How to Respond to the Literacy Crisis | Robert Clayman | TEDxTufts

We are in the midst of a literacy crisis, with high numbers of elementary school students at risk of never gaining literacy. Robert shares the details of this crisis and what we can do to start fixing it. Robert Clayman is a 1975 graduate of Tufts. Over the past eight years he has been a tutor with Reading Partners, a national non-profit organization committed to ensuring that all children in kindergarten through fourth grade are proficient readers. As both a tutor and a member of the Board of Reading Partners D.C., he has become increasingly aware of the poor state of literacy among elementary school students and the vital importance of reading to a child’s well-being. Robert is looking forward to speaking about on Illiteracy at this year’s TEDxTufts event.

At Tufts, Robert led the Lecture Series bringing speakers of note to campus like Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, I.F. Stone and Robin Morgan. Though not nearly as prominent as these individuals, he feels that almost 45 years later the shoe is on the other foot: not choosing the speaker, but being one.

After graduating from Tufts, Robert attended Emory University School of Law, and began a forty year career representing labor unions and workers ranging from migrant farmworkers to flight attendants. Robert retired from the practice of law at the beginning of 2018. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx