Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-05-25, Page 19Sheila Fink of Goderich (centre) chats with Frerda MacDonald (left) and Terri Porter, two of the first volun- teer tutors with London's Adult Basic Education (A.B.E.) program. The two women were in Goderich last Monday night speaking to Knox Presbyterian Church's Arthur. Circle group about the problem of functional illiteracy in ° Canada and how the A.B.E. program is helping to alleviate this problem in the London area. Mrs. Fink is a qualified tutor since taking a course 'in A.B.E. and will offer the program to those in Huron County who can neither read or write and now want to learn. (Photo by Joanne Walters) Yvette Wardrop of London (seated) has been enrolled in London's Adult Basic Education (A.B.E.) program for about a year and a half now and has reached the fourth grade reading level with the help of her tutor Greta Wakeling (standing). It's hard to believe in this technological day and age that there aee thousands of functional illiterates in Canada. Those illiterates in the London area are now being helped by the A.B.E. program'. This program may also be spreading into Huron County with the help of Sheila Fink of Goderich. (Photo by Joanne Walters) 131-21 tOd@r1 SIGNAL -STAR THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1978 SECOND S ECTION Reading - a truly vital human skill A.B.E. teaches Canadians to read BY JOANNE WALTERS When Isobel decided to enroll in London's Adult Basic Education (A.B.E.) program nine years ago, she was a middle aged woman with a seven- year-old son. Yet, she couldn't read the word POISON on certain products nor could she, read the instructions printed on the labels of medicine bottles. It was difficult for Isobel to shop for groceries. She couldn't read grocery labels. She could only go by the picture symbols on the products. Every meal she prepared was a surprise. She couldn't follow recipes and imagine her embarrassment when she opened up a can of peaches thinking they were sweet potatoes! (The next time you go shopping, pretend you can't read and see how much these two picture symbols look alike.) Isobel lived on Social assistance. She ,could write her first name but' not her last and she certainly couldn't fill out a job application form. Isobel was living in a gray world. She had been hit by a truck when she was young and she could barely remember having been in school. Through no fault of her own, she had been unable to complete her education and she was now one of thousands of functionally illiterate Canadians. • After nine years with the A.B.E. program, Isobel can budget better since she can now read about bargains in the newspaper. Although she may never sit down- and read a whole newspaper, she can read the things of importance to her. Isobel has also learned to tell time. Her young son has more respect for her. Mom can sign his notes for school now. When Isobel goes to the grocery store, she can spot others who cannot read and she is now in a position to help them find the products they are looking for. A high point in Isobel's life was when she was able to hold down a job, earn her own money and get off social assistance for one of the first times in her life. As she learned to read and write, those who knew Isobel could see a change in her. These days Isobel is standing straighter with new dignity and self- respect. No longer is she laughed at or derided. She is proud of her ac- complishments and this, to the0people of the Adult Basic Education program, is success. It's people touching people on a gut level. Isobel's story is just one of the many success stories of the A.B.E. program. The tutors of the program like to relate these success stories with pride and happiness. HOW IT BEGAN The adult Basic Education Program in London, which has now branched into Huron County with the help of Mrs. Sheila Fink of Goderich, had its beginning in October 1969. Mrs. Beryl Treloar, a member of the London Council of Women and Mrs. Miriam Stevens, a community worker with London Family and Children's Services, initiated the idea. Mrs. Stevens, in her capacity as community worker, had met so many people who could neither read nor write and she felt that if these people could just do so many of the things that the rest of us take for granted, such as filling out job application forms and reading about bargains, they would have a better chance in life. A call over CFPL's Open Line radio program invited a volunteer to assist two women from London's core area to improve their reading skills. This call was answered by Mrs. Freda MacDonald, a qualified teacher who had moved recently to the London area. Within two weeks, Mrs. MacDonald had her first student --Isobel. "As we became friends," says Mrs. MacDonald, "I realized that Isobel was one of the most beautiful persons I'd ever met. She was full of wisdom and con mon sense." Mrs. MacDonald said she didn't know where to start teaching Isobel.. Today the tutors have instruction books but at that time there were none. So, Mrs. MacDonald made up a food chartcon- taining the nanies of groceries to help Isobel shop more wisely. , By the beginning of 1970, four ad- ditional adults had requested to come into the program, and in June, a second volunteer tutor, Mrs. Terri Porter, joined the organization. A.B.E. was on its way! Today there are 108 students in Lon- don's A.B.E. program and 82 tutors. The aims and objectives of the A.B.E. program are to give individual in- struction from a pre -reading level through to Grade 8; to give assistance to anyone first, second, or third generation Canadian) who wishes to upgrade his or her education but who has no other avenue of learning; to keep the learning situation in a very informal and relaxed .atmosphere (usually over coffee and conversation) ; and' to encourage students to continue their education and later, if possible, to proceed to night school or some other learning program. It should be noted that A.B.E. does not duplicate other Adult Education programs in the city. LOOSELY KNIT The Legion Memorial Boys' and Girls' Club in London have provided free ac- commodation twice weekly in Lopdon since the commencement of the program. But A.B.E. is a loosely knit organization and it's possible to "go wherever needed". •Mr's. MacDonald says ' A.B.E. can be taught in homes, chutch basements, library corners or whatever space is available. The place of teaching is not important she told Knox . Presbyterian Chui c.h'5.....Arthur Circle group in Goderich last Monday evening. What is important, is the