Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
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Gift
of Knowledge: Struggling mother earns her high school equivalency
United Way Cleveland: 4.10.2018 by unitedwaycleveland
All
she wanted was to be in school, learning new things with other kids her age.
Instead, troubling family circumstances forced Teresa to assume the
responsibilities of a parent when she was still just a child herself.
“At
9 years old I had to be mom to four kids,” she explained through tears,
recounting why the burden fell on her shoulders.
With
an alcoholic mother incapable of adequately caring for a family and an abusive
stepfather, there seemed to be no choice.
“I
couldn’t leave my brothers and sisters alone to go to school. And if I didn’t
get them to school and make sure they got their homework done and they had
baths and they had food, no one else did. I had to protect them.”
“I was never given an opportunity to go to high school. And I love school. I do
well in school. I love to learn,” said Teresa, who recently earned her GED from
Seeds of Literacy.
The
responsibilities thrust upon her at home only grew with time. The sacrifice
became permanent.
“I
was never given an opportunity to go to high school,” she said. “And I love
school. I do well in school. I love to learn.”
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“Seeds of Literacy is amazing,” are words
she chose to describe the United Way-funded organization that has helped
thousands of Cleveland-area residents living in poverty achieve their high
school equivalency. Watch and listen to
Teresa’s experience and transformation at Seeds of Literacy below. READ MORE >>
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Lee
County Literacy Coalition to host driver’s manual workshop
The Plainsmen: 4.10.2018 by Olivia Wilkes
Anyone
who has studied for and taken the driver’s license test knows that the
experience can be stressful, but for people who have difficulty reading, the
exam can be downright daunting.
As
part of a program launching aiming to target this need, the Lee County Literacy Coalition is hosting a
workshop at the Dean Road Recreation Center on Wednesday, April 11, from 5–7
p.m. to present information from the Alabama Driver Manual that is pertinent to
passing the exam.
Tina
Tatum, the program director for the literacy coalition, said the workshop will
consist of a PowerPoint presentation, videos, graphics and some fun activities
such as a find-a-word.
“Hopefully,
that being very visual, it will help them understand it and retain it to take
the test,” Tatum said. “We actually have put together a little sample test that
they can take at the end just to get an idea if they might possibly be ready to
go ahead and try the real thing.”
The
workshop is free and, although designed for people with lower literacy skills,
open to anyone in the community.
A
driver’s license is something that many people may take for granted but is
extremely necessary for many day-to-day activities.
“If
you don’t read well, you might still have a job, you might still have kids you
have to take to activities, so not being able to pass that test doesn’t stop a
lot of people from driving,” Tatum said. “But the problem is, if they get in a
little fender-bender or let’s just say that over a holiday there’s some kind of
checkpoint looking for driver’s license and insurance, if they don’t have that,
of course, that’s going to lead to many other difficulties and probably fines
and things that they can’t afford.” READ MORE >>
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English
learners rally to save their classes
Adult
students and teachers protest proposed budget cuts at Boro Hall
QChron: 4.12.2018
by Christopher Barca
Iris
Sempertegui moved to Forest Hills from her native Ecuador just five months ago,
but her still somewhat broken English is decently understandable.
She
attributes that to one of the first decisions she made upon relocating to the
United States — enrolling in an English class for adults at the Queens
Community House.
“It’s
so beautiful. I enjoy it so much,” Sempertegui said of her class. “I have the
opportunity to meet people, to learn the culture and know the history of this
country.”
That
was the sentiment of the approximately 100 students who rallied at Borough Hall
on Tuesday to oppose $12 million in funding cuts for adult literacy classes as
put forth in Mayor de Blasio’s fiscal year 2019 preliminary budget.
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According
to a city source, the cost of such programming was $90 million in the last
fiscal year — paid for with federal, state and city dollars.
Organized
by the New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy,
Tuesday’s rally featured speakers from a number of borough groups that offer
English classes — including the Queens Community House, the Flushing YMCA, the
Chinese-American Planning Council, Make the Road New York, the English Language
Center at LaGuardia Community College and others. READ MORE >>
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