ADULT LEARNERS HONE READING WITH THE PAPER

Last in a series

CAPE GIRARDEAU Adult learner David Breth begins his school day by reading the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

Breth, a student in the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School, uses the newspaper to exercise the new skills he is learning in his adult basic education classes. Plus, he said, he likes to read the newspaper.

Adult students, like Breth, and students in high school and junior high schools, are participating in the Newspaper in Education project, being celebrated this week.

Students are using newspapers, but not just in current events classes. Teachers of virtually every subject English, history, science, math, art are all using newspapers in their classrooms.

Guidance counselors and even a school nurse are receiving newspapers for students to read.

Susan Clubb, director of the Adult Basic Education program at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School, said the newspaper works well for adult learners.

"For one reason, it's current," Clubb said. "It also allows them to read what they're interested in sports, obituaries, the police report," she said.

Breth said: "Some of the books here are from the '70s. They have got some out-of-date stuff in them. With the newspaper, you can find out what people did yesterday and today stuff that's really going on in life.

Breth said: "You can't keep up with things by watching television. The newspaper you can keep and read it again. Plus they don't have a funny page on T.V."

Mary Kiefer, another student working toward her GED, said: "The war we just had was sort of tied in with all the wars in history books. The newspaper helped tie it all together."

Martin Santana, from Mexico, is learning English at the school. He said reading the newspaper is an important skill.

"You get a lot of information in the newspaper," he said. "I like to read the sports, especially about Michael Jordan. I also like to read the comics. But you can learn to write and spell reading the newspaper."

Clubb said the newspaper "is relevant to these people's lives. In fact for some people, reading the newspaper is crucial.

"We have a large number of students who have been laid off from Lenco (now N.L.C.), Tri-Con and Florsheim," she said. "They are using the want ads looking for jobs.

"We show them how to use a want ad, and we also have them check for housing that's available."

She said the newspaper has been integrated into the program's curriculum. "We would be very lost without it."

In the literacy program, tutors use newspapers as supplemental reading material.

"You wouldn't believe what 10 copies of the newspaper have done for the class," Clubb said. "It's magnificent. The newspaper has sparked an interested in world and local news that we hadn't seen before."

Newspaper reports of the Persian Gulf War and other world events provide data for Melody Green's science classes at Oak Ridge High School.

"In physics class, we used the newspaper to keep up with the war in Saudi Arabia," she said. "We were doing a unit with projectile motion and the philosophies fighters had to utilize to fire their missiles and intercept the missiles."

She said students have also been scouring the newspaper looking for science fair project ideas.

"There are articles on various topics. One student is doing a project on the Alaskan pipeline. Another picked something up out of the agriculture page."

Green said: "One of the things we are trying to emphasize is how science relates to daily lives and how they will use the information they're getting. The newspaper makes it a lot more real to the students.

"I think some of my students see people who write textbooks as people with horn-rimmed glasses, who never see the light of day. Whereas newspapers are what's happening now."

Brenda Woemmel teaches American history, government and geography to eighth and ninth grade students at Cape Central Junior High.

"We use the papers every day," Woemmel said. "The students really look forward to reading it. In fact, they are quite disappointed if they don't get to use them."

She said the newspaper is especially useful in teaching geography.

Freshman Christy Totton explained that they read a story from the newspaper and then identify the five themes of geography location, place, region, movement and human environmental interaction.

Woemmel said students also talk about the editorial cartoons and what they mean. "Of course, they have to have some knowledge of what's going on to interpret them," she said. "We also discuss the difference between editorials and news stories."

When students finish their assignments early, she said, they may read any part of the newspaper they wish.

"When we started," said Woemmel, "people wanted to read the comics and the sports. Now they are interested in the whole paper."

She said, "I think they feel like they're getting news first hand. And they've learned that the newspaper has information about things they are interested in like meetings or concerts."

"There are a lot of different things in a newspaper, said freshman Grant Bullinger. "Everyone can find something they like to read."

Justin Newberry added, "It helps us expand our vocabulary and teaches us good writing skills."

Jason Leggett said, "A lot of times we don't have time to watch the news, the newspaper tells us what's going on."

Sam Davis said, "We need to know what's going on in the world so when we get older we won't make the same mistakes."

The newspaper is also being used in some special services classes throughout the area.

Kim Wengert, special education teacher at R.O. Hawkins Junior High in Jackson, said the newspaper has become a favorite reading source for her students. She teaches mentally handicapped students in grades seven through nine.

"I teach them consumer education and life skills," Wengert said. "We do different things from the simplest skills, cutting out a coupon, to figuring out what time a movie begins and how much it costs to attend."

Wengert said the newspaper motivates her students to locate information because it provides information they can use.

Mary Talley, speech-language therapist at Meadow Heights Schools, teaches students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

"I'm using the newspaper mostly for speech therapy. As students get to the more advanced stages in speech therapy, I have them read the newspaper aloud so that I can hear them," Talley said.

"For language development exercises with my students, we talk about things that are happening in the news, like Saudi Arabia."

She said the newspaper also carries stories pertinent to Bollinger County. "That really picks up the interest for the child."

She also has a deaf student who is learning correct pronunciation of words by reading the newspaper.

"My deaf student picks up the paper to look at ball scores and turns to the war news. It's really been a boost for him. He lives in a quiet world, but the newspaper provides a wealth of information and entertainment."