[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Adult Education
Many adult literacy and remedial and self-enrichment teachers work part time and receive no benefits; unpaid volunteers also teach these subjects. Opportunities for teachers of English as a second language are expected to be very good, due to the expected increase in the number of residents with limited English skills who seek classes. Demand for self-enrichment courses is expected to rise with growing numbers of people who embrace lifelong learning and of retirees who have more free time to take classes. (Michael W. Galbraith, December 2003)
Self-enrichment teachers teach courses that students take for pleasure or personal enrichment; these classes are not usually intended to lead to a particular degree or vocation. Self-enrichment teachers may instruct children or adults in a wide variety of areas, such as cooking, dancing, creative writing, photography, or personal finance. In contrast, adult literacy and remedial education teachers provide adults and out-of-school youths with the education they need to read, write, and speak English and to perform elementary mathematical calculations—basic skills that equip them to solve problems well enough to become active participants in our society, to hold a job, and to further their education.
The instruction provided by these teachers can be divided into three principle categories: remedial or adult basic education (ABE), which is geared toward adults whose skills are either at or below an eighth-grade level; adult secondary education (ASE), which is geared towards students who wish to obtain their General Educational Development (GED) certificate or other high school equivalency credential; and English literacy, which provides instruction for adults with limited proficiency in English. Traditionally, the students in adult literacy and remedial (basic) education classes were made up primarily of those who did not graduate high school or who passed through school without the knowledge needed to meet their educational goals or to participate fully in today’s high-skill society...................
