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Adult Literacy Program
updated: Aug 10, 2012, 11:36 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

I am curious to hear about experiences that Edhat community members have had, either as a tutor or as a peer student, with the Adult Literacy program sponsored by our public libraries. Please share your experiences.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 306854	2012-08-10 11:51 AM
It's been 10 years now, but I had a great experience. My student was a youngish woman, native Spanish speaker, who wanted to expand her skills in English. She was very polite and never missed a meeting. I was an idealistic ed. student, and probably tried some things that missed the mark a bit. If you're thinking to volunteer, I totally recommend it.
COMMENT 306856	2012-08-10 11:52 AM
I was a tutor for a while with them a couple of years ago. It's a great program. The training is thorough and they support you so you never feel lost. It was at the end of the training that they read off information--general descriptions of people's various needs--and you can choose the one that seems to fit you best. You and the student then arrange your days and hours. I loved doing it but time simply got away from me and I needed to take it back. Some day I will return to doing it. It's very satisfying to work with people who want to learn to read.
COMMENT 306873P	2012-08-10 12:16 PM
I was a tutor about 20 years ago and loved it. My first student was a young man whose family came from another country when he was small. They had a very successful business but he'd never done well in school. It seemed odd to me that I was showing up to our meetings in my old Honda Civic and he was driving a sports car. When we started he was reading at the 2nd grade level and when he quit he was about 4th grade. The 2nd student was a woman also from another country, whose English skills were actually good, but she needed to strengthen her math skills to pass the high school equivalency test. I worked with her for about a year and she just stopped coming, so I never found out what happened to her. I wish I had time to go back and tutor again.
COMMENT 306897	2012-08-10 01:16 PM
Former tutor, too. I found the experience very rewarding, I had a student from China and learned so much about her culture while also helping her to improve her reading skills. We are fortunate to have Adult Literacy in our town; Bev works very hard and is passionate about the program. I encourage anyone who can donate a couple hours a week, to take on tutoring-or if you are in need of strengthening your skills, be a student.
COMMENT 306900	2012-08-10 01:19 PM
I did not know of this program. Thanks to edhat, I am finding out lots about SB that I missed in over forty years there. I would have enjoyed doing that. I tutored at CC for six years for the American history class to help failing students. I also devised a method for studying and picking out the important points to learn. I called it the Psychology of test taking. Later I opened my home to international students and had over 115 over the years, and always worked with their studies, and also encouraged them to supplement their classes with our Adult ED ESL classes. Many of my "kids" now have high level positions around the world and keep in touch with me. Yesterday, for example, a Japanese PhD psychologist, now teaching in London, sent me pictures from the Olympics yesterday. His facebook is in Japanese, but he writes to me in perfect English. Very satisfying!!
REDTOP	2012-08-10 03:51 PM
I am presently a tutor with the Adult Literacy Program. It's been a terrific experience. I was trained by Bev in 2009 and continue to tutor twice a week. Bev offers thorough training and more than capable support as needed. This is such satisfying work. It gives one an opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of others. Plus, the tutoring sessions are constant learning opportunities for the tutor and the learner. I highly recommend this volunteer program. Give Bev a call at Santa Barbara Central Library downtown at (805) 564-5619.
COMMENT 307082	2012-08-10 07:16 PM
Iz has bean a studant fo for yars. Thanks yuu, thanks yuu, thanks yuu! Iz know haz a joob az a teecha at sandta barbera hi skhool.
COMMENT 307087	2012-08-10 07:29 PM
This program did not work for me. I was hoping to teach reading but the learners I had were Interested in ESL. Bev is amazing
COMMENT 307173P	2012-08-11 09:28 AM
7082 - LOL --- good to see that you can read!! But as for the program, interesting comments. Whenever or almost whenever I've walked by or peeked in from the Faulkner, teacher and student look bored and after initially being interested in helping, I decided it was not for me. (I have a friend in another state who volunteered in the same kind of library-sponsored program and she found it great, helpful for the student, rewarding for herself.)

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