Literacy program rewarding for tutors, learnersNorth County Times: 9.20.2011 by Lola Sherman
About 1,200 people have been helped by Oceanside Reads literacy center since it opened 14 years ago.
On a recent day at the center, tutor Mary Lou Elliott and learner Mei Tran discussed the grammatical differences between "who" and "whom," while tutor Robin Ferencz-Kotfica helped Arturo Lopez put information into an email file and send it.
English isn't the first language for Tran, who is from Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Arturo, who hails from Oaxaca, Mexico, but the program is not necessarily geared to non-native speakers.
Learners have to be able to communicate in English. About half of them over the years have been native English speakers, according to Corrie Miles, the program's director. They simply never learned to read and write in their own language.
Elliott recalled a learner who had been in prison for a long time and came out wanting to learn to read.
She also remembers the thrill that a learner expressed when he called to say how excited he was when he went into a public bathroom and realized he could read the words "wet floor" on a sign and knew what they meant.
Miles said many students have high-school diplomas, having been "socially promoted" through the school system perhaps 20 to 30 years earlier.
Elliott has been a tutor for nine years and Ferencz-Kotfica for three, including two years in New York where she learned how much she liked it.
Generally, Miles said, tutoring sessions run for 90 minutes twice a week when the center is open: from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays.
As with all other library programs, hours have been cut due to budget constraints. READ MORE !
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