Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
“Now, I can read bigger words. ... I
can pick up a menu in a restaurant and read it."
News Leader:
12.08.2016 by Jennifer Moore
Buying a can of green beans at the grocery
store has always been a challenge for 41-year-old Ryan Rounsavill.
“I’d find the aisle of canned goods,
but then I had to search the cans for pictures and clues,” he said.
Assembling cabinets at the plant
where he worked, Rounsavill relied solely on diagrams.
And following someone’s driving
directions almost always got him lost.
“I knew my letters. I knew the
alphabet. I could read some two-letter and three-letter words like ‘cat’ or
‘dog.’ But that’s it,” he said.
He also sees letters and numbers
reversed; a sign at the gas station reading $1.53 per gallon may appear to him
as $3.15 instead.
Rounsavill recalls a teacher pulling
him out of his second grade classroom and telling him he’d be switching
schools. He needed a special education class, and his school’s classes were
full. He was shuffled to several different
schools, he said, even though his parents remained in the same house. His
childhood was one of chronic loneliness.
And despite the fact he could barely
claim a first-grade reading level, Ryan Rounsavill was awarded a high school
diploma alongside his peers.
“Because I was in special classes, I
did not take English classes. I took no history. No science. [In high school,]
they sent me to shop classes and I was in work programs for the other half of
the day,” he said.
Fast-forward to last year, when he
was laid off from his job. He learned he qualified for workforce =development
classes.
“Could they help me learn to read?” he
asked the human resources staff member. He’d always tried to be upfront with
his employers about his illiteracy, he said. His wife had filled out his job
applications.
He enrolled in an adult literacy
class at Ozarks
Technical Community College.
READ MORE @
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Literacy council celebrates students’
success
Anthology feature adult learners’
works
Kenosha News: 12.10.2016 by
Christine A. Verstraete
Buttons were bursting with pride
Saturday as a dozen Kenosha Literacy
Council students read their published essays as part of the
annual anthology release and winter celebration held at the Woman’s Club of
Kenosha.
The 15th annual KLC anthology
showcases nearly 60 stories written by adults enrolled in the literary program.
“Every year we have a different group
of students with different stories,” said KLC Director Cheryl Hernandez. “The
book is always a collection of the hard work of the students, tutors and
staff.”
This year’s anthology includes essay
based on three themes: “Be Inspired,” “Celebrate Good Times” and “Exploring My
Community.”
They were written by adult learners
from Asia, Europe and Mexico who are working to improve their English reading
and speaking skills, along with U.S. students who want to improve their skills
for work or to get their GED.
“The students are so inspiring,” said
program coordinator Cassie Christianson. “They really want to make you want to
do more in your everyday life. You can do anything, but you need to read and
write.” READ MORE @
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For new English speakers, newspapers
a path to fitting in
Telegram: 12.11.2016 by Cyrus Moulton
The class was originally inspired by
a trip to a recycling facility.
But today, participants in the
Reading Your Local Newspaper course at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester are inspired to take trips to free concerts and Starbucks,
saying they feel more integrated into the community as a result of the course.
“The newspaper is good for us
because it is included information about everything,” said student Gabriel
Hanjar, 61, who originally lived in Syria but now lives in Worcester.
Student Agueda Rivadeneyra,
originally from Mexico, agreed.
“In my country, I didn’t read a
newspaper,” said Ms. Rivadeneyra, 57, of North Grafton. “Now I can read a
newspaper and books and can read in English ... you find news about Worcester,
my community in Grafton and the international news.
Teacher Celeste L. Steffancci was at
her local recycling facility when she saw a copy of a 1987 publication by the
Telegram & Gazette titled “Life Skills in the News.” Looking through the
booklet, she realized that it would be a great basis for the English as a
Second Language classes she taught with Literacy Volunteers. The organization
approached the Telegram & Gazette to solicit donated papers and is
finishing its first semester this month.
“We try in all classes to teach
things that are practical, what they can really use,” said Ms. Steffancci, 64.
“Anything that can help them feel more integrated into the community. I think
that when they know what’s happening in the city, even in terms of politics or
just local stories or things like the Brown Bag concerts, something that they
can participate in, I think the more they do, the more they want to do and I
think, like a couple of students said, they gain confidence.” READ MORE @
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