Otis goes to the third grade gifted class at 24th Street Elementary School. Just yesterday, he asked his teacher if he could start doing fifth grade assignments (fourth grade work was beginning to bore him.) Above that, he recently scored 100% on the standardized state tests for language arts and math.
It hasn’t always been like this. His mom certainly wasn’t used to hearing such positive news from his teachers. The Guyana native has to work two jobs and “doesn’t have a lot of time to hang around with us,” as Otis explains. He used to get into fistfights and wasn’t able to control his temper, was always tired and bored, and had difficulties getting engaged in his homework.
Otis’ mom then decided that something had to be done about her son’s problems and sent him to the Center for LifeLong Learners, a community based organization providing children’s literacy programs close to his home and school. He now goes there almost every day after school, does his homework, plays with his friends, and reads books. When he grows up, the eight year old Otis wants to be an astronaut; then again, maybe a wild animal trainer. After all, he’s specifically interested in all exotic cross breeds between tigers and lions – ligers, tigons, you name it. He describes his favorite animals as “ferocious, big, fierce, and vicious” – not too bad a vocabulary for a third grader. It certainly demonstrates that he now likes to read books, and a lot of them. The last book he borrowed from the Center was on dinosaurs, but he’s quick to explain that these are by far not the only extinct animals. There also are “mastodons, butterflies in the sea, ancestral troglodytes” and many more according to Otis. In the Center and its after school and homework assistance programs, this extremely bright and well-spoken boy has found a home away from home, where his academic growth is nurtured in a very supportive and stimulating environment. And in addition to that, he knows: “I can always knock on Ms. Toni’s (Antoinette Laudermilk, the Center’s director) door and tell her good or bad news – she is part of my family and helps me too – I really like the Center and I’m really glad it was built.”
Darin French has been volunteering as a tutor at Belmont Adult School in Los Angeles for six months. Looking for an opportunity to volunteer, he found the Literacy Network online, went through the three-hour training, and was quickly placed at Belmont. He mainly works with ESL learners who have nearly completed their ESL studies. These students attend a bridge class, which leads into high school level curriculum – they are on their way to getting their high school diploma/GED. For the most part, the students read and ask questions – Darin and his tutees usually focus specifically on improving reading comprehension. He certainly is helping his students learn and study more effectively, but at the same time the teaching experience has been rewarding for him personally. In fact, as Darin explains, “when you start to see the progress, it’s really fun.” On a more serious level, he says, “tutoring at the adult school really makes me appreciate what I have, where I come from, and having this ability. The students really have a drive; they come in after work, exhausted, to do this. It makes me realize how I’ve taken for granted something these guys work really hard for.”
For Darin, who received his Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science at UCLA and who originally wanted to be a high school teacher, being exposed to the field of adult education has been a revelation. “I didn’t really know adult education existed,” he explains. Now this is precisely what he will be dedicating himself to not only as a volunteer, but professionally as well, as a teacher. Darin just received his ESL and academic teaching credential and is looking forward to starting as a substitute teacher at Belmont Adult School soon. Adult education has an added advantage, as he explains, “there aren’t any discipline problems and the students are very motivated.” Darin hasn’t only enjoyed tutoring the students, but has had the pleasure to work with the school’s entire staff and administration. As he says, “there’s such a need for the work the adult schools do, and there is such a passion for it – everyone who works there is totally passionate about the work – that’s been a really positive experience.”
Johnathon Wong teaches GED courses, English Conversation, and Citizenship classes at Wilson-Lincoln Community Adult School in Los Angeles. Very popular citizenship classes – some students even come to the Chinatown Branch Library site for the class from as far away as Manhattan Beach. One memorable learner came from Pacific Palisades – which meant, getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning and taking three different buses. Johnathon grew up in Chinatown and is perfectly bilingual in English and Cantonese – which is helpful, considering that his classes are made up almost entirely of students originally from China and Taiwan.
News of his class travels only by word of mouth, but that is more than enough. Literally pressing their faces against the glass doors, students line up in the morning before the library has opened, eagerly awaiting their favorite teacher. As Johnathon explains with a laugh, “I’ve actually had to develop some crowd control skills. I had to start arriving early, because students start pushing and knocking on the closed doors. It can almost be a little bit dangerous when the enthusiastic students rush for class once the doors open.” Once, a new assistant librarian not familiar with the students’ thirst for knowledge was scared to open the door seeing a crowd ready to charge.
