Redlands Library - Money runs out for Smiley Library's program for adults

Money runs out for Smiley Library's program for adultsRedlands Daily Facts: July 26, 2006 by Colleen Mensching

The writing is on the wall. Budget constraints are forcing the A.K. Smiley Public Library to close the book on its adult literacy program.

The library founded Redlands Reads in 2002 with a five-year grant from the state's California Literacy Campaign. Larry Burgess, library director, said he and other city officials knew all along that the California library board expected the city to support the program when the grant ran out.

"Five years ago, nobody anticipated this year's budget crisis with the General Fund," said Burgess.

During 2006-07 budget talks, Burgess told the City Council that he hadn't heard whether the state would continue to fund Redlands Reads. The program has a volunteer staff of about 40 and one paid coordinator. At the highest pay step, the coordinator position pays about $58,000 a year, plus benefits. Including program materials, Redlands Reads should have a budget of about $80,000, said Burgess.

"We might not need the total salary for continuing the literacy (position)," Burgess told the council in June.

As it turns out, the city wouldn't need to put up the coordinator's full salary - this year. But the state recently offered to pay the salary this year only if the city kicked in $10,000 and promised to foot the whole $80,000 bill in 2007, said Burgess.

Technically, the City Council has until Aug. 1 to decide whether to accept the grant and fund the program. But the council, which isn't scheduled to meet again until the state's deadline, approved the 2006-07 salary resolution at its last meeting.

The resolution doesn't include city funding for the Redlands Reads position.

"Certainly, if the library director thought there was a way to find that money in the library budget, we could add it back in (with an amendment to the resolution)," said Mayor Jon Harrison.

Harrison gave no indication that General Fund money could be dedicated to the program and Burgess has already said the library's allocation is stretched to its limits.

Even a generous benefactor can't save the program now, according to Burgess.

The issue isn't just $10,000 this year and $80,000 the next, he said. The community will always have literacy needs and there is no sustainable financial program to support them, said Burgess.

"The issue is now passed and we look to other ways that we might help with literacy. It won't be under the formal program of the grants," he said.

Justine Curley was the director of Redlands Reads from its inception until June 30, when the state grant funding her position ran out.

Curley said there was a tremendous amount of work involved in starting the program. She spent the first year of the grant setting up the program.

"We had nothing," she said.

Now the library has about 10 years' worth of literacy textbooks, said Curley. Curley ordered the books just in case Redlands Reads didn't survive the end of the state grant.

"If we had to, we could go to just a check-out basis," she said.

Without someone serving as the director of the program, however, there will be no one to supervise 40 volunteers, counsel students, match them with tutors and monitor their progress while supporting each pair's individualized learning track.

Could the program survive without a full-time director?

"I can't imagine how," said Curley.

Students speak: Frank, who asked that his last name be withheld, says that he "fell through the cracks" as a dyslexic child attending school in the 1950s and early 60s.

He did well for himself by working hard, making enough to pay the bills and even own a home. But he struggled against his illiteracy the entire time. He's proud of the work he's done at the Smiley library since joining Redlands Reads.

"I still consider myself illiterate but to be at zero level and to jump up to 3 or 4 is a great achievement for me as a person," said Frank.

Frank says he'd like to be able to sit and read a Sunday morning paper but he's got a more pressing concern.

"I've struggled with my driver's license for all these years. Next year I have to go take the test again and I'd like to be able to sit down and read the test and answer the questions," he said.

Carmen Hernandez was born in the United States but when her parents moved her to Mexico as a child it "stopped (her) experience with reading."

For Hernandez, a photographer with a love of history and architecture, the literacy program wasn't just an introduction to the written word. It was an introduction to Redlands.

"We were kind of traveling through time in the history of Redlands: the passion that people had for these orange trees, these palm trees, the architecture," said Hernandez, whose tutor used books about the city as part of the curriculum.

"When I read this history I understand why this place has this aura of health and wealth."

Literacy also helps citizens to understand and participate in the present, said Hernandez.

"I think when you talk about libraries and democracy - this makes sense to me. If you don't nurture your citizens and you let your education level go low, your society gets weak."

Hernandez is working on an essay about her experience of the city's history, which she will offer to the library.

For the past year, Linda Smith has watched the literacy program give her son back parts of his life that he lost in an accident.

In 2003, Casey Smith pulled over on Interstate 10 to help another driver who had crashed near the Cypress Avenue exit.

"A woman came off the freeway and hit him. She hit him on the right side and tore his leg off and threw him down the freeway. Doctors ended up amputating his leg and he had traumatic brain injuries," Casey's mother recalled.

After seven weeks in the intensive-care unit and three months in a coma, Casey was transferred to a longterm care facility, where he would have stayed if his family hadn't fought to get him into a rehabilitation setting.

