Ruth Colvin’s objective: Teach literacy worldwide

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The location was the East Room of the White House when president George W. Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ruth Johnson Colvin in December 2016. “Ruth Colvin is a person of intelligence and vision and heart. And she has earned the gratitude of many, and the admiration of us all,” the president said.

Jo Fredell Higgins and Ruth Colvin in Charleston, S.C. pose for photo in 1997 at an Adult Literacy Project convention banquet. Submitted photo

Ruth Johnson was born December 16, 1916 in Syracuse, N.Y.. When the 1960 census reports were released, she learned that the City had more than 11,000 residents functioning at the lowest level of literacy. An avid reader, Ruth founded the non-profit Literacy Volunteers of America in 1962. She used a non-functioning, former, refrigerator in her basement as her first file cabinet. The first tutors to complete her training program were from Ruth’s church women’s group.

Today that organization is known as ProLiteracy Worldwide and has more than 330 affiliates in 30 countries. Ruth was a co-founder of the National Coalition for Literacy which strives to increase public awareness of illiteracy. She published Student Involvement Guidelines to encourage student involvement in all aspects of literacy programs.

Ruth majored in business administration at Northwestern University where she met her future husband Robert Colvin. They were married in 1940 and moved to Seattle and then back to Syracuse. Robert built a lucrative sales and consulting career around industrial chemicals and together they raised two children. Ruth earned a college degree from Syracuse University in 1959.

Her published works include 12 books, handbooks and videos. Her Tutor and I Speak English books were the basis for volunteer trainings at Waubonsee’s Adult Literacy Project. In 1997 our Waubonsee volunteer tutor, Jim Shazer, was awarded “LVA Tutor of the Year” honors in Charleston, S.C. At that time LVA had 393 affiliates in 43 states so it was, indeed, an august honor for Jim and our program. Sadly, my friend, Jim, passed this life in 2019 at age 91.

We met Ruth at that Charleston event and at other LVA conferences at Houston, San Diego, Washington, D.C. and Columbus, Ohio. She was an energetic delight as was her husband. Ruth will turn 104 years December 16! She and Robert would give presentations at the annual conferences and show slides of their trips around the world.

It is estimated that there are 36 Million Americans and 800 Million worldwide who do not have basic reading, math, or language skills, to function in daily life. They cannot read a menu, the newspaper, signs, or directions. ProLiteracy works through a global network of 30 partner programs in 25 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Adult education programs, human rights agencies, community libraries, and health organizations offer basic adult education. ProLiteracy partner programs link literacy education with areas of community development, economic self-reliance, environment, human rights, and democracy.

Ruth remained active in ProLiteracy Worldwide and she had begun programs in Madagascar and Papua, New Guinea. She has taught in Zambia, Guatemala, Pakistan, Somalia, and China. Ruth has trained teachers in those locations to teach other locals the English language. She is a life member of ProLiteracy’s Board of Directors.

Well done good and faithful servant!

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