The many faces of adult literacy

In recognition of International Literacy Day on Sept. 8, we wanted to introduce you to a few typical adult literacy learners:
“Jim” is in his early 20s and never finished high school. His learning disability wasn’t identified when he was in school so he didn’t get the help he needed.
He tried working on high school credits independently but didn’t have the basic math and language skills he needed to pass.
“Jane” is a middle-aged mother of four. She is a high school graduate but she always hated math and avoided taking math classes as much as possible. She has never worked outside of the home.
Jane can answer only very basic multiplication and division questions without using a calculator. She makes excuses when her kids ask for help with their math homework because she is ashamed to admit she can’t help them.”
“Bob” is a senior citizen, who had dropped out of school at the age of 13 to work on his family’s farm. Bob has always been a hard worker and supported his family well. He has been involved in his community for years, and has served on numerous committees and the town council.
But he also is a poor reader and writes very little.
Although these people are fictional, they are representative of the types of students you can find in literacy and basic skills programs in our community.
When people hear about “literacy programs,” their first assumption is usually they are just for people who can’t read.
Certainly, our programs do help some students who have very limited literacy skills due to a learning or developmental disability, or very limited access to formal education, but you can’t paint all literacy students with the same brush.
The fact is many literacy learners have at least a grade eight education, some have high school credits, and some have even completed high school. They come to our programs to improve their reading, writing, and numeracy skills because their current skills are not sufficient to meet their current goals.
These goals may be related to education, employment, or personal satisfaction and independent.
The great news is that all of these students can–and do–find help in the same programs.
If you know someone who could benefit from attending an LBS program, call the United Native Friendship Centre Literacy Program (274-8541) or Valley Adult Learning Association (274-3553).