[Reading-hall-of-fame] Marva Collin Motivates the Learning of Literacy

[Thomas Sticht]

2/12/2021

February is Black History Month: Marva Collins Motivates the Learning of
Literacy!

Tom Sticht, International Consultant in Adult Education (Ret.)

On September 7, 1983, President Ronald Reagan entered a room in the White
House to announce the start of a National Adult Literacy Initiative.
Addressing the members of the audience and the press he noted that, “ In
this decade, America faces serious challenges on many fronts -- to our
national security, our economic prosperity, and our ability to compete in
the international marketplace. If we're to renew our economy, protect our
freedom, we must sharpen the skills of every American mind and enlarge the
potential of every individual American life. Unfortunately, the hidden
problem of adult illiteracy holds back too many of our citizens, and as a
nation, we, too, pay a price.” After enumerating a number of activities
that were being undertaken across the Nation to combat functional
illiteracy, he went on to say, “Together, we can rouse the spirit of our
people and apply our enormous national will to the task at hand. If we
succeed, we will have come an important step closer to making America great
again.” Little did he know how much attention those last four words would
garner some three decades later in another President’s term.

But one thing he did know, was that one of those in the audience that
morning was a person whose work was aimed at stopping illiteracy before a
child entered into adulthood. Her name was Marva Collins, and she was a
celebrated African-American teacher working with poor, inner-city children
in Chicago. Nearing the end of his presentation, President Reagan said,
“Now, I know that all of the ladies and gentlemen here on the platform are
distinguished and are very prominent, and I extend a thanks to them. But I
can't help but tell you, also, this has just been a very great moment for
me, because I've been a fan of Marva Collins ever since I heard of her, and
I at last had the opportunity to meet her.”

Marva Collins work with inner-city children in Chicago and her advocacy for
education and training of teachers in working with children from poorer
neighborhoods was unique in its use of motivational praise for
underperforming inner city children and her use of classical literature and
 didactical texts brought her national recognition. However, one of her
most amazing accomplishments was in adult literacy education when she
taught a young 23 year old African-American man named Kevin Ross who had
managed to get into Creighton University on a basketball scholarship and
made it to his senior year without being able to read above a 2nd grade
level!

When his low reading ability was discovered, Creighton University got Ross
enrolled in Marva Collins Westside Preparatory School at the 2nd grade
level. There he wedged his 6-foot 9-inch body into the little chairs used
by his classmates. Then, in nine months, with additional private tutoring
by Collins, at 24 years of age, Ross was able to raise his reading level by
over 10 grade levels and he graduated in May of 1983.

Two decades later, in 2006, following many years of battling alcohol and
other demons, Ross was driving a cab in Kansas City, Missouri when he
happened to pick up a reporter from the Press Democrat and started a
conversation with him about his earlier experiences as a functionally
illiterate basketball player at Creighton University. Later, the reporter
contacted Ross for an interview (Cohn, 2006) and Ross told him about his
experiences at Marva Collins Westside Prep school and how she worked with
him.

Cohn reported, “Collins took personal charge of Ross, began from scratch,
taught him vowels and how to change nouns to adjectives - orchestra to
orchestral. Until he met Collins, he never had used a capital "I" in his
writing, didn't know one existed. She told him he practiced hard at
basketball, and learning to read would require the same dedication….When he
graduated from Westside a year later, his reading level was the same as a
sophomore in college. He delivered the commencement address, telling
everyone, "Learn, learn, learn. Never cease learning, and let ignorance die
unborn." He also said, "Wipe out the hydra-headed illiteracy and become
Medusas of power and caring." …The kids and parents gave him a standing
ovation. When I asked why he went back to grammar school after being in
college, he said, "I didn't want to live life a false person or an
illiterate. I didn't want to go through life as a big dummy."


Two years before this interview with Kevin Ross, in November of 2004,
President George W. Bush presented Collins with the National Humanities
medal "for her success in demonstrating the potential of every child to
learn. Her work has influenced educators across our country and helped
enable more Americans to realize the great promise of our Nation." The
announcement goes on to say, “She has trained Fortune 500 executives and
over 100,000 teachers, principals, and administrators.”

*Marva Collins, elementary school teacher of underprivileged children,
recipient of 42 honorary doctoral degrees for her educational work, died on
June 24, 2015 at the age of 78. She left behind a thought for those who
teach learners of all ages: *“When someone is taught the joy of learning,
it becomes a life-long process that never stops, a process that creates a
logical individual. That is the challenge and joy of teaching.”
<https://www.inspiringquotes.us/quotes/Q2wr_gaAyOpxT> No one left her
classes as “a big dummy”!

Reference

Cohn, L. (2006, December 10) Humiliation to triumph: A Student-athlete’s
odyssey. The Press Democrat. Online at:
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/humiliation-to-triumph-a-student-athletes-odyssey/



<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon>
Virus-free.
www.avast.com
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/pipermail/reading-hall-of-fame/attachments/20210212/90082896/attachment.html>