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<title>NCPR Topical RSS: Literacy, Front and Center</title>
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<description>Latest North Country Public Radio regional news by topic. Topic=literacy-front-and-center.</description>
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<copyright>&#x2117; &amp; &#xA9; 2013, North Country Public Radio</copyright>
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<description>NCPR provides locally-produced news stories from around the Adirondack and North Country regions of New York State, as well as Western Vermont, and Ontario and Quebec in Canada.</description>
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<title>In dry times, water&apos;s value becomes clear</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20287/20120813/in-dry-times-water-apos-s-value-becomes-clear</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Aug 13, 2012) About a third of all the counties in the country are suffering through a drought this summer. NPR reported Friday that drought conditions were listed as severe, extreme, or exceptional in just over  46 percent of the lower 48 states.The USDA has cut its estimate of  the fall corn harvest. And also last week, the Associated Press reported: &quot;The Plains states where the production of corn and soybeans is key are being hit harder by excessive drought conditions in the wake of the hottest month on record in the continental U.S., contributing to a surge in global food prices.&quot;Counting conditions in Texas in 2011, it&apos;s actually the second summer of record drought.Just north of the parched heartland, the Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world&apos;s fresh surface water. For an ongoing partnership with WBEZ in Chicago last fall, Brian Mann explored whether this precious resource can be harnessed to help reverse the region&apos;s economic decline and put people back to work. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20287/20120813/in-dry-times-water-apos-s-value-becomes-clear">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>In this first grade, knitting is the focus</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20113/20120710/in-this-first-grade-knitting-is-the-focus</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jul 10, 2012) Most schools in the United States begin teaching students to read from the time they enter kindergarten.  In fact, it’s not hard to find 4-year-olds learning the letters of the alphabet and even reading easy words in preschool.However, not every early-learner starts that way. For our collaboration on literacy with WEBEZ’s Front and Center, Linda Lutton brings us the story of a school in the Great Lakes region that is taking a radically different approach. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20113/20120710/in-this-first-grade-knitting-is-the-focus">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Filling out social service forms, without digital literacy</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20096/20120705/filling-out-social-service-forms-without-digital-literacy</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jul 5, 2012) Throughout Front and Center, our continuing collaboration with WBEZ , we’ve been exploring issues of literacy and how that affects people in school life and work. Usually when you hear the word “literacy” you think of reading and writing. But a new form of literacy is becoming increasingly important: digital literacy. Front and Center’s Shannon Heffernan has this story about one bridge in the digital divide.Support for Front and Center comes from the Joyce Foundation, improving the quality of life in the Great Lakes region and across the country. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20096/20120705/filling-out-social-service-forms-without-digital-literacy">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>For Syracuse refugee community, literacy an important step toward citizenship</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20046/20120627/for-syracuse-refugee-community-literacy-an-important-step-toward-citizenship</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jun 27, 2012) One of the first obstacles refugees face when trying to adjust to a new life in the United States is English; the language gap makes everyday life difficult. Many refugees can’t even read or write in their first language and native illiteracy makes earning citizenship a very steep climb indeed. In our continuing collaboration on literacy and illiteracy with WBEZ Chicago’s Front and Center project, Durrie Lawrence reports on how one refugee community in Syracuse prepares for one of the most important tests of their lives. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/20046/20120627/for-syracuse-refugee-community-literacy-an-important-step-toward-citizenship">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Literacy seen as key to refugee success in America</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19957/20120611/literacy-seen-as-key-to-refugee-success-in-america</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jun 11, 2012) Since the founding of the United States, immigrants have played a role in creating communities. In some “rustbelt” cities, they’re responsible for reinvigorating former manufacturing towns. In Buffalo, for example, more than 1000 refugees arrive every year. They are helping revive this shrinking city after a half century of decline. Most immigrants are illiterate in their native languages, yet they are expected to learn English upon arrival. Literacy is seen as the refugees’ the best chance to contribute to their new home and become successful in America. For our collaboration on literacy with WBEZ’s Front and Center,  Daniel Robison brings us this story from Buffalo, New York. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19957/20120611/literacy-seen-as-key-to-refugee-success-in-america">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Time&apos;s running out on the old GED</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19953/20120608/time-apos-s-running-out-on-the-old-ged</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jun 8, 2012) 39 million Americans, a fifth of the population, never completed high school, one of the factors used to measure literacy rates. Of those, only about 1% earn a GED certificate or the equivalent of a high school diploma each year.  The test, which has been around since 1942, is poised to undergo major changes to prepare its recipients for a competitive workplace.  For Front and Center, Laurie Stern has this story from Minnesota. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19953/20120608/time-apos-s-running-out-on-the-old-ged">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>A high school confronts its reading troubles</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19914/20120601/a-high-school-confronts-its-reading-troubles</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (Jun 1, 2012) Earlier this week, we learned what life has been like for a man who’s just learning to read and write at age 48. He remembers shame at school dances, and being shunned as &quot;slow.&quot;Students who can’t read by the time they’re in high school often have deep challenges with learning disabilities…and self esteem. By one count, as many as 70 percent of incoming high school students are behind in reading. Not a little behind, but 2 to 3 GRADES behind. It&apos;s a problem that cuts through urban and rural settings.For Front and Center, Linda Lutton reports on how one Chicago school is dealing with the problem. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19914/20120601/a-high-school-confronts-its-reading-troubles">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Can TV make kids better readers?</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19903/20120531/can-tv-make-kids-better-readers</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (May 31, 2012) More than two decades ago, the Federal Communications Commission enacted the Children’s Education Act. The goal was to increase the amount of children’s educational programming on television. Since then, the airwaves have offered a variety of children’s television programs that aim to educate as well as entertain. Some shows even try and use television to make better readers. But have they succeeded? For Front &amp; Center, our collaboration with WBEZ Chicago, Anthony Martinez has the story. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19903/20120531/can-tv-make-kids-better-readers">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Storytime sows seeds for lifelong literacy</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19899/20120530/storytime-sows-seeds-for-lifelong-literacy</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (May 30, 2012) This week we’re looking at literacy in the North Country. Yesterday, we heard what it’s like to live without knowing how to read or write, and the challenges and rewards of learning to read late in life. Today we’ll spend a few minutes at the other end of the age spectrum.Reading to children is a good way to plant the seeds for a lifetime of literacy. For today’s Heard Up North, we’ll nestle into the downstairs at the Canton Free Library for Children’s Storytime. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19899/20120530/storytime-sows-seeds-for-lifelong-literacy">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>Escaping a world where words are walls</title>
<link>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19894/20120529/escaping-a-world-where-words-are-walls</link>
<description><![CDATA[ (May 29, 2012) By some estimates as many as one in eight American adults has extreme difficulty reading and writing. In parts of the North Country, the situation may even be worse, with one in five people struggling with basic reading skills.As part of our series on literacy, we wanted to find out what it&apos;s like to live in a world where the written word is incomprehensible. It&apos;s a world where things as commonplace as a road sign or a restaurant menu can be baffling.  It&apos;s also a world where a sense of shame and alienation are common.Brian Mann profiled one man who&apos;s been working with Literacy Volunteers of Clinton County for three years, trying to escape that world.Note: Brian Mann&apos;s story was produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago&apos;s Front &amp; Center project. [<strong><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/19894/20120529/escaping-a-world-where-words-are-walls">full story</a></strong>]]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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