With classes starting again, there are plenty of excited students and teachers. I came across this article and even though it is directed towards teachers, the message applies to anyone who teaches, tutors, trains or facilitates learning. I hope it inspires future and current Turning Pages tutors. Enjoy.
What Students Remember Most About Teachers by pursuitofajoyfullife
Sabrina Todd answers:
Several years ago, a friend told me about her rewarding experience serving as an adult literacy tutor. I love to teach and was intrigued. I have also known adults who could not read. It’s hard to comprehend how much I take my ability to read for granted or to imagine what daily life would be like if I could not read. Thinking about it gives you that awful feeling you get when you are near the end of a bad dream. The desire to help others overcome that nightmare is what brought me to Turning Pages.
Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from tutor and board member, Allison Matthews. Thanks for sharing your perspective, Allison!
When I was working with my learner today, we did a quick exercise to call attention to the letter S at the ends of words. Ms. G. tends to drop off endings like –s, -ed, and –ing when she speaks, and so naturally, she does the same thing when she reads. It’s not always a huge deal, but I’ve told her that sometimes, an ending can make a big difference in the way you understand a word. She performed the exercise beautifully and stretched out all the S’s she found.
“Yeah, I know I never say my endings,” she told me afterward. “When I was a kid, I used to talk and read real fast so no one could understand what I was saying.”
“You didn’t want people to notice you making mistakes?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s it!”
“So, did anyone ever stop you and slow you down, or did you just slide by?”
“They just let me slide right by!”
This exchange with Ms. G. amazed me. First, I was impressed that even as a child, she was developing effective strategies for hiding her reading troubles from her teachers. She may have been labeled with a variety of disorders over the years, but Ms. G. is one smart cookie!
But I was saddened, too, that—as far as I know—no one took the time to slow this little girl down and really listen. To tell her that it was okay to make mistakes. To help her with the words she wasn’t sure about. To teach her that her thoughts are important enough to be heard.
These days, Ms. G. is learning to take her time and communicate her ideas with others through her work at Turning Pages. Let’s look around for other children, teens, and adults who are sliding by and take the time to really listen.
Photo credit: Paul Sableman
Editor’s note:(This editorial first appeared in the Lexington County Chronicle June 13, 2013)
How many illiterate adults do you know? How many who can neither read, write nor even count change? What if you were in the same fix? Imagine what your life might be like — filled with shame that even your children are learning skills that you don’t have. You can’t help them with their homework, or read the Bible, as many of the learners we work with in the Turning Pages tutoring program are motivated to do. Adults who struggle with reading are among an estimated more than 27,000 Lexington County residents — 10% of the county’s population.
They are not alone. Richland County has 46,000 adults who read below a 6th grade reading level. That’s 12% of Richland’s population. In all, 73,000 functionally illiterate adults live in our two counties and studies indicate that 19% or more of the population are below this threshold, in parts of the Midlands. Functional literacy is the ability to read, write and speak proficiently in English, use technology, solve problems, be a life-long learner and effective in life.
Illiterate adults are not stupid. Many have learning disabilities that make it difficult for them to read and write. Many have mastered skills the rest of us would find daunting. Some are like the short order cook who holds a dozen orders in memory and prepares them without being able to read written orders from the wait staff. Or the driver with a perfect on-time delivery record who cannot read the addresses on the packages he handles. But he can follow a map and his spatial memory is exceptional.
Last week, 60 public-spirited people came together for our first Reading Between the Wines dinner, hosted by Main Street Cafe owner George Trifos and Palmetto Wines & Spirits owner Sandi Patel. The dinner raised almost $1,500 to help Turning Pages tutors make a difference in the lives of their learners.
At the Chronicle, we were happy to be among the dinner’s sponsors with the West Metro Rotary Club, Lexington Young Professionals, AGG Advisers and Pine Press Printing. We hope to arrange a similar fund-raising dinner soon.
Editor’s note: Today’s post is the second in a two-part series about one tutoring pair from Turning Pages. Click here to read the first one. Both articles first appeared in the Lexington County Chronicle on May 30, 2013 and are reposted with permission. Lexington Publishing Co., Inc. retains all rights.
What if you could neither read nor write? Imagine what your life might be like — filled with frustration and shame that even your children can do what you cannot do. That’s how Tammy Myers felt as her three boys were growing up, attending school and dealing with homework that she could not help them with.
Tammy is one of more than an estimated 27,000 Lexington County residents who do not read well enough even to fill out applications for the better-paying jobs they need to support their families. Tammy had trouble reading in elementary school. In third grade, she was diagnosed with dyslexia, a neurological disorder that underlies a learning difference. Because people with dyslexia process visual information differently they can experience difficulty with reading, writing, spelling and sometimes even speaking. People with dyslexia may be of average or above-average intelligence. Dyslexia is different from impaired vision or hearing.
