According to a recent survey, North Carolina ranks in the bottom 11 states in terms of reading proficiency. As expectations have become higher, many teachers and students have an increased workload while battling for resources. Teachers work with not only children facing challenges with reading and writing, but often parents who can't read and immigrants who haven't yet learned English.

To discuss the issues with literacy that teachers and communities face in North Carolina, UNC-TV presents Focus On…Literacy. Hosted by Shannon Vickery, Focus On…Literacy introduces three experts from institutions working with adults and/or children.

Vickery engages experts Linwood Crawford, elementary curriculum director for Rutherford County Schools; Dr. Betty Wells Brown, associate professor at UNC-Pembroke; and Dr. Randy Whitfield, associate vice president of Academic and Student Services in the basic skills department of the NC Community Colleges. As Crawford and Brown discuss challenges that public school teachers face with illiteracy among children, Whitfield gives examples from the adult learner perspective.

Vickery and the panelists first discuss North Carolina's biggest challenge in terms of literacy. Viewers will learn not only that issue of literacy for children is different from that for adults, but that the concept of literacy is evolving. While teachers present more material and children are working harder on schoolwork, the state's expectation of what defines "being literate" has changed from simply having a fifth grade education to graduating from high school. Brown discusses how North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Four Block program helps teachers serve the literacy needs of both parents and children.

As Crawford and Whitfield point out, literacy and illiteracy are usually intergenerational. Parents who have been able to function in the workforce without a high school diploma or cannot read often are not as involved in their children's education as parents who have finished high school. Whitfield points out that the community colleges are seeing more and more of those adults in basic education classes or computer classes as their formerly simple hands-on workplaces become more automated.

Panelists discuss the impact of the federal "No Child Left Behind" legislation and say that it will benefit North Carolina in several ways. While funding is a problem for many rural area teachers who are trying to find resources to help parents of their students, the federal legislation may provide funding for more resources and training for teachers to be able both to help students and their parents learn how to read, and to communicate with parents who do not know English.

As Vickery approaches the subject of testing, Crawford and Brown point out that although there are too many tests, testing has actually helped teaching and learning. Since teachers must teach material that will be tested, they tend to put a greater emphasis in making certain that their students understand that material.

"Testing in North Carolina has helped our students learn more," says Crawford. However, he also says that the state is examining tests to see which ones are more accurate measures of ability.

Vickery and the panelists talk at length about the special needs of non-English speaking immigrants. North Carolina community colleges offer both Limited English Proficiency and English as a Second Language for adults who need to learn English in order to function in their jobs. Brown says that she recommends that teachers lead non-English speaking parents and children to educational children's shows like Between the Lions or Sesame Street that review basic words and language skills.

Overall, the three experts agree that teachers in North Carolina are helping children and parents overcome literacy problems as well as they can given teacher-student ratios, parents lack of time and lack of money for printed materials to give to parents who wish to learn more.