Turning Pages Turns 50

We give thanks to all for being able to help adults in the Columbia area for 50 years raise their literacy levels; but moreover, through literacy training, helping adults make changes in their lives, in their workplaces, and in their communities that have improved the quality of life for all.

Debbie Yoho, former director of Turning Pages will be our featured speaker and actor and comedian Hal Guyon will make a special appearance.

We will gather on Thursday, March 22, 2018 from 6 – 8 pm at the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, 2062 N. Beltline Blvd, Columbia, SC 29204.

If you have been involved with Turning Pages or are interested in what we do, we would love for you to join us. Please RSVP by phone 803-782-1210 or email literacycolumbia@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/2085257904822843/

Telling the Story

It is a genuine pleasure to be able to share the message of Turning Pages and all it is doing for the thousands of adults whose reading, writing, math and life skills keep them from realizing their full potential. All of us want to be the best we can be. Turning Pages board members  Bruce Donatelli and Jerry Bellune recently visited the Lexington Rotary Club to share a few of our success stories.

Rotarian Paul Scott wrote his membership that Jerry talked about Rotary’s commitment to promoting literacy and related three stories about adults dealing with literacy issues, promoting literacy and related three stories about adults dealing with literacy issues. Turning Pages also known as the Greater Columbia Literacy Council,  serves a four-county area.

“It began as a Christian mission in SC in 1968, and has served over 6,000 adults,” Paul wrote to his membership. “The mission is to help adults reach their full potential by helping them improve reading, math, computer, and English language skills through customized learning plans. Tutors work one-on-one or in small groups, and volunteers are always being recruited. Turning Pages provides opportunities for lifelong learning, and is learner-led. The services and materials are free and different levels, approaches and subjects are offered for different abilities, needs and individuals.”

The Lexington Rotarians are considering a three-year commitment of financial support for this vital literacy program as are other civic, business, educational and religious groups.

An opportunity for you

If you would like Bruce and Jerry to bring this inspirational message to your group, please contact us at 803-782-1210.

Guest Blog: Ami Foote

Editor’s Note: This post comes to us from intern and USC journalism student Ami Foote.

Among obvious social concerns like disease, poverty, violence, and drugs — there is one problem that often goes unaddressed — low levels of literacy. Education is essential to the quality of life in human beings. So how does an adult get through twelve years of school without being able to read a street sign?

I had the pleasure of interviewing an adult learner who has become a regular at Turning Pages over the past 3 1/2 years. Assumptions and percentages can only explain so much, so I went straight to the source to find out where he thought his educational problems came from. “When I was young, school didn’t interest me. I was making money with my hands, so my brain didn’t matter as much,” he tells me. The source of immediate income for this learner came from his physical abilities, so it made sense to blow off intellectual goals, which could only provide monetary gain later in life. He ended up dropping out of school to lay bricks, paint, and work in construction. It was only when he was diagnosed with diabetes that he realized how unreliable his skills really were. His disease was so severe that he almost lost his legs and had to retire from the work he had spent his entire life doing. Suddenly, he had nothing but free time on his hands, and nothing to do with it. The only thing that didn’t require literacy skills was television, which quickly lost his interest.

So he started coming to Turning Pages to finally learn how to read — one of the “best things he has ever done with his life.” He now enjoys his newly gained independence. He is able to go to restaurants, take road trips, and go to the doctor’s office without having to ask others for help. The most simple things that we take for granted every day require the ability to read and comprehend. “I am more confident in myself, and I am able to be somebody my kids can look up to.” I couldn’t help but smile as I shook hands with this man and told him how nice it was to hear his story. His positive attitude about life and education surprised and impressed me. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t make excuses or feel ashamed. He is proud of his new literacy skills; skills that cannot be taken from him. As he puts it, “The more I learn, the better I feel.” It makes me happy to know there is a center in my community for people who are excited about learning. Turning Pages is a place that strives to give opportunity to those who would love to improve their lives, but were never given the chance.

Guest Blog: Marie Snider

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes to us from an experienced English as a New Language tutor, Marie Snider.

Learning a new language, especially when it is important in your life, is sometimes a very daunting and often frustrating experience. Our ESL learners at Turning Pages live in a country where English is the language spoken by the majority of people, and because of this, they feel more of a sense of urgency and a direct need to learn English. Turning Pages helps to fulfill that need while also easing the stress on students who may sometimes feel like outsiders in a very large and intimidating country.

Teaching ESL is a multi-faceted undertaking in which, to the teacher, actual teaching is one of the smaller parts to the teacher/student relationship. That’s not to say, that at any point the student is learning nothing, what I mean is proper English learning is often disguised by friendly conversation, sharing anecdotes, or discussing one’s favorite TV show. I’ve had an entire one hour lesson stem from the question “Do you know the song lyric, ‘take me on, take on me’? What does that mean?” Where did that take us? To an hour long lesson on phrasal verbs with a small emphasis on deciphering song lyrics! Without a strong rapport and understanding of each other’s cultures and personalities, teacher-student relationships would suffer numerous blocks with which good questions like the one before would not exist!

Our ESL students at Turning Pages suffer from a specific fear that is at times quite difficult to break through. Not only do they have low confidence because of their language barrier, but they also live in angst over the possibility of losing a job or even their family because of the United States’ tough immigration laws. It’s up to the teacher to ease the student’s fear, therein making them comfortable with themselves and their situation, if only for 90 minutes a week. Once a person lets down their barriers, they are much more likely to take more from the lessons, and of course enjoy language learning more. I’ve had students, who never really want to discuss their private lives, which is fine; having a rapport with someone doesn’t necessarily mean knowing everything about their family and private life. It means that they feel free to ask any question and not embarrassed to make any mistake.

Our job at Turning Pages is to teach ESL as a way to spread literacy (although most of our ESL leaners are at least partly literate in their native language). But a student can learn English whilst talking about anything and/or listening to anything, the difference comes in whether or not the topic is important to their life or close to their heart, and a healthy rapport will always make that difference.

When nobody else will do it….

Turning Pages is proud to fill needs in our community that nobody else will touch. Consider the situation of someone I will call “Terry”, who called our office asking for help. As we talked, I helped her describe her need.

“I don’t really know how to describe it,” she said. “I guess I need to tell you my situation.
You see, I’ve had to undergo shock therapy recently, for depression. I’m doing a whole lot better now, but I can’t seem to remember how to spell, and sometimes I can’t write very well.”

Was this a problem before?

“No. I was okay.”

How is the situation affecting your life?

“I am well enough now that I am doing some work for a non-profit organization. I interview clients. The trouble is, I need to take notes and write reports. It’s hard.”

I explained to Terry that our services are delivered by volunteers. Was she okay being open about her psychiatric history? Could she get permission for a tutor to work with her while she writes her reports? She thought so.

I told Terry we would be happy to assess her current skill level and match her with a tutor if appropriate. “Perhaps your memory just needs to be stimulated systematically,” I said, “to regain what you used to know. I’m not sure. But if you would like to try it, we can connect you with just the right person. We have a volunteer who will likely be interested in this and willing to help.”

Terry’s relief and appreciation were overwhelming.

The Turning Pages mission statement is “to enable adults to improve English language and reading skills through customized learning programs.”

Our ability to help Terry is about as customized as you can get.