“Reading is difficult for me,” Tammy says. “If someone reads it to me, I can understand it. When it comes to writing, I’m lost.” Tammy’s parents were divorcing, a traumatic experience for her and her younger sister. As a result, her mother had to move her daughters repeatedly. By the time she reached high school, Tammy had attended eight different schools. Tammy’s teachers did not know how to help her, she wrote in a narrative about her life for the Chronicle, so she was put in special education classes which did little to help.
She began to suffer with pain in her knees. After three months, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a condition that results in chronic widespread pain. Some say it is like a tooth ache all over your body.
While working at a Waffle House, Tammy was working on her 11th and 12th grade credits at an alternative school when she was told all her credits but five had been lost. Disheartened, she quit school, found another job and met her husband. Tragic as her story is, it is not uncommon among those who cannot read.
Tammy is determined to do something about it.
She meets regularly with Sandra Dayse, a Turning Pages literacy tutor at the Lexington District 1 adult learning center at the former Intermediate School on Harmon Street. Tammy has found that she can learn better when she hears than when she tries to read, a result of her dyslexia. But she has made a commitment to qualify for her General Education Diploma (GED). She wrote a four-page biography of her life using an app on her cell phone. It allows her to tell her story into the phone and convert it into writing.
She believes that will help her get a better job and help her husband with their family’s expenses. “Turning Pages and First Steps has been such a help to me,” Tammy says. “Now I want to do what I can to help.”
To find out what YOU can do to help, give us a call at 803-782-1210.
Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from community leader and Board member Jerry Bellune. We find Mr. Bellune’s enthusiasm to be infectious, do you?
One of my favorite books in the 6th grade was big game hunter and animal trainer Frank Buck’s biography, “Bring “Em Back Alive.” One of my teachers complimented me for reading a high school level book. Such compliments mean a lot of anyone learning to master reading skills.
Mr. Buck led a colorful life on many continents. That fired my imagination and made me think of adventurous career choices. That was relatively easy for a budding writer as storytelling was a staple in our family.
Thinking back on those early days makes me realize how fortunate many of us are to have been born into families of readers, surrounded by books and encouraged to aspire to any career our little hearts desired. Unfortunately, about one in 10 of us has no such privileges. They grow up in homes with no books, only TV sets, the electronic baby sitter.
Award-winning speaker and business philosopher Jim Rhon (pronounced Rone as in bone) observed that successful people have large libraries. Unsuccessful people have large TVs. My purpose is not to disparage TV. Sesame Street and many other educational programs for children are far better than nothing.
But we should never forget that penologists project how many prison cells will be needed within the next 8 to 10 years by the number of 4th graders who cannot read well.
Turning Pages has played an inspiring role in the lives of many of these unfortunates who some how slipped through the cracks of our great public education system. Your support as a donor or volunteer tutor is welcome. We invite you to join us.
Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from community leader and board member Jerry Bellune.
The need for Turning Pages tutoring constantly reminds me how lucky I am. I was born into a middle class family of readers and story tellers. My mother read to us at bedtime and taught me to read and write at age 4.
She wrote to my father who was away in school in Chicago several times a week. She always let me append a few words about what I was doing while he was away. That was a real thrill. I could picture my father in my mind reading what I had written. He was hundreds of miles away from us in South Carolina but with words we could talk. I have been reading and writing ever since.
My parents’ influence and my education have made major differences in my life. They led me to become a journalist, editor, teacher and business owner. Now I also write, edit and publish books.
I am far more fortunate than millions of illiterate Americans.
One survey estimates 42 million in our country can’t read above sixth grade level. That’s a shocking statistic in a country with mandatory public education. What’s even more shocking is that 1 million more join them each year.
To help raise money for literacy tutoring, we offer copies of my books for donations. If you are interested in a personally autographed copy, call us at 782-1210. For a $20 donation, I will autograph one of these inspiring books for you.
Editor’s note: Today’s blog post comes from community leader and board member Jerry Bellune.
You and I have a lot to be thankful for. We can read and write, have a great job or a secure retirement, loving families and comfortable homes. Not everyone is as blessed as we are.
The first employee we ever had who could not read or write was a young man named Jimmy. When his deep, dark secret was discovered, Jimmy walked away and we never saw him again. He harbored that secret a long time and was humiliated when he was found out.
There’s hope for the Jimmys of this world. Through the good work of volunteer Turning Pages tutors, hundreds of illiterate adults in our area are learning to read, write and other skills they need to land good jobs and take care of their families.
Genevieve Ray Lyons who works with us at Turning Pages shared several success stories about the progress of our learners. Alex is an example, Genevieve writes. He is a public school dropout who started learning to read at around a second grade level four years ago. Today he has advanced to a high middle school level. He’s gone from a disadvantaged background to a married father of several kids. His wife is a nurse.