Smith said she discovered that the Inland Empire doesn't have programs to help victims of traumatic brain injury regain skills like reading and writing. As a result, her son isn't the only traumatic brain injury patient in the Redlands Reads program.

Redlands Reads provided the kind of individualized attention that Casey couldn't get at an adult school or college, said Smith.

"When he first started he was not able to write hardly at all and he couldn't read. Now he can write very legibly. ... Now one of his favorite places is Barnes and Noble."

Casey, with the help of his tutor, Pete Zimmerman, has been working on a speech to present to middle school and high school students.

"My son wants to be a motivational speaker about the power of positive thinking. He believes that's what saved him," said Smith.

Casey may still be able to do that, in part because his tutor intends to keep working with him.

"I hope to continue in some capacity whether they continue the program or not," said Zimmerman. He said he expects other tutors will do the same. "These people are committed to making a difference."

But for illiterate members of the community who haven't yet established a relationship with a tutor, the future is uncertain.

"The volunteers need someone or some way of connecting with the people that need our services," said Zimmerman.

Gwen Wysocki: "Warning labels, medication - (literacy) affects so much in our life that I am baffled that the City Council, knowing how supportive they are of a number of programs, would not support this program."

"I think other communities are watching us and that when we make decisions we not only do it for us but to set an example for all communities that are struggling with the same decision."

Jill Robinson: "I really admire the students in the program. If you can imagine being an adult and admitting that you can't read well - I think the students in the program are very brave."

"They just believe that they can do things they didnt think they did before. I cant believe the city would not fund this program. The cost is so small in comparison (to other spending.)"

Trudy Waldron: "I just an unable to fathom that our City Council, with the intelligence that is represented there - either they don't understand scope of program or our financial situation must be in much more dire financial straits that the general public is aware of."

"One of our homework requirements is for our students to read with or to their parents on a daily basis. It has come to my attention more than once ... that parents cannot read to their students. ... Even (some) English-speaking parents dont feel comfortable helping their children read."

Pete Zimmerman: "This is really the only adult-oriented program in the Inland Empire."

"I think I've almost gotten more out of the program than I have given."

"Literacy is such an important think in today's society. Not to have that ability is incomprehensible."

"We're all volunteer tutors. There's nothing to stop us (from continuing to teach)."

San Bernardino Public Library - Veteran cartoonist takes on new challenge

Veteran cartoonist takes on new challenge
The Sun: August 12, 2006 by Michel Nolan,

An advocate for libraries and literacy, Phil Ortiz was among the participating cartoonists promoting literacy in children through the arts at last month's "Building a World of Readers, Artists and Dreamers" event at the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library in San Bernardino.

Phil Ortiz is surrounded by characters made of squiggly lines.

The Emmy Award-winning animator simply adds ink to bring them to life.

In his Lake Arrowhead home studio, Phil uses pen and ink or magic markers to transport characters from his imagination to paper.

Wild and wacky, disgruntled or droll, silly and irreverent, Phil's characters are born of his creative genius. His magic pen has worked under the auspices of such animation greats as Hanna-Barbera, Disney and Bongo Comics.

"Animation is something I've chased all my life," said Phil, a cartoonist for "The Simpsons" from 1989 to 1990. The main artist for Simpsons comics for more than 10 years, Phil is currently working on a Simpsons Christmas issue, "Springfield's Letters to Santa."

The 52-year-old's credits include work on Hanna-Barbera classics such as "The Flintstones," "The Smurfs," "Richie Rich" and "The Shmoo."

He earned three Emmys for character design on Jim Henson's "Muppet Babies" and worked on Bugs Bunny Sunday and daily comic strips and two Garfield primetime television specials.

He has designed nearly 100 Simpsons merchandise items and lectured throughout California, Mexico and Germany.

Over the decades, Phil's pen has created a galaxy of colorful characters, including Simpsons regulars Apu, Flanders, Ralph, Todd, Otto and Nelson.

Enter Pachuco Boy.

A new animated television show project, "The Adventures of Pachuco Boy," will be different in that the title character will be the first animated Latino superhero.

"It's a first. We're really excited about this project," Phil says. "Our expectations are that it will go to national prime-time television, and we'll start production this fall. We hope to air it in fall 2007."

Phil says he wants the project to be a positive reflection of Latinos.

As designer, developer and producer, Phil says the show is "Latino-friendly." The series will not use computer-generated graphics but instead will use two-dimensional animation.

Celebrity guest voices will help bring characters to life.

Stand-up comic and scriptwriter Michael Montijo created Pachuco Boy. Michael, who is Phil's partner, lives in Casa Grande, Ariz. The Hatchery's Margaret Loesch, an icon in the animation industry, is executive producer.

