A Q&A with Marian Lapsley Schwarz

What was the impetus for creating ALMA?
Well, I had been working for Ed Koch for 10 years where I developed the NYC Adult Literacy Initiative, an organization which truly took on a life of it's own. The more people came out. Eventually, classes had long waiting lists-some two years long. When the number of participants reached 50,000 and we still had a huge demand, I started to believe that television might be the best way to reach what was clearly a large number of adults who had nowhere to turn for learning. At the time, the Mayor offered me the opportunity to design a local access channel called NEON (New Educational Opportunity Network) which never came to fruition as the administration changed hands. So, I left in 1990 to seek out supporters of what I felt was an important and underserved audience.

How did you choose the name ALMA?
Well, originally the name of the organization was Adult Literacy Media Project, but trying to say 'ALMP' didn't quite roll off the tongue. So changing the word "project" to "alliance" helped quite a bit and in fact, the word Alma means "soul" in Spanish. I would definitely describe us as an organization with a lot of soul.

What is ALMA's mission and that of TV411?
That literacy is for everyone. That it's destigmatized. That it is not America's dirty little secret any longer. That there is a national consensus that everyone needs who needs literacy gets it and everyone who has literacy gives it in whatever way they can--helping, tutoring, giving money. Through mass media I think we can get this idea to become a permanent part of the American landscape. Lifelong learning is the right of everyone. It is the job of ALMA to give people an understanding of what needs to be done and the tools to get it done.

What are the main goals of adult learners?
The main reasons they go back to school is to get a better job, to help their kids and to have an easier time dealing with everyday challenges like applications, leases, and car payments. Many want to read the bible better. Others want to write their autobiography. Getting a high school diploma is very important. Ultimately, it's about achieving dreams, and that is quite different from individual to individual.

You were part of the education system in New York for many years. How did that experience impact the development of TV411?
My students moved me deeply. The ones I worked with were so far behind academically and usually through no fault of their own. I wanted to be a wonderful enough teacher to help them catch up. I became very passionate about teaching and I wanted TV411 to have all the qualities of the great teachers I have seen and experienced. I think of a teacher as somebody whose compassion and patience will get you through anything. Someone who is clear and knowledgeable and patient, but makes you laugh and can also move you to tears, who is there for you and someone who you could bring home to your family. The inspiration for this program was to bring the teacher of my dreams into as many homes as possible.

There are a number of organizations devoted to literacy-why do you think that ALMA was the first of these to bring television into the fold? What makes this show different?
Well, there are a number of wonderful organizations that support our work including the Literacy Volunteers of America, and Laubach Literacy, but theirs are not organizations whose essential tool is the media. And we are by no means the first to use media, Kentucky Educational TV has been using television to help people pass the GED test for years and is the real pioneer here. PBS is developing a new program, 'Literacy Link,' their first effort to reach out to low literate viewers, but their program...is primarilly focused on job skills and concepts for getting out into the work force. I think we're the first to make literacy television with mass appeal.

Why is the issue of adult literacy still considered a taboo topic in our society?
People still carry around a lot of shame when it comes to adult literacy. Too often, it's a failure on the part of school system. Everyone knows that you're supposed to read well and although there seems to be less of a stigma about people not born in this country who don't read well, the fact remains that if you were born and raised an American, then people think reading should be second nature.

*This section was paraphrased from a Feren Communications Press Release. Contact (212) 983-9898 for more information.