idea of people touching people. There is one tutor per student and each one takes a real interest in the student he or she is tutoring. Not only are the tutors helping adult students to upgrade their reading and writing skills, they show real con- cern for the students' well-being. They empathize not sympathize. "The tutors are dedicated people with big hearts. All the tutors are volunteers. The 42 evening'tutors all have full-time jobs during the day. They come to teach in the evenings because they want to help, they want to be there, " says Mrs. MacDonald. "Besides knowing .what they must do," she continues, "they must be able to hear between the lines and have empathy." A real life example of this last statement occurred one .day when a studentcame to her tutor for a lesson. The tutor noticed that she was visibly upset and encouraged her to talk about what was bothering her before beginning the lesson. The student, as it turned out, had just sprayed her relatively new couch with oven cleaner thinking it was upholstery cleaner. She couldn't read and the two cans looked the same so she had bought one thinking it was the other. The tutor and the student talked out the upsetting incident before starting into a lesson about long and short sounds. Nothing works like this one to one basis, say the organizers of A.B.E. FUNCTIONAL ILLITERACY • WIDE -SPREAD Besides having admiration for the tutors who•»teach two hours a night for two nights, Mrs. MacDonald says she has great admiration for the adult students as well. It's'not an easy thing to admit that you can't read or write. And 'yet, functional illiteracy is a problem which stretches from one end of Canada to the other and from one end of North America to the other. It is not a problem restricted to the fifth world as some people would think. The television program• Firth Estate recently documented the illiteracy problem showing that one in 13 Canadians do not qualify for a Grade 7 and 8 reading level. It's hard to believe in this highly technological day and age but they are probably right here in Goderich with this problem. They do not have the problem because they come from a foreign country or. because they are retarded in any way. They are people just like you and me who, through no fault of their own, were unable to complete their educations. There's a distinction between being functionally illiterate and simply being illiterate. Functional illiterates, for example, maybe can't read road signs but they can recognize them by their shapes. They can maybe work out in- dividual words in a newspaper and read them but they can't understand the story. Just think of how many of .your daily activities depend on your literacy or ability to read and write. Simple tasks are difficult if not impossible if you can't do so. Illiteracy not only takes its toll in economic terms but a few years ago one man even died because he was unable to read the instructions for opening the newly developed safety lid on his medicine bottle. Thousands of Canadian adults cannot read newspapers, fill out forms of any kind, shop wisely, read information sent home from school, read recipes or want ads, read instructions on machinery or appliances or read labels on medicine. However, Mrs. MacDonald says, "Many of the people who come to us are holding down full-time jobs, raising families and doing just beautifully. Many of them fit in well with others. Nothing labels them that says. they can't read or write." PROBLEMS ARISE But problems arise because of the inability to read and write. A birthday card is going around the factory. A fellow worker asks the illiterate person to sign his name for him. The illiterate person pretends not to' hear and only signs his own ',same because of his inability to spell. A middle-aged woman stands at a bus stop and asks another person at the stop if the approaching bus will take her to her. destination. .','What's the ,matter, cant ybu read," the other person snaps back. The illiterate person ignores the remark. Someone passes around a joke or cartoon at work. The illiterate person -stares at it blankly and feigns a. laugh he hopes will be convincing. A young man at the Manpower office asks officials to help him fill out the application form. He pretends to have forgotten his glasses.. The functionally . illiterate can make up a hundred excuses to hide his or her handicap but all the while, he or she is curling up inside and at the same time remaining too embarrassed to ask anyone for help. John, for instance, was holding down a full' -time job as a custodian when he enrolled in th'e A.B.E. program in London. Because he couldn't read, he had all his cleaning supplies arranged by order of smell. Ingenious. John couldn't believe at first that someone was ac- tually willing to ,give their time to him so he could learn to read. He was suspicious for awhile but later his faith in humanity was restored. PROMOTIONS PASSED OVER , Lena was mother to 12 and 13 -year-old daughters. She had a job cleaning tables. She was a punctual, well-groomed, pleasant looking woman and her boss felt she had potential for more than just cleaning tables and he asked her if she would like to be a waitress. Lena was forced to decline even though the promotion to waitress would mean more money. She couldn't read or write and being a waitress would involve both skills. She didn't tell her boss why she declined because she was too ashamed. "This happens all the time," says Mrs. MacDonald. "In factories, many people are offered promotions but don't take them and are too embarrassed to say why. The boss just thinks they are lazy, unambitious or uninterested." Lene enrolled in London's A.B.E. program and eventually got her waitressing job. Then she got a chance to make even more money by serving drinks over the noon hour. Her tutor gave her a crash course on how to spell the,different drinks' names so she could accept the job. WRITES TO M.P. "Leonard was about 60 years old when he came to us," says Mrs. MacDonald. He was set up with a tutor and made good progress. He had always wanted to write a letter to his M.P. because he had some excellent ideas on public housing. He had sailed all over the world since he was 12 -years -old but would not talk about his ex'titing travels because he felt he couldn't express things right, ac- cording to Mrs. MacDonald. When Leonard eventually did learn to .say things the way he wanted to, he wrote that 4etter to his M.P. It was a happy day for Leonard when the M.P. wrote back. Recently Leonard went to visit his Turn to page 15A •