At 70, the joy of writing holiday letters for first timeRecordNet: Dec 20, 2008 by Tony Sauro
Joe Valles already has received a joyful Christmas gift. The 70-year-old Stockton resident finally was able to write a letter to his 9-year-old granddaughter in Crawley, Texas.
"It feels great," said Valles, a retired longshoreman who was able to achieve his goal after being tutored weekly since June in the Stockton-San Joaquin County Library's adult literacy program. "I'm confident in my writing."
Valles proudly is sending Christmas cards to all nine of his grandchildren. "Our goal was for him to write his first letter by Christmas," said Christina Cordova, 42, a Stockton mother of four who was Valles' tutor at Cesar Chavez Central Library. "It's the first letter he's ever written. It's so awesome. My kids think it's awesome, too. We wanted him to be able to read his own prescription labels, checks and mail."
"She gave me lots of homework," said Valles, whose wife of 42 years, Angelina, an Edison High School graduate, also encouraged him.
"It's funny," he said. "I kidded around, saying I was gonna write a book as soon as I learn to write."
Valles met Cordova when he took his 8-year-old granddaughter, Isabella, to a swimming lesson.
Valles, a father of three who was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, moved to Stockton with his migrant farm worker family when he was four. He only finished the third grade.
"I could read, more or less a little bit, but I couldn't write," Valles said. "Now I can read the newspaper, but I've still got a lot to learn. I thought I could never do this."
He's an inspiring example of what such literacy programs can achieve.
"The program is going good," said Anne Turner, a library assistant in the literacy and outreach department at Cesar Chavez. "It's evolving. We're seeing progress. It's been great. We're getting more students and tutors, but we would like more volunteers." READ MORE
"It feels great," said Valles, a retired longshoreman who was able to achieve his goal after being tutored weekly since June in the Stockton-San Joaquin County Library's adult literacy program. "I'm confident in my writing."
Valles proudly is sending Christmas cards to all nine of his grandchildren. "Our goal was for him to write his first letter by Christmas," said Christina Cordova, 42, a Stockton mother of four who was Valles' tutor at Cesar Chavez Central Library. "It's the first letter he's ever written. It's so awesome. My kids think it's awesome, too. We wanted him to be able to read his own prescription labels, checks and mail."
"She gave me lots of homework," said Valles, whose wife of 42 years, Angelina, an Edison High School graduate, also encouraged him.
"It's funny," he said. "I kidded around, saying I was gonna write a book as soon as I learn to write."
Valles met Cordova when he took his 8-year-old granddaughter, Isabella, to a swimming lesson.
Valles, a father of three who was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, moved to Stockton with his migrant farm worker family when he was four. He only finished the third grade.
"I could read, more or less a little bit, but I couldn't write," Valles said. "Now I can read the newspaper, but I've still got a lot to learn. I thought I could never do this."
He's an inspiring example of what such literacy programs can achieve.
"The program is going good," said Anne Turner, a library assistant in the literacy and outreach department at Cesar Chavez. "It's evolving. We're seeing progress. It's been great. We're getting more students and tutors, but we would like more volunteers." READ MORE
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