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Promoting International Adult Learners’ Week March 1–7
Submitted copy
Express staff
Smoky River Community Adult Learning Council and the Literacy Program join other Adult Learning councils in Alberta to promote International Adult Learners’ Week March 1 - 7.
This week is proclaimed to bring awareness on the importance of lifelong learning and of literacy in our lives. It is an event that celebrates the achievements of adult learners. The theme this year is: Living and Learning for a Viable Future – the Power of Adult Learning.
Maureen Brochu, Coordinator of the Smoky River Adult Literacy Program, points out that “lifelong learning and literacy gives us freedom to be equal and responsible citizens and the freedom to make decisions which will determine our future”.
“Many may think that being illiterate means that someone is unable to read and write only. It is a lot more than that. It is about being unable to meet the demands of today’s society,” says Brochu. “Literacy IS about being able to write reports, to use computers and bank machines, to read and understand directions, recipes, information on medication labels etc”.
Here are some reasons why it is important that we continue to learn throughout life: to make your way through life successfully, to have a better quality of life, to get promotions at work, to obtain licences, degrees, certificates, to realize your full potential at home, at work and in the community, to realize a dream, to get a better paying job, or just for the fun of it!
Marilyne Despins, Adult Learning Coordinator says, “We want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the students who attend the non-credit courses that we offer each year. These 500+ adult learners have understood that learning has nothing to do with age, but with acquiring new competencies and qualifications, more independence, better quality of life, higher self-esteem and personal satisfaction”.
The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey done in Canada in 2004 and released by Statistics Canada in May 2005 reports that: 4 in 10 Canadians do not have the literacy skills they need to meet the ever-increasing demands of our society, workers with low literacy skills are particularly vulnerable to layoff and displacement, a high school education is no guarantee that a person has the literacy skills needed to succeed, literate adults and senior citizens are better equipped to manage their lives, thus lessening the need for social services, less literate Canadians earn less, and if unemployed, they’re unemployed for longer periods of time.
Smoky River Community Adult Learning & Literacy is an important local resource that provides community members with opportunities to learn through workshops and courses, tutoring programs, and literacy programs. For information on our programs, call 837-3013.
Please come and encourage Spelling Bee participants, and take part in the fun games organized to celebrate adult learners in the Smoky River region.
Word games, scrabble (in French and English), will be held on March 2 at the Club Alouette in Falher from 11:30 am – 3:00 pm. A Spelling Bee – Banks vs. Businesses will take place from 12:15 – 12:45 p.m..
A Spelling bee will be held at Meg’s Home Cooking in McLennan on March 4 from 12:30 – 1p.m.
Word games, Scrabble in French and English, socializing will be held from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
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