<div dir="ltr">Adult Educators Remembered on Veterans Day!<br><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Thomas Sticht</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:tgsticht@gmail.com">tgsticht@gmail.com</a>></span><br>Date: Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM<br>Subject: Vets  Day 2025<br>To: Thomas Sticht <<a href="mailto:tgsticht@gmail.com">tgsticht@gmail.com</a>><br></div><br><br><div dir="ltr"><span id="m_-4037284276511149302gmail-docs-internal-guid-5b42918a-7fff-b81c-85ab-a7173105af92"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Literacy Teachers Fight Illiteracy During War Time:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">A Message for Veterans Day 2025</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Tom Sticht</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">International Consultant in Adult Education (Ret.)</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">November 11, 2025 is Veterans Day in the United States of America. Veterans Day is observed as a national holiday to honor all those who have served in the armed forces of the United States. Among these are many educators who have performed their military service by teaching </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">undereducated military recruits how to improve their literacy skills to better perform their jobs and to communicate with loved ones back home.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Cates (2022) explains that the explosion in technological advancements that the US Army adopted before, during, and after World Wars I and II increased the importance of literacy ability in military activities. He notes that Sticht (2002) provides an historical perspective from the colonial and early national periods, where the military at times provided literacy education for servicemembers and the effect these programs had on servicemembers during and after their military service. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Whenever I visit Washington, DC I try to find time to honor those who died during the Vietnam War whose names are carved into the black stone of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This is a very personal experience for me because I came into contact with thousands of the young men who  fought in Vietnam. And not just any of the young men, but a very special group, </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">those who were the undereducated youth typically cast-off by society as losers. My job was to find out what kinds of jobs poorly literate men might best be suited for, and to develop literacy programs that would help thousands of these barely literate young adults improve their literacy </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">skills so they could do the jobs they had volunteered for or had been drafted to do in the Army of the United States.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Improving the reading skills of undereducated Army recruits took on a special meaning for both the adult literacy teachers and the new soldiers themselves. It was entirely possible that their lives and the lives of their comrades would depend upon their ability to read directions for </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">administering first aid treatments to themselves and their buddies. I recall the enthusiasm with which small groups of men would work on a reading passage dealing with life saving first aid steps because they knew that in a war like that of Vietnam, they might really need to be able to read, comprehend, and use directions for administering first aid to keep themselves or their  buddies alive.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">When I celebrate Veteran's Day, I have a special place in my thoughts for the hundreds of thousands of undereducated, less literate veterans who have served our nation honorably. I also think of the thousands of veteran adult literacy educators who, through their dedication to fighting illiteracy, have helped thousands of these military personnel succeed. I </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">have visited the National World War II museum in New Orleans, the World War II, Korean </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">and Vietnam War memorials in Washington DC, but I have found no stone monuments to these veteran teachers of literacy. But I know that our nation's struggle for freedom has relied upon books as well as on bullets and bombs!</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">To celebrate the lives of military literacy teacher veterans and their adult learner veterans I have compiled a number of my brief research notes into one report entitled, “FIGHTING ILLITERACY IN TIMES OF WAR”. These notes discuss the work of such notable literacy teachers of military students as Captain Garry and Caroline Clark during the World War I era, who later went on to found the great magazine to help children learn to read called Highlights for Children! Another note talks about the World War II work of the famous musician and actor, Desi Arnaz, husband of Lucille Ball in real life and onTV in the  I Love Lucy series, and his role in teaching U.S. Army personnel to read in WW II. The full Contents of the report include::</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Chapters:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">1. Introduction to Fighting Illiteracy in Times of War</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">2. Former Slave Girl Fights Illiteracy in the Civil War</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">3. Learning to Read With the Doughboys in World War I</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">4. Learning to Read with Private Pete & Sailor Sam in World War II         </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">5. The Reading Formula That Helped Win World War II</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">6. Join the Conga Line for Literacy in World War II</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">7. Learning to Read in the “Forgotten War” of Korea</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">8. The Functional Literacy (FLIT) Program of the Vietnam War Era</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">9. Songs in the Literacy Lessons of the World Wars</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">10. VESL for Victory and Independence</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">11. Associationism, Behaviorism, Constructivism:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">     The ABCs of Adult Literacy Education</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">12. Paul Witty & Private Pete in World War II</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">13.  A "Marshall Plan" for Adult Literacy in Industrialized Nations</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">14. Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.84102;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">15. Waiting for the Watermelons:  Remembering 9/11</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The full report on Fighting Illiteracy in Times of War is available online at:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320024840_FIGHTING_ILLITERACY_IN_TIMES_OF_WAR_An_anthology_of_brief_historical_notes_by_Tom_Sticht" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320024840_FIGHTING_ILLITERACY_IN_TIMES_OF_WAR_An_anthology_of_brief_historical_notes_by_Tom_Sticht</span></a></p><br><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">References  </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Cates, S. (2022). The Influence on American Post-Secondary Education by United States Military and Veteran Programs Resulting from Changing Technology, Reform-Minded Leaders, and Large Military Operations.  A Dissertation Submitted to The Faculty of Liberty University In Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Sticht, Thomas G. “The Rise of the Adult Education and Literacy System in the United States: 1600-2000.” The Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy 3 (2002): 10– 43.</span></p><br></span></div>
</div></div>