The original meaning of the word "pachuco" is flashy dresser, Phil says. The creative team hopes to redefine the derogatory term into an image that's more positive for Latino teens.

The "Pachuco Boy" cast will feature such characters as Eddie, Nana, Carmen, Chapo, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez, Chili, Ignacio, Gordo and Clown.

"I love to be drawing," says Phil, who long ago worked on sets for "West Side Story," the senior class play at Bishop Mora Salesian High School in East Los Angeles. "At that time I said my greatest ambition was to work for Hanna-Barbera or Disney and I fulfilled them both. I'm very blessed."

An advocate for libraries and literacy, Phil was among the participating cartoonists promoting literacy in children through the arts at last month's "Building a World of Readers, Artists and Dreamers" event at the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library in San Bernardino.

His efforts on behalf of children earned him a certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, presented to him by Assemblyman Joe Baca Jr., D-Rialto.

"I'm just a kid at heart," he says

Covina Library - Volunteer Opportunities

Pat Sullivan:
San Gabriel Valley Tribune: August 2, 2006

Last week I told you about some programs at the Covina Public Library. This week let me tell you about some volunteer opportunities there.

The library has an After School Homework Center where students in at least grade eight with straight As may serve as a peer tutor if they are also on the school's honor toll.

For information on this position, which looks very good on a resume, call the children's librarian at (626) 967-3936.

Tutors are also needed in the literacy program at the library. There are three half-day weekend training sessions that you must attend before being assigned an adult student to work with.

This is a very rewarding volunteer opportunity. Lisa Valore can tell you all you need to know about it so call her at (626) 858-4553 or go online to www.covinaliteracy.org

There are other jobs that need to be done at the library like shelving books and clerical chores. The Friends of the Covina Library could probably do with some help as well.

Volunteer applications can be picked up from the Circulation Desk any time you are at the library.

When I used to work at the Covina Public Library there was a doctor in town who never put his senior citizen patients in to physical therapy. He sent them to the library to shelve books.

If you have never shelved it is quite challenging in some ways and much more interesting than repetitive exercises at the gym. You push, pull, stretch, bend, squat, lift and make other movements that are actually a very good exercise that produces something worthwhile and a sense of satisfaction.

You also meet some very nice people in the library.

Try it, you might like it.

San Diego Public Library - READ San Diego - Adult achievement, literally: Man, 54, learning to read and write

Adult achievement, literally: Man, 54, learning to read and writeSan Diego Union Tribune: July 31, 2006 by David E Graham

Library program pairs illiterate, literate adults

At age 52, John Berry had been a tile layer all his adult life when his company offered him a promotion, but it came with one requirement: He had to promise to learn to read and write.


He resisted, but his bosses at California Tile Co. in Clairemont insisted. So he set about to master those skills most Americans take for granted to assume the duties of an assistant supervisor, guiding crews in myriad indoor and outdoor tiling projects, filling out simple notes and even doing some billing.

“I was excited. . . . I didn't know what to expect,” Berry recalled of his first meeting in September 2004.

He soon realized, “I know this guy's going to help me.”

The two men of disparate backgrounds and means were matched as tutor and student through the San Diego Library's adult literacy program, which pairs hundreds of adults who read and write poorly with volunteer tutors, many working professionals.

As Berry sought a way to keep his word to his employer, someone gave him a pamphlet about the literacy program.

He makes the trip, usually from a work site, to the offices of Solomon, Ward, Seidenwurm & Smith, which occupy the 12th floor of the Wells Fargo Building and boast a commanding view of the bay, surrounded by skyscrapers and Balboa Park. Solomon, 74, is founding partner in the firm.

For one recent lesson, they met in a small, quiet room and for a time talked about spelling, going over a list of words Berry had written in pencil on a single sheet of yellow legal paper. He prefers a pencil, like one he held with a rounded lead tip and worn eraser, because mistakes are easier to correct.

“The eraser is my best friend,” Berry said.

Getting to work

The men open a workbook that has sentences to complete with the correct word, exercises in comparative and superlative adjectives, a page that broaches concepts of comparing and contrasting and another that deals with subject-verb agreement.
Berry struggles as he tries to pronounce a word he doesn't recognize.

“Take it slowly,” Solomon encourages.

Berry tries again, “Whu . . . Whu . . . ,” his mouth drawing rigid as he searches for the pronunciation, then says, “Oh God,” and in apparent frustration tilts his head back. The men work together a moment, and he pronounces the word: “What.”

He has difficulty, still, recognizing a few words starting with “wh”: what, when, where.
To not know why the men are here, one might imagine them thrown together by happenstance, like two people standing together on an airport escalator or catching the same elevator but for different errands on different floors.

