Literacy and the Pursuit of HappinessOC Register: Jan 24, 2007 by Jenny Sokol
Antonio (Tone) Correa will be 98 next month and the man shows no sign of slowing down. Why should he? "I'm busy," the Orange resident explains. "It's what keeps me young."
Busy indeed. Correa drives himself to the senior center where he loves to dance. He's writing three books. In his spare time, Correa volunteers with READ Orange County, the adult literacy program of the Orange County Public Library.
Bob West, outreach volunteer coordinator for READ/OC, estimates that Correa has spent well over 2,000 hours teaching 40 adults to read and write in the past decade.
An estimated 350,000 to 450,000 people in Orange County, and one in every five adults nationwide, are considered functionally illiterate. READ/OC works to reduce those numbers with its confidential, no-cost tutoring program.
Programs offered include Families for Literacy, where parents learn alongside their preschool-age children; Working for Inmate Literacy Now, where prisoners in O.C. jails hone their literacy skills; and English Language and Civics Education, where nonnative English speakers cover subjects ranging from nutrition to employment skills.
As for Correa's students, a few are learning English as a second language. "I tutor a Korean student who wants help with pronunciation," Correa says. At one time, Correa worked with a 72-year-old man who couldn't read or write but was finally ready to learn.
Currently, Correa tutors four learners twice a week, for a total of 16 weekly volunteer hours. "I'm just interested in helping," says Correa.
"See, I'm retired," he explains. "I take it easy. I don't worry about a thing. But as long as there are people who need help, I'll help." READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment