I’ve usually heard of the guests on AUTHORNOMICS before we book them, but this week, I had no idea who Pam Allyn was before we did the interview. I knew she was a non-fiction author, and I knew she had a new book out that had to do with children. What I didn’t know is how much amazing work she does to promote literacy both here in the US and globally.
I don’t generally think of literacy as being an issue. After all, we’re one of the premiere countries in the world, and everyone knows how to read and write, right? But there’s a difference between knowing how to read and being a competent reader, and Pam pulls out some scary statistics in case you still don’t believe the US has some literacy problems. Add that to the fact that in developing countries there are a lot of people who actually can’t read, and Pam has a lot of problems on her hands.
The coolest part about Pam’s programs is that she uses creative writing as a tool to drive literacy: kids are creative and want to express themselves, and when they get to write about what they want, they’re that much more interested in learning how to write. Check out her interview at http://www.andreahurst.com/authornomics-interview-series to learn more about what she does. I’m really glad we got a chance to talk with her and spread the word about who she is and what she does with more people.
Katie Flanagan 