Affable and earnest, Berry sits in blue jeans, scuffed, tan work boots and white shirt with his company's logo on the chest. Solomon wears gray dress slacks, a crisp white shirt, a dark tie and black dress shoes that would fit at the socials and fundraisers he attended when he was chairman of the board for the San Diego Symphony.

Solomon offers a succinct answer to why he tutors: “It gives me an opportunity, in a small way, to contribute to the solution of one our great social problems.”

Berry continues reading words from the workbook, haltingly, a few he recognizes then one he slows upon. He misses a word, but pronounces instead a word he knows that looks similar.

“You're guessing, aren't you?” Solomon interjects. “That's how he's gotten through his life. It looks like something.”

Getting by

Indeed, Berry has learned to recognize enough key words and symbols to get by, such as restroom signs. He took his DMV exam orally and memorized words to use in his work. Also, his work at grouting tile and setting up materials for a job involves numbers more than reading, he said, adding to its attraction. “There was very little reading in tile,” he said.

Berry, who has two adult daughters, communicates efficiently when he speaks and takes care of himself and his family. He just never mastered the mechanics of reading and writing: phonics – the sounding out of written words – as well as the rules of grammar and syntax and their nuances.

Guessing, and some pride, sometimes created difficult circumstances for him, such as a couple years ago when he leased a pickup truck without understanding the contract, with its extra fees for excessive mileage and for returning it early. He still is paying off a $13,000 debt the deal left him with. He wanted the truck so much he got it the same day, and when presented the contract, he couldn't understand it but just kept turning pages.

“I just skipped through it and pretended I was reading it,” Berry said. “I always did things myself. I hated to ask for help.”

Growing up in Chula Vista, he was thought to be a slow learner and was placed in some special eduction classes at Bonita Vista High School. He did not receive much encouragement at home.

He realized the way to move through school was to “keep my mouth shut.” He received a certificate of attendance.

In a situation in which it's apparent he can't read well, people often look disparagingly at him. “They think you're stupid,” he said.

It's clear he's not. He just has problems reading.

Berry and Solomon say he has progressed to about a fourth-or fifth-grade level on a journey that started, Berry notes, with his mastering the alphabet.

“I can read now for the first time in my life,” Berry said. “Now I'm reading.”

On the job, he reads short notes and road signs, whereas in the past he relied on landmarks for directions. But mostly his supervisory duties involve checking that work is done correctly and planning what will be needed for large projects, perhaps a condominium construction. More important, perhaps, he believes he can express himself better in meetings at work.

“When I walk into a job, I feel just a little bit different, a little more confident in myself,” Berry said.

Of Solomon, he says now, “He's like my dad.” Berry said the relationship has grown so that he even seeks advice during class on occasional personal problems. Solomon regards his efforts here as a way to help a single person.

And now that Berry's working his way up the reading ladder, he has some ambitions beyond reading a little at work.

“I want to sit and read a newspaper,” Berry said.

“Without knowledge, your world is black. You gotta have knowledge.”

After newspapers, some books.

“I want to sit in my chair and go around the world. You can travel around the world in books. I want to learn about the world.”

Photo: Herb Solomon (right) explained a rule of phonetics to John Berry, whom Solomon has been teaching to read and write for a year and a half. Since the offer two years ago, Berry, now 54, has driven twice a week to a downtown San Diego skyscraper, where he meets with attorney Herbert Solomon, who volunteers three hours a week to teach Berry to read.

Ventura Co Library - As easy as ABC?

As easy as ABC?VCReporter: July 20, 2006 by Stacey Wiebe

For one in four Americans, reading and writing is an almost insurmountable challenge. But, with the help of people like Neill Robinson, no one is without hope.

After Lucy Newman lost her baby, holding on to the maternity clothes she no longer needed was just another painful pinprick of constant, needling loss. When she went to the department store to return the clothes, she approached a woman she assumed was Mexican and, in Spanish, asked her for help.

“She goes ‘Excuse me? Where do we live?’ ” Lucy says from a chair in her Ventura home, where a pudgy Chihuahua named Princess is sealed to her lap like a barnacle. Though Lucy’s English is nearly perfect, her words are framed by a thick, Mexican accent. “She said, ‘We live in the United States. We have to speak English.’ She didn’t ask what I needed.”

Before Lucy, now 47, moved to the United States at 21, she didn’t know that the monolithic country to the north — the one that she now calls home — even existed. One of 12 children born and raised in Jalisco, Lucy was never enrolled in school and arrived on American soil unable to write Spanish and unable to speak and write English. “I didn’t know anything when I came to the United States,” she says. “It was like a dream. I never thought I was going to be here.”

Though Lucy eventually sought instruction and tutoring in English from the Ventura County Library Adult Literacy Program, her first decade in the United States was a struggle. When she needed a box of cereal, she would peruse the grocery store aisles in search of a box that matched the last one she bought. For her, it was all about color. The words on the boxes were mysterious, meaningless symbols.

