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| October 2010 | Vol 2, Issue 2
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A monthly publication of
Whatcom Literacy Council | |
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| Greetings! |
October is here and we are all gearing up for one of our busiest months of the year! Soon we will be training 40+ new volunteer tutors and working on getting them matched up with their waiting learner. October is also the time when most of our small group classes begin to meet, so we are busy working with all of our community partners to coordinate the details. While busy, we really enjoy this time of year as we watch the new connections being made between tutors, learners, and our staff. I know that all of us here at WLC feel fortunate to play a part in this process. We really appreciate working with so many dedicated and lovely people. Enjoy the colors and crisp apples of autumn! All my best, Rachel Myers Executive Director |
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| Tutors - We Need Your Reports! |
Just a reminder to all of you wonderful tutors that we need to receive a report from you each month to keep us up to date on how things are going with your learner. Please take a few minutes to click here and send us a report on all of the good work you do!
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Monthly Tutor Primers | |
Tell your friends, colleagues and neighbors! Each month the Whatcom Literacy Council hosts a tutor information primer on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 5pm at the Bellingham Public Library.
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Program Views by Gina Barrieau-Gonzales, Programs Manager
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Whatcom Literacy Council has legs! Our small staff of four can reach out into the community farther and more effectively because of the many generous partners and volunteers willing to combine efforts and share resources. Thank you to all who support literacy in our communities and beyond.
In particular I'd like to thank Whatcom Community College for our recent collaborative project involving Service Learning, Transitional Education and the WCC Learning Center. We are encouraged by the positive impact this collaboration is having on our learners. One of our tutors connected with this program said the following about a learner.
"... Her reading and writing skills have improved so much in the past three months! I have been using the material you provided to get her ready to take the GED exam along with helping her on her daily homework. I love working with WCC and WLC in helping her, and I can't wait for fall to get started."
What a great message for all of us as we get into the back-to-school frame of mind! We will continue to look forward and come up with innovative ways of resource sharing to create even more effective and sustainable programs here in Whatcom County. |
| Spotlight on Kristi Wyandt, WLC Learner by Jessica Hilburn, ALP Coordinator | |
"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable." ~Thomas Fowell Buxton
Kristi Wyandt, WLC Learner |
Webster defines the word perseverance as "the act of persevering--to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement."
Kristi Wyandt exemplifies the word perseverance. She is a former Whatcom Literacy Council learner. Kristi graduated from our program last spring when she achieved her goal of earning her GED and enrolling in college-level classes at WCC, where she maintains a 3.0 GPA.
This was no small feat! It took Kristi several years and a lot of extra support from her instructors and WLC tutors Jan Cantrell and Laurie Maxwell. Kristi's accomplishments also required that she advocate for herself. She has cerebral palsy and requires modifications within the traditional classroom setting.
Her first GED class experience was not positive. Kristi felt her needs weren't being met. So she contacted her adviser in Disability Support Services. Together, Kristi and her adviser found ways for her to be successful. For example, Kristi was given more time on tests, which reduced her anxiety and allowed her to concentrate more on the questions. In addition, she was matched with a math tutor who, Kristi said, "understood where I was coming from because she was trained in the special-needs area."
Still, Kristi didn't pass her GED exam the first time. Her math tutor, Laurie Maxwell, was very encouraging at this point and reminded Kristi that she could retake the GED and Laurie would be there every step of the way. Kristi persisted and passed after 18 months of preparation and hard work!
After earning her GED, Kristi enrolled in classes at Whatcom Community College and began working with another WLC tutor, Jan Cantrell, to prepare for her English class. They met twice a week for a total of three hours per week. They covered all the components of reading - fluency, vocabulary building, decoding skills and comprehension. In addition, Jan would help Kristi with written assignments by researching topic ideas, creating an outline and then editing Kristi's first draft. Jan wrote in one of her monthly progress reports, "She (Kristi) is intelligent and motivated to succeed, so it is a pleasure to participate in her learning."
When asked what advice she had for other adult students, Kristi replied, without a pause, "Stick with it!" |
| Tutor Toolbox by Jessica Hilburn |
The phrase "back to school" conjures up different things for different people. For some it is an exciting time filled with new experiences and new challenges. For others, it can be a very uncertain and scary time.
Imagine stepping onto a college campus artfully planned with sculptures and impressive architecture surrounded by young people texting, reading class schedules and chatting with friends in their new stylish duds about who had the greatest summer adventure. Exciting! Now imagine you are a student who is of the non traditional age (older than 25) with reading challenges and no high school degree. The experience is very different and may result in the adult student dropping out.
Researcher E.R. Hayes (1988) described six barriers that may be present within the psyche of the adult student with low literacy skills: 1) low self-confidence 2) social disapproval 3) negative attitude toward education and 4) low personal priority.
Your learner may be one of the 300 Adult Basic Educational (ABE)/GED students enrolled at Whatcom this fall or one of the many Bellingham Technical College ABE/GED students. Here are some things that may help adult students cross their internal barriers and reach their educational goals:
Build confidence.
· Talk about the success that your learner has had in your work together. For instance, show your learner an old Language Experience Approach (LEA) story that he had created. Then ask, "How many words in the story do you know by sight now?" Keeping a tutoring portfolio is a good way to measure small achievements.
· Discuss ways for the learner to bring up her learning style with her instructor and/or request instructional modifications (i.e. extra time for tests, quiet work space, etc).
· If possible, review class syllabus /schedule with learner and work on a given concept or skill prior to being introduced in class.
Foster a social community.
· Encourage your learner to call his program coordinator at WLC to find out if there is WLC classroom assistant available for support in any of his classes. The coordinator can then arrange for an introduction between the learner and the WLC volunteer.
· Together look at the school's webpage and note the special events and resources offered to students ( ie BTC Welding Rodeo in May )
Change perception.· Share success stories of other students that your learner can identify with. Please see the Learner Spotlight article in this newsletter. In addition, Bellingham Technical College has a wonderful booklet called "Voices of Success" that feature student stories. · Assure your learner that she now brings her life experiences and self-knowledge to the classroom and this will better equip her to navigate the school system and create a different experience than before. Express individual worth. · Ask your learner to list the everyday reading and writing skills he has improved upon and how this has positively affected his relationship with family members and/or friends. Put this in a visible place for your learner (i.e. tutoring notebook). · Frequently make connections between your learner's educational goals and employability skills. For further suggestions on how to help your learner transition back to school, please email Jessica@whatcomliteracy.com
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If you have any questions or need help, please contact us at 647-3264 or by email:
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