This high level of motivation is obvious during class as well. Even with large groups averaging 60 learners, Johnathon explains, “it’s great, the students are so eager to learn, you can hear a pin drop during dictation.” He is especially proud of the success rate – more than 90% pass the citizenship test. The students are very grateful – their teacher usually can’t avoid being treated to lunch. Other students bring small gifts for Johnathon, like candy from a man who just passed the test today. The sentiment isn’t one sided – Johnathon enjoys teaching: “it’s a fun and fulfilling job – I feel committed to my students. There is 100% attendance. Even during a tsunami, I’d have at least 15 students waiting here for me. I cannot miss a class. They come such long ways for it and they’re here – I don’t really like to subject them to a sub. I have the feeling they come here to see a show, I see it like an entertainer.” So he tries to keep the lessons fresh and fun, even though the differences in levels are a big challenge. The students seem to think he’s mastered it – and the high test passing rate speaks for itself.
Alma Soto works as a janitor at a large warehousing company in Compton. She is originally from Michoacán, Mexico, but has lived in Los Angeles for more than 30 years. Nonetheless, she has never learned a lot of English. Being a single mom and working full time, she never had the spare time or energy to take an English class. Over all these years, wherever she worked, Spanish usually was the lingua franca, and learning English never really seemed necessary. Nevertheless, she was eager to participate in and very much enjoyed the Workplace Literacy Training conducted by the Literacy Network at her company, Price Transfer, this year. As a consequence, Alma is now filled with an enormous sense of motivation and possibility. In fact, she has started taking ESL classes at her local adult school four times a week. Having only reached ninth grade in her native Mexico, she is thrilled to continue her education now, even if it is decades later. However, learning English is not her only goal. She knows what type of computer classes are offered at the adult school, and is already planning ahead for her next class. With her children grown and living far away now, she would love to be able to stay in touch with them via e-mail. But at the moment, learning English is still her number one priority. Chiefly, she wants to be able to communicate better on the job. Filling out forms and participating in important conversations with non-Spanish speakers (at doctor’s appointments for example) is very difficult – especially now that her bilingual children aren’t here to translate for her any more. The fact that her company gave her the opportunity to participate in a workforce literacy class made Alma feel very good, appreciated. As a janitor with extremely limited English skills, she feels invisible most of the time. Participating in this class has shown her that she is a valued employee. With gratitude she explains, “es una buena compañía” – it is a good company. On a personal level she says that if she hadn’t taken the workforce literacy class, she never would have had the courage to actually enroll in her adult school. As for so many years, she would have continued to put it off for yet another day – but now she is ready, eager to learn, and excited about all the possibilities. The class didn’t just motivate her; it confirmed the fact that a 60-year old grandmother is perfectly capable of continuing her education.
The first book Sanchez Shockley read cover to cover was Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – that was when he was 44 years old. Now, eight years later, he recounts the story leading up to this accomplishment. Placed in a special education class in elementary school, Sanchez was promoted throughout the following years. He left high school with a diploma, but without being able to read or write. He remembers his mother telling him “you can’t read well – go into the army.” Not following that particular piece of advice, he chose to dedicate himself to fashion design instead. Naturally adept, he enjoyed this line of work. At the same time, it helped mask his low literacy, as he explains, “I’m good at illustration, so nobody ever noticed.”
Candidly speaking about his troubled history of addiction, Sanchez says that concurrent with the start of his recovery almost a decade ago, he wanted to improve his reading and writing. A counselor at his treatment center suggested the Los Angeles Public Library’s Adult Literacy Center. He followed the suggestion and has been coming to the center at the downtown Central Library faithfully twice a week ever since. With his tutor he chooses a book, which they read and discuss together. Currently, he is in the middle of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way – A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.
Sanchez describes his situation as “a handicap that people can’t see,” although he is quick to add, “now I make sure people know.” Over these past years his passion has been redirected from fashion to the cause of literacy. Aside from having his own first hand experience, he is regularly confronted with the enormous need for literacy programs. As one striking example, he recounts the occasion of speaking to a group of recently released prisoners at a recovery center. Shaking his head, he exclaims, “out of the twelve guys in the room, only two could read!”
For himself, learning to read and write has brought impressive changes. “It’s freed me up for a lot of things – I travel, write checks without assistance, and my confidence is off the hook – I’m more confident when I pick up something to read, even in how I present myself.”
To more effectively promote literacy, Sanchez now is planning on taking a fundraising and event-planning certificate class at UCLA. And, speaking from his personal experience, he urges, “no matter what age, go for it, because things change – I vote, I’ve done jury duty – a lot more things open up when you’re able to read.”