“For the longest time in my life, I felt handicapped,” she says. Upon arriving in the United States, Lucy went to work in Oxnard for a friend for $40 a week and room and board, cooking, cleaning and caring for two little girls. Her mother remained in Mexico and her father, as he had done for many years, traveled back and forth between Mexico and the United States to work in the fields.

Lucy appealed to others to help her write letters to her mother. When she was about 23, she married Alfredo, a bilingual man who was born in Mexico but raised in the United States with his American-born mother. “I was begging Alfredo to please help me learn English,” Lucy says. “I told him, ‘I need you to stay with the kids so I can go to school.’ He said it was impossible for me. He didn’t even want me to learn how to drive. I had to learn myself.”

Lucy continued to beg Alfredo to let her attend school. “One day, I begged him to write a letter for me to my parents,” she says. “He said that the way you speak Spanish is the way that you write it — but I didn’t even know the alphabet.”

When Lucy’s eldest son was 5, she attempted to enroll him in kindergarten and struggled through an awkward conversation in which she was able to get her point across to the school’s secretary. “My surprise was like, ‘Oh, nobody speaks Spanish,’ ” she says. “All my friends spoke Spanish and it was just really hard.” It was then, at the age of 32 and after more than a decade in the United States, that Lucy decided she had to learn English.

Lucy eventually divorced Alfredo and married Jim Newman, a man she met while working as a janitor in Oxnard. It was he who encouraged her to take classes in English and, though he spoke no Spanish and she spoke no English, the recently divorced mother of two and the recently divorced electrician hit it off instantly.

“When I met Jim, a lot of times we would go to the dictionary,” Lucy says with a grin. “He was asking me questions and I didn’t know how to answer back … My father-in-law says, ‘When we first met you, you wouldn’t start talking. Now, you can’t stop talking.’” Before finally being able to speak English with confidence, Lucy went through various phases of understanding. For a time, she could understand but not speak English and still struggles with reading and writing in English — but is determined to keep learning.

“If I had the chance when I was growing up to go to school, I could be somebody,” she says. “It didn’t happen — but I’ll take advantage of what I can now.”

It is hard to imagine that Lucy — vibrant, excited and full of mile-a-minute words — was ever at a loss for them. She wed Jim 16 years ago and the pair have two children — a boy and a girl, ages 15 and 11. The two children from Lucy’s previous marriage, another son and daughter, are 21 and 19. In the 16 years since Lucy began studying English, she has been embraced by staff at the Ventura County Library Adult Literacy Program, where she was first tutored by a woman named Joyce Miller, who has since passed away, and Neill Robinson, who has been her tutor for the past few years.

Though she credits her husband with encouraging her to learn and become literate in English, it’s unlikely there is anyone who sings Lucy’s praises more loudly than Robinson, an AmeriCorps volunteer with the adult literacy program who is clearly inspired by his pupil’s progress.

As an AmeriCorps volunteer, Robinson, who retired four years ago after working for the Southern Bell Corp. for 34 years, is one of about 70,000 Americans in a network of service programs that help fulfill the nation’s needs in education, public safety, health and the environment. He meets with Lucy on Wednesday nights, after she attends Bible study.

“She’s one of our best advocates,” Robinson says of Lucy. “I feel fortunate to be able to work with her. That’s why I went into retirement early — to be able to help others with their challenges.”

Robinson’s eyes tear up as he speaks of Lucy’s success. He describes her as “assertive, smart and with it” and adds, “She has no problem with self esteem at all.” He considers her success in a statewide contest for those learning to read and write a phenomenal accomplishment. Lucy wrote a letter to Anne Frank, about whom she and Robinson had been reading, and placed in the contest over countless other entries. “She didn’t have a clue about anything,” Robinson says. “She wouldn’t even talk on the phone — but look at her now.”

Square one

Lucy isn’t unlike most people who make their way through the door of the Ventura County Library Adult Literacy Program.

Carol Chapman, manager of the program, notes that, while many might guess that the county’s illiterate population is comprised of mostly Spanish speakers from Mexico, the truth is that they hail from all over the globe.

Close to 25 percent are Spanish speakers, but only 14 percent are from Mexico; others are natives of Nicaragua, Argentina, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and various European countries. Still, one of the most common myths about illiteracy is that it isn’t as prevalent among people born in the United States. Last year, Chapman said, 54 percent of illiterate subjects who utilized the program were American-born.

“One in every four adults is illiterate,” Chapman says. “That’s the statistic. If you were at a concert and every fourth person stood up? That’s a lot of people.”

