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Monday, October 26, 2015

Literacy Volunteers Needed

                                   Literacy Volunteers Needed
By Albert B. Kelly

There are many ways to measure quality of life, some measure it by how much wealth they have while others measure quality of life by how healthy they feel. Still others measure quality of life by the work that they do or by their possessions. For me, quality of life is measured in more basic terms and what I mean by that is how well-equipped people are to reach their full potential.

In that sense, it’s all about the toolkit we move through our lives with (or not) and for me one basic tool is literacy, the ability to read and write- understand and communicate. I say that because as I think about the big picture and how to empower people, I note that most folks don’t expect success to be handed to them, but they do ask for a level playing field and fair shot to reach for things on their own.

So what does a level playing field look like for them? It is the ability to read and understand and apply what they’ve learned. This is literacy and it is foundational. If children and adults are highly literate, the world is open to them and anything is possible. If children and adults are semiliterate or illiterate, then most everything is closed to them.

We often talk about crime and crime prevention. Literacy should always be a part of those conversations because it has been my experience that the one thing America’s inmates, and soon-to-be inmates, have in common are staggering rates of illiteracy. Is it any surprise that crime flourishes when grown men can only read and comprehend on second grade level?

Show me several generations of a family in poverty and it’s a good bet that they’ve also passed down illiteracy through their generations among other things. Of course if you want a real scandal, it is the growing numbers of “student-athletes” being recruited by Division I colleges for their athletic programs who can barely read and write on a 3rd or 4th grade level.

Somewhere along the way from junior high school, to high school, and ultimately college, educators passed these student-athletes along in the system so they could play ball, while never insisting that they gain the necessary skills to function off the field. It is its own form of exploitation but that’s a whole separate topic for another day.

For now it is enough that one of the best gifts you can give a child, or an adult for that matter, is the gift of literacy. That is why the work being done by the Literacy Volunteers of Salem/Cumberland (via Gateway Community Action Partnership) is so important and necessary.

They train volunteers to become literacy tutors. In fact, since 2010, they have trained over 130 volunteer tutors and matched them with no less than 275 learners - no small thing. Their work is especially timely in light of the recently released PARCC scores (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam).

If you missed the results, they are troubling. In the area of literacy and language arts, approximately half the students are below where they should be. The test measured ability while assigning corresponding grades such as “not meeting expectations”, “partially meeting expectations”, and “approaching expectations”.

To my way of thinking, the “grades” don’t really convey the urgency of the matter- namely that 50% of students around the state are behind and it gets worse in grades 9, 10, and 11 with the percentage of students behind coming in at 61%, 64%, and 60% respectively.

The bottom line is that we need to help our students (and adults) to be literate, capable, and self-sufficient and ensuring literacy is the key to making that happen; which is why becoming a literacy volunteer tutor is a noble and righteous thing if you’re willing to consider it.

The requirements are simple, you must be 18 years of age or older with a high school diploma and be willing to receive the 15 hours of training the Literacy Volunteers of Salem/Cumberland will provide. Once you complete the training, you would be matched with an individual learner in your area. Generally volunteers meet with their learner for 1-2 hours a week in a public place like a library.

If you would be willing to become a literacy volunteer, please contact the Literacy Volunteers of Salem/Cumberland at (856) 497-6645 to find out how to get started or visit literacy@gatewaycap.org