Each episode of TV411 features a collection of fast-moving segments that cover everything from suffixes to percentages, songwriting to filling out immigration forms. A group of adults in a job-seekers program work on their resumes. A newly pregnant woman finds a resource book on pregnancy. Why the Caged Bird Sings. But that's our strength.
People find different elements of the videos useful and relevant.
And if they see something that's not relevant, they know they can wait a minute or two and we'll be on to something else. It's also important to point out that we're not trying to do the whole job here. We're reaching out to people whose literacy skills are rusty or incomplete and giving them tools so that they can help themselves. Schwarz, who spent 10 years running the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative, also emphasizes the importance of building community-based approaches to literacy. She looks at every community setting as a potential ALMA classroom.