For the illiterate, finding the strength to ask for help can be a crippling challenge. While some simply aren’t aware of the resources that exist, some are too embarrassed, ashamed or afraid to reach out. Additionally, if those people are “getting by,” they might not feel there’s enough need to make the effort. “There are people who can’t do some of the things they want to do — like read to their grandchildren,” Robinson says, “but they own their own businesses because they get help from their spouses.”

Chapman and Robinson know many stories about how the seemingly inconsequential things in life can make or break an average day for someone who cannot read. Illiteracy can strain any relationship — be it marital, parent-child, sibling or friendship — in which one person must rely heavily on another and, Robinson says, “That’s a situation where, if you were married and got divorced, it would ruin your life.”

It can seem inexplicable that anyone born and raised in the United States is illiterate, but, Chapman says, it’s easier to fall through the educational cracks than one might guess. Many of the program’s students can read at a third- or fourth-grade level, but “the leap to multi-syllable words was never made.”

The Ventura County Library Adult Literacy Program, with sites in Ventura, Simi Valley, Camarillo, the California Youth Authority and both county jails, offers free one-on-one tutoring for English-speaking adults, which includes English-language learners who can communicate well enough in English to receive tutoring; the Families for Literacy program, which offers free tutoring for adults with children under 5 and who need help getting those children prepared for school; and the English Language Literacy program, for immigrant families with children enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade. It’s Chapman’s hope that the program will be awarded a grant to fund instruction for adults regardless of whether they have school-aged children.

The program, which is 21 years old, currently serves about 200 people in the one-on-one tutoring alone.

If you were to stroll into any of the program’s tutoring sites and take a glance around the room to guess who are the students and who are the teachers among the pairs of people huddled together, well, you’d have a hard time of it. Some of the students arrive straight from work, dressed smartly in business wear. Some look like soccer moms. Some drive to distant tutoring sites to make sure they won’t bump into anyone they know.

It can be hardest for the average American raised speaking and writing English to seek the help that is needed. “Your person learning English has a very good excuse to seek tutoring,” Chapman says. “They don’t have to be ashamed, and the shame that goes along with being illiterate is awful for people.”

Expectations and pressures can exacerbate the shame to the point that some must take action to achieve the freedom they crave, but others continue to avoid the subject altogether. “People get tired of hearing, ‘Read to your children, read to your children,’ ” Chapman says. “Well, they can’t read to their kids and it makes them feel terrible.”

Back to the drawing board

The bottom line is that literacy doesn’t have as much to do with intelligence as is commonly believed.

While Chapman and Robinson — and Lucy, for that matter — admit that learning to read and write as an adult can be much more challenging than it is for children, adults bring life experience and a broad range of knowledge to the table. “Parts of it are harder and parts of it are easier — but the nice thing about working with adults is, they have experience and they have vocabulary. When you’re tutoring a child, you have to create that knowledge.”

The first three years of a child’s development are critical, and the first seven are optimal for squeezing in the greatest amount of that critical knowledge, says Chapman, who explains that the building blocks for literacy begin younger than we might guess. Chapman recently observed that 13 students from a class of 30 kindergartners didn’t know colors or numbers and that many kindergartners the following year didn’t know colors, numbers or body parts — in Spanish or English. Standard interplay between adults and babies usually includes the teaching, at the very least, of body parts. Some of the first words babies learn are the names for their facial features and extremities. “If someone played with you as a baby, or if you watched someone else play with a baby, you know what to do.”

The increasing use of TV as a “babysitter,” paired with a lack of interaction with parents, could be precursors to a lack of general knowledge by the time a child reaches school age. “The television doesn’t teach language,” Chapman, a former teacher, says. “Language has to be reciprocal.”

With lack of stimulation on the home front, kids who are already behind often slide through the cracks in school because they don’t get any help at home. If such children also have one or more learning disabilities, they fall behind even more quickly. “So many kids are bright but have a visual perception problem or an auditory perception problem,” says Chapman.

Such was likely the case with the late, great golfer George Archer — who kept his illiteracy a secret from everyone but his wife and daughters over the course of his stellar career. Archer had a difficult childhood and what his wife describes as a “mental block” about reading, but she also told the San Francisco Chronicle that he’d likely be diagnosed today with “severe dyslexia and a nonverbal learning disability.” Still, he was gifted with a great spatial intelligence that made him a natural on the golf course. Archer is widely regarded as one of the best putters in PGA tour history.

“We’re all disabled in that none of us know anything perfectly,” says Robinson, who explains that differences in learning styles are largely responsible for the damaging stigma surrounding illiteracy.

