Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
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| @TridentLit |
Trident Literacy Association breaking the cycle of
poverty one student at a time
Berkeley Independent:
11.30.2016 by Matt Bise
Four nights a week inside a barely noticed building
set back off of Rivers Avenue, every precious inch of space is used on a packed
second floor. It’s a tight maze that winds through cubicles, doors and makeshift
hallway-classrooms. For adults who want a better life, the journey starts
here-- and there is a waiting list to get in.
It would seem an unlikely spot for such a mix of
cultures. On this night, one of two nights a week, it is English as a Second Language.
Adults from countries like: Turkey, Moldova, China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil
squeeze into the small classrooms for a six-month semester, once they finish a
semester they can move on to another higher class level. It’s just one of the
“vital life skills” offered by the Trident Literacy
Association (TLA), to help break the cycle of poverty.
Geovany Baires is from El Salvador. He has been
attending classes for 2-years. His English is still a work in progress, but he
is eager to fulfill an American dream. “Because a good life, because the
economy is bad in my country,” he said. “It’s nice because I can help my family
or build my house in the country.”
Magdalena Lopez, another student, answered slowly
and cautiously to give her best English, wants the same, “I want many things
here, for a better job and better future,” she said.
But the future is now mixed with uncertain times,
politically and socially, those looking for a better life in America, even
those here legally-- have real concerns.
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Local tutor wins York County
Literacy award
York Dispatch: 12.07.2016 by Alyssa Pressler
Sherrill Trimpey was recently awarded the Bea Blatner Award from
the York County Literacy Council for her exceptional service as a tutor.
Trimpey started tutoring with the York County Literacy Council 37 years ago, shortly
after the council was founded. She retired from tutoring this year.
The Shrewsbury resident's father died a week before she was
supposed to start training as a tutor all those years ago, according to a news
release from the council. She considered canceling but reminded herself
that when one door closes, another opens.
“Each new student was another new door to open and enjoy,"
Trimpey said, according to the news release.
The Bea Blatner Award was established in 2002 in memory
of longtime volunteer Beatrice Blatner. The award now goes to tutors
who exhibit the exemplary qualities Blatner displayed during her 20 years of
tutoring students in York County.
Trimpey was just the tutor for the award, which she received at
the council's 40th celebration. READ MORE @
Waukegan library's adult literacy
program helps those most in need
Daily Herald: 12.06.2016 by Abby Scalf
Cheryl Wildemuth said many of the
adults she works with can read only at a first- or second-grade level.
Some have high school diplomas and
some do not. Some have been to jail. Most didn't see going to college as an
option.
So Wildemuth sees herself as a
cheerleader for students, who have not had much success, and didn't have
someone who believed in them.
"They all want to work. They
all have bigger aspirations for their life, which is bigger than what we would
anticipate and is against all the stereotypes that you hear, that they're lazy.
It's not the case," she said.
The Lake Villa resident and former
special education teacher is among the tutors who volunteer their time to teach
basic skills, such as reading, writing and math to adults across Lake County.
The adult literacy tutoring program,
which is run by the Waukegan
Public Library, supports those most in need and
hardest to reach, said Josh Anderson, the program's coordinator.
With the recent absorption of
Literacy Volunteers of Lake County into the Waukegan Public Library Foundation,
the library has become the go-to organization to improve adult literacy. READ MORE @
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