?

In this edition of Literacy Links, the articles offer practical advice, activities, research, and a plethora of information regarding how to meet the challenge of teaching youth in adult education classrooms. Some programs such as the one that Shirley Ledet teaches in at the North Harris Parkway Center have made programs successfully work by separating older and younger students. Starting with the work of Federico Salas and GED coordinator Linda Burke five years ago, Ledet’s Young Adult Class (YAC) is devoted entirely to students under the age of nineteen. In her article, read how this GED class, especially designed for younger students, offers one solution for how to navigate the sometimes difficult mix of adults and youth sharing a program.

Other articles champion placing younger adults alongside older adults. What works you might ask? According to Debbie Parsons and Marie Paiz you need lots of encouragement and an abundant amount of respect. Parsons’ article not only advocates encouragement, but provides several examples of specific classroom activities that work well with both youth and adults. Paiz advocates for using the concept of respect to not only help teachers manage their classrooms, but as a way to coach and develop students’ self-efficacy. Both of these articles, along with Thomas Enright’s piece remind us that “We’re in this Together.” Enright in his article discusses not only the issue of serving diverse age ranges but also working with diverse populations. While Enright communicates across differences and is culturally responsive to his students, he uses the one commonality the students all share—their desire to learn—to bring students together.

In Jane Comer’s article “The Road to a GED: Goodwill Style,” you will learn how the GED tutorial program at Austin Goodwill is using the question “how do schools fail?” to design and structure effective programming for the youth entering their GED tutorial program. If you are looking for information on integrating older adolescents who are English Language Learners (ELLs) into your English and Second Language (ESL) classrooms, Sarah Young’s well-researched article not only provides background information on this growing population but concrete suggestions for how to work within the multigenerational classroom. TCALL’s professional development specialist Ken Appelt's article also offers background material on the phenomenon of younger students enrolling in adult literacy classrooms and how to develop resiliency in this population of students.

In addition to the articles addressing this issue’s theme of youth in adult literacy education, you will find lots of useful information, including information regarding our Library holdings and how you can access and use TCALL’s resources. Also in this issue you will find TCALL’s Family Literacy Specialist Jacqueline Gramann’s article on the value of family stories and the value of families reading together. Her piece does bring to mind those multigenerational images of younger and older-than-young individuals learning together. As I think of the challenge of incorporating youth into our adult literacy programs, it is this image of cooperative, collaborative, learning from each other that spans across the generations that I keep at the forefront of my mind.

Happy Reading,

Dr. Dominique T. Chlup
Director of TCALL &
Principal Investigator on the Clearinghouse Project