Two children with the same intelligence quotient may receive identical scores on an I.Q. test, but one of the children may take twice as long to finish the test. It simply takes some people a little longer to grasp concepts because of their individual comprehension processes. Some people grasp concepts quickly by listening to a lecture, while others have to take notes or watch videos before the ideas fully sink in. It’s also widely believed that most people have stronger skills in either math or language arts. It’s true, Chapman says, that a lot of people have a knack for one set of skills or the other, but differences in learning styles can make all the difference in some cases.

Students with forms of delayed auditory perception are always at least a couple of minutes behind everyone else in class. Those minutes add up quickly and can lead to illiteracy. “Up to a point, it’s about strengths and weaknesses,” Chapman says. “If I was judged on baseball, I would be the most learning disabled person on the planet.”

Strengths and weaknesses are individual qualities that don’t interfere with life in the classroom, while learning disabilities make for constant struggle.

In one-on-one tutoring, tutors like Robinson can focus on learning disabilities and the weaknesses of students. “We can pick up on the pattern of the kind of mistake being made and focus on the one thing that would make the most difference,” Robinson says.

In addition to his work with Lucy, Robinson and his wife, Mary, a preschool teacher, entertain and educate little ones through the literacy program’s family-based programming. The pair act as minstrels and participate in sing alongs with the children. “It gets the kids involved in singing and storytelling,” he says, “but a lot of times the parents are with them. We also target the adults.”

“Low-literate parents, if they don’t have the skill of reading, don’t know what to do to get their kids ready for school,” Chapman says. “Our goal is teaching the parents.”

Stick-to-it-iveness

Lucy had to take a break from tutoring sessions when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35. It’s hard to imagine her, so outspoken and crackling with health, knocked out by illness. But she came back — and she’s been in the literacy program, off and on, for about 12 years.

She became a citizen and took college courses in Spanish and computer literacy. “They’re pushing me for my GED [General Education Development],” she says with a wide grin. “I’m a little behind because I have to do math.” Despite whatever challenges may lie ahead, for Lucy — a woman who had never attended a day of school in her life — the race is already won. “Now I can read a recipe, cook with a recipe,” she says. “I feel so good. I don’t feel handicapped anymore. It’s like I was blind and now I can see. It’s like a new world. For me, it’s something wonderful.”

Lucy credits Miller and Robinson for their encouragement. “One of the things Joyce told me was, ‘Lucy, you are learning a lot. You may not think so, but you are.’ And that’s also what Neill tells me.”

Miller once brought Lucy an article about a 105-year-old man who learned to read late in life and eventually wrote a book about his experiences. Lucy may decide to do the same. “Learning makes you a better person,” she says. “I have had a very interesting life — and I have learned a lot of things.”

Photo: Robinson sings to a group of kids as part of the Ventura County Library Adult Literacy Program.

San Bernardino Public Library - Cartoonists coming to town to boost literacy

Cartoonists coming to town to boost literacySan Bernardino County Sun: July 13, 2006 by Michel Nolan

Cartoonist Phil Yeh hopes to draw a crowd this weekend at San Bernardino's Norman F. Feldheym Central Library. 

Yeh is creator of the befuddled Patrick Rabbit and a menagerie of witty dinosaurs and other wise and wonderful critters.

He is also a passionate children's literacy advocate.

The 51-year-old Santa Maria resident, president of Cartoonists Across America, channels his high energy into inspiring kids to read. Cartoonists Across America will promote literacy and the arts by painting colorful murals on the San Bernardino Public Library's truck and van Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend event calls for famous artists to work side by side with local kids. Everyone is invited to participate.

Library vehicles will be transformed into giant works of mobile art. It'll take several famous artists to make the Van Gogh.

Yeh (pronounced yeah) is the catalyst for the event, "Building a World of Readers, Artists and Dreamers," set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Most artists will appear at Saturday's festivities.

"The whole idea is to use cartoons and humor to show kids that reading can be fun," says Yeh, who has penned 86 books.

Wearing his trademark battered cowboy hat, the artist has covered more than 1 million miles, crisscrossing the United States, Europe and Asia with his cartoonist cohorts, encouraging kids to love books.

It is Yeh's thought that cartoons can be used to actually inspire people of all ages to read. The artists that comprise the Cartoonists Across America and the World organization have toured the globe, painting more than 1,500 colorful murals, speaking at schools, libraries, museums and conferences.

"I've talked to presidents' wives, governors and mayors, and they've all told me they read comics when they first started reading. They would read Superman or Archie comics and then progress to books," Yeh says.

"I want us to make San Bernardino a city of readers and let other cities catch up to San Bernardino. I'm here to help that happen," says Yeh, adding that he'd like to issue a challenge.

"I'd like to challenge famous people to step up for the kids. If this event is successful, why can't writers, artists, actors, musicians, directors, cartoonists stop in San Bernardino on the way to Las Vegas or Palm Springs? They could stop at the library and talk to people about their craft. It could change a young person's life."