In another example, Former Turning Pages director Debbie Yoho worked with Alice who started at mid-elementary level and progressed several grade levels before Debbie retired. Now Alice is working with another tutor and found a job in a middle-school cafeteria but has higher goals. She is able to read such popular fiction writers as Nora Roberts and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. And Alice wants to set a good example for her granddaughter who lives with her.
“Speaking of working in cafeterias,” Genevieve writes, “we have several learners who work at USC in various housekeeping positions. Another works at the Marriott in the kitchen and another, Sarah, worked as a sous chef at a popular local hotel’s restaurant, but dreams of attending culinary school. Some learners are lucky enough to get tutoring at work. “At a local hospital, we had weekly tutoring sessions with a small group of employees, during their workday.” One learner, Samantha, improved from fourth to sixth grade level, and the hospital, seeing her improvement, switched her into computer-based, on-the-job training to help put her on a track toward promotions.
“It always fascinated me how many learners came by after work,” Genevieve said. “Their goals were not necessarily to simply get a job but to do better work at their current job to get a promotion. “It is always important to emphasize that the people who come to Turning Pages are highly motivated. Many of them are currently employed, or retired after working many years. The Lord helps those who help themselves.”
Turning Pages Board Chairman Bruce Donatelli of Lexington is working with me to raise $10,000 to keep the tutoring going. For a $100 donation, I will give you five autographed copies of my books. They make great Christmas gifts. Just call me at 359-7633 to make a donation.
Read Jerry’s Success Strategies at http://www.JerryBellune.biz
As an aside, this is my first post here at Turning Pages as a contributor, and I wanted to begin with the admission that I knew/know little of adult literacy in America. I mean, I have always known that it is a “problem” in the abstract sense: people should have the ability to read, of course. And I could, vaguely, understand the link between social status, economic standing, race, and illiteracy. It made sense, even if I had not put much thought into it.
I found that I exemplify one of the most interesting facets of the adult literacy “situation” in America. We often assume that because someone “functions,” because someone “gets” by in a world driven by reading and writing, by text, that they are literate (in the traditional sense of being able to read English text). But (as I found out during my initial research), this sense of operational contentment sort of breaks down when an illiterate individual has to face some sort of medical emergency or financial trouble. Then, these individuals run into problems with insurance, with prescriptions, and with following treatment instructions. I found that this is not just the case for what I had deemed as “illiterate” adults. In my view, illiteracy meant that you cannot read, Period. But my research has illustrated various forms and ranges of illiteracy. So an individual who gets by with reading particular documents or signs (road signs, for example) can still very easily make a mistake in regards to interpreting healthcare documents and instruction.
I also found that, to a certain extent, the rest of us are allowed to think about it as “their” problem: if they get along, great. If they can’t read, it isn’t a big deal. What does it mean to the rest of us that a small cross-section of our population doesn’t read? We need to complicate this view. Academic Journals such as The Journal of Internal Medicine and The Journal of Learning Disabilities feature articles confronting this issue, with more than one author referring to it as the “crisis of health literacy.”
It goes like this: adults with little or no appreciable skills in reading or writing have continued into advanced age with the help of other parties (a spouse, children, other family friends) who can read. When the support system for some reason is removed from the situation, or when the individual finds themselves confronted by a situation that involves reading or interpreting documents or instructions without the help of others, mistakes are made. In the case of the elderly of those who require intensive medical care, the inability to read instructions or fill out forms is a huge gap: not only does that adult have no way to communicate with the faceless doctor or medical institution behind that document, they may have no way to reach out to others for assistance.
This, in turn, becomes an issue for everyone. The inability of those who cannot read to interact productively with healthcare providers and insurance companies costs the healthcare industry billions of dollars by way of unnecessary emergency treatments. Those who could avoid specific treatments or symptoms often do not when they are unable to read instructions or communicate effectively with their healthcare provider. Furthermore, those with emergency illnesses or injuries who visit emergency rooms often leave with written instructions regarding how to treat wounds, ingest medication, and handle foods and liquids that they cannot read. Inevitably, these people return to the hospital or their doctors for further treatment of the same illness or injury to compensate for their inability to remember or understand their own healthcare documents.
My first questions regarding adult literacy encountered, overwhelmingly, this issue of healthcare. And, obviously and unfortunately, this problem does not go away unless we address both our educating practices for our youth as well as offer services to those who have already entered adulthood without the skills necessary to navigate institutions they rely on for their health and well-being.
This is why organizations such as Turning Pages need support, through donations or volunteers: there are people who want help, who want to learn how to help themselves. But they cannot do it on their own, and more often then not they cannot do it with the support system they have. And it is not just a problem “out there:” adult illiteracy is an issue that affects us all. Educators and tutors with adequate funding and support can commit themselves to helping adults gain the proper skills to be able to go to the hospital, to follow medical instructions, and to take care of their own health and wellness.
Turning Pages 