Towards a Better Future

Hannah Fingeret has eloquently captured the prevailing attitude we need to change in our society. As she stated: “For most of our society, it is difficult to conceptualize life without reading and writing as anything other than a limited, dull, dependent existence” (cited in Quigley, 2017, p. 44).

We need to change such views. I hope some of these suggestions are meaningful and practical. We have a long, proud history.

In closing, I offer my favourite quote in the hopes it can prove to be an inspirational guide as we continue building literacy:

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire
– Attributed to William Butler Yeats

@newswire. (2019, March 21). Frontier College calls for Canada to recognize literacy as a human right
[Blog post]. https://m.ceo.ca/@newswire/frontier-college-calls-for-canada-to-recognize-literacy

CNN News18. (2021, September 18). International Literacy Day 2021: Theme, history and significance. Retrieved November 14, 2021 from https://www.news18.com/news/education-career/international-literacy-day-2021-theme-history-and-significance-4176428.html

Cook, W.D. (1977). Adult literacy education in the United States. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

DeBoer, C.M. (1995). His truth is marching on: African Americans who taught the freedmen for the American Missionary Association, 1861-1877. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.

Fischer, S.R. (2003). A history of reading. London: Reaktion Books.

Moore, L. (1997). The thieves opera: The mesmerizing story of two notorious criminals in eighteenth century London. New York: Harcourt Brace.

Quigley, A. (1997). Rethinking literacy education: The critical need for practice-based change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Quigley, A. (2006). Building professional pride in literacy: A dialogical guide to professional development. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing.

Quigley, A. (2017). Will anything be different in the 21st Century? How 107 million adults and the field for adult literacy became so marginalized. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, 26, 39-54.

Quigley, A. (2020). The uncertain world of adult literacy: Reflections on twenty-five years of building action research networks in North America. In K. Clausen & G. Black (Eds.), The future of action research in education: A Canadian perspective (pp. 16-32). Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Quigley, A. (2021). “Naming the elephant”: Literacy classism, human rights and the need for a new conversation. Adult Literacy Education: The International Journal of Literacy, Language, and Numeracy, 3(3), 41-46. https://www.proliteracy.org/Portals/0/pdf/Research/ALE%20Journal/ALE_ResearchJournal-v003_03-2021.pdf

Rachal, J.R. (1986). Freedom’s crucible: William T. Richardson and the schooling of the freedmen. Adult Education Quarterly, 37, 14-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001848186037001002

Stevens, E., Jr. (1987). The anatomy of mass literacy in nineteenth-century United States. In R. Arnove & H. Graff (Eds.), National literacy campaigns: Historical and comparative perspectives (pp. 99-122). New York: Plenum Press.

Swint, H.L. (1967). The northern teacher in the South: 1862-1870. New York: Octagon Books.

Thomas, A.M. (2001). Introduction: How adult literacy came of age in Canada. In M.C. Taylor (Ed.), Adult literacy now! (pp. xvii-xxv). Toronto: Culture Concepts.

United Nations. (1948). Universal declaration of human rights (General Assembly resolution 217 A). https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Verner, C. (Ed.). (1967). Pole’s history of adult schools: A facsimile of the 1816 edition. Washington D.C.: Adult Education Association of the U.S.A.

Zacharakis, J., Patterson, M., & Quigley, A. (2021). Working class, social class, and literacy classism. In T. Rocco, C. Smith, R. Mizzi, L. Merriweather, & J. Hawley (Eds.), The handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 420-435). Sterling VA: Stylus Publishing.