Lead artists Yeh and Klaus Leven will be joined by "The Simpsons" cartoonist, Phil Ortiz of Lake Arrowhead.

"Kids have different tastes but they need to find some sort of reading source to spark or jump-start their interest in reading," says Ortiz, who revealed he will be painting his favorite Simpsons character on the van.

"I've painted murals in the past," Ortiz says. "Cartooning animation is something I've chased all my life."

The weekend event also includes family fun with children's authors, live entertainment, food, local celebrities and a remote broadcast by KOLA-FM (99.9). Live entertainment includes an appearance by the Inland Empire 66ers dancers and mascot.

Local bands Live Unity, Deluge and Dionysos will play a musical mix from hip-hop to new age.

Other event artists include George Gladir, Archie comics writer and creator of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and Matt Lorentz, artist for Tony Hawk and No Fear product line, as well as Jim Gilbert, host of "Cartoon Factory."

Authors and cartoonists will speak or participate in presentations in the library's Bing Wong Auditorium throughout the day. They also will be selling and autographing their books and comics in the lobby. Cartoonists Across America will give out free comics. The City of Readers will give out free books.

Yeh's book, "Theo the Dinosaur," is a story for all ages, a kid-friendly tale told in a series of colorful cartoon oil paintings that have been shown in galleries across the country. The book is filled with prehistoric and pithy admonitions pearls like "Read, Rock and Recycle. Avoid Extinction."

Yeh believes that taking comic books away from kids has contributed to illiteracy.

"With no comic books, you're not offering kids the natural progression before they start to read chapter books," he says. "The pictures help them if they don't understand the words."

Even beyond literacy, the young-adult coordinator for the library, Linda Adams, says the event is also aimed at stemming the tide of violence in the community.

Adams recalls former Police Chief Garrett Zimmon's quote about how difficult it is to hold a gun in your hand while holding a book.

"An event like this motivates and encourages kids to be creative and get out and do something they're interested in," Adams says.

"In reality, the library is not just about books, but the whole world of music, art and culture. It's positive and creative."

For more information about Cartoonists Across America, call 909-725-7337.

Monrovia Library - Authors Fair A Success Story for Monrovia

Authors Fair A Success Story for Monrovia
Arcadia Weekly: June 5, 2006 by Liset Marquez

Despite the heat Monrovians and book readers alike came out to enjoy the Author and Community Service Fair at Library Park that was presented by the Monrovia Library and Mystic Sisters Bookstore.

One of the real crowd pleasers was pro wrestling star and author, Diamond Dallas Page who was the keynote speaker.

Page who showed off his world heavy weight title during his speech emphasized the importance of reading. At the age of 30, Page told the crowd he had a third grade reading level and as a child he battled ADD and dyslexia.

Page told the crowd he was determined to read a book so he broke it down into goals was able to complete the book in a year. He is now the author of two books.

Melanie Goodyear, Literacy coordinator at Monrovia Library, said Page was a real inspiration to the entire audience.

"As a former pro wrestler he definitely put on a good show, he got everybody excited and he was really inspirational," she said. "A lot of our adult learners were here in the audience and they all walked up him and gave him a hug afterwards."

Goodyear said the adult learners shared their experiences with him.

"His theory is that 10 percent of what happens to you in life is other external stuff you can't control. The other 90 percent is what make of it," Goodyear

FAIR said. "It's about how he's overcome his adversity in life by controlling what he thinks, having positive relationships and being physically fit."

Goodyear said Page's message helps promote the adult literacy program the Monrovia library operates, which is the only one in the surrounding cities.

But Page's message was just one of many expressed by the more than 20 authors that spoke at the fair.

Abel Flores of Azusa sat in on an inspirational panel discussion and said it was nice that the authors were there to talk about their books.

"You actually figure out what they're thinking when they were writing the book," he said.

Tina Carey, owner of Mystic Sisters, said the fair is a fundraiser for the library with a percentage of sales of the books going towards the Monrovia Library.

She said that she started talking with the library about creating an author fair in February. The bookstore also hosts two other fairs, one in Duarte, and Diamond Bar.

"When you're doing it for the first time you always want more people but it takes time to build roots," Carey said.

Both Goodyear and Carey said there is discussion to make the fair an annual event. Carey said one thing she would love to see is more children engaged in the event.

"We partnered with the library to get out the message- to the community- what resources it has to offer," she said.

Carey said that she opened her bookstore, which is located down the street from the library, with intentions for the authors to connect with the readers.

"Part of the purpose of the bookstore is to create a community," she said.

Carey said it is obvious that the library needs funding.

"It's such an interesting time, Monrovia Library needs funds to be expanded," she said.

Carey said she hopes events like the fair could help strengthen support for the friends of the library club.