Literacy:
Spanning the U.S.
Literacy volunteers
teach English, build confidence
Nelson County Times: 2.22.2015 by Rachael
Smith
One of the aspects that
makes small, close-knit communities so special are the volunteers in the area
who work in the shadows and aren’t looking for any recognition, but only to
improve and better the place they live.
The Literacy Volunteers of
Nelson County are no different.
Incorporated in 2004 in
Nelson, the literacy volunteers have been serving the county by providing
mostly individual tutoring for people who speak English as a second language or
for those who are illiterate.
Marilyn Mars, program
coordinator, said the non-profit organization has about 20 students and 18
tutors who meet up with students once or twice a week for a couple of hours in
a public setting.
Mars said tutors help
their students with everything from English to math, reading, writing and
computer skills for people who want to enhance their lives.
The literacy volunteers
hold a bi-annual computer course in the fall and spring to teach a computer
programming course. Mars said a date has not yet been set for the next class. READ MORE !
Humor is literacy
tutor's secret weapon
Grand
Island Independent: 2.23.2015 by Harold Reutter
Some people say music is
the universal language. But for 87-year-old Grand Island resident Bill Grange,
self-described “world’s oldest tutor” for the Literacy Council of Grand Island, humor
is the language that breaks down cultural barriers.
Grange, a retired
optometrist, said he and his wife, Mary, were “winter Texans” for 25 years,
traveling to South Padre Island.
Literacy Council
administrative assistant Sherry Cook said Grange uses humor to put people at
ease even when there are no supposed cultural barriers.
“He is delightful,”
Cook said. “When he calls up, he never uses his name. He always says, ‘This is
the world’s oldest tutor.’”
Yet Cook said Grange
also is serious about being a tutor.
“He clearly understands
the mission of the Literacy Council, and he is a very good supporter of its
work,” she said. READ
MORE !
Knoxville woman works
toward GED through Friends of Literacy
WBIR: 3.02.2015 by Katie Roach
Friends of
Literacy has been in the Knoxville area for about 25 years helping
people from all backgrounds earn a GED or HiSET. The organization also helps
the one in twelve adults who can't read or write above a 6th grade level.
Winnie Draper is one of
the students taking the free classes. She is determined to meet her goal.
"I wanted to prove
to myself that I could get my GED," she said. "Nothing is going to
hold me back."
Winnie takes classes at
Friends of Literacy twice a week with her teacher Denise Hoffman. They work on
reading, writing, vocabulary, spelling and math.
"One of the
interesting things students tell me when they start is the words don't make any
sense. They all run together on the page," Hoffman said. READ MORE !
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