Literacy News
LVA's 14th ANNAUL WRITE FROM THE HEART IS HOT OFF THE PRESS
by Literacy Volunteers and Advocates on 05/22/14Buckle your seat belts and prepare to embark on a journey. Executive Director Rita Daniels announced at the Learner-Tutor Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday night that LVA's 14th Annual Write From The Heart is now available for purchase.
Ms. Daniels noted that this year's theme is "Journey to Literacy." LVA learners wrote about how they have benefitted from the instruction that LVA and other literacy providers offer.
Ms. Daniels expressed particular pride in the handsome cover designed by freelance artist Alimayu Oding. Mr. Oding's cover makes clear where LVA learners are heading. Highway signs proclaim "opportunity" and "winners." Studying at LVA means more than just attending classes but embarking upon a journey toward greater self-awareness and understanding of the world and how it works.
Reading the words of the LVA learners it becomes clear how very appreciative many are for the educational skills that many DC residents take for granted. Skills that are due in large part to to being raised in families with access to quality schools and instruction.
Martha Lee Phillips, a learner with LVA, tells a story that is shared by all too many DC residents in which she expresses the difficulty she experienced with her schoolwork and the lack of help she received from parents who could not read. "I dropped out of school," she writes. Now, thanks to patient and persistent instructors, Ms. Phillips is hopeful that she will soon be able to master filling out job applications and the forms that she must complete at her doctor's office.
The people who really need to know what learners such as Ms. Phillips are experiencing sit on the ANCs, the city council, and, perhaps, next year, even in the mayor's office. They determine whether adult literacy organizations should receive the funding that is vital to help ensure that LVA and other organizations can continue to help people like Ms. Phillips. They are journalists with large newspapers, TV and radio stations that cover this city and its government. They determine whether many DCers believe that all the city's residents are doing fine or that there are people struggling to do better for themselves and their families.
Do learners like Ms. Phillips a favor. Purchase a copy of Write From The Heart. It only costs five dollars and can be purchased from the LVA office. Read it, enjoy it. Pass it on to a city official, a member of the news media, or a member of the school board. Let them know that many Washingtonians lack basic literacy skills and that many are striving to overcome this and hope to do better in life.
When LVA learner Anthony Johnson, author of The Dum One, co-written with Ms. Beverly Green, spoke at the recognition ceremony about his own "Journey to Literacy," he noted that he had been raised believing he was "dumb" because he could not read or write. The illiteracy of his mother was passed on to him.
Thanks to help from mentors and LVA, Mr. Johnson is a much better reader and writer and vows that the literacy endemic in his family has reached an end.
It is a goal that the whole city of Washington should embrace. And if enough people speak up then DC will have to realize that no matter how high the educational level of some DC residents, many residents have yet to fully discover the promise of American life because they lack the basic literacy skills that are essential in our city.
Its' not just the learners who need to have this city journey to greater literacy.
LEARNERS HEADLINING LVA's 10th ANNUAL LEARNER-TUTOR RECOGNITION CEREMONY
by Literacy Volunteers and Advocates on 05/15/14LVA learners will be in the spotlight at the 10th Annual Learner-Tutor Recognition Ceremony that will be held on Tuesday, May 20 at the District of Columbia Community College (DCCC).
Anthony Johnson, co-author of The Dum One and a LVA learner, will deliver a talk recounting his "journey to literacy."
Johnson's book, co-written with Beverly Green, details Mr. Johnson's rise from a poverty-stricken upbringing to a more stable life and his battle to overcome illiteracy.
A reader, posting a review on the Amazon.com page for The Dum One, asserts that "The trials and tribulations [Mr. Johnson] experienced as a young male, growing up in a poverty stricken neighborhood is a story often told without a happy ending. But his story is one of hope, aspiration, and a drive to overcome any obstacle."
Mr. Johnson is not alone. Many of his fellow LVA learners also manage to surmount the difficulties posed by their lack of literacy. They often manage to hold jobs, to raise their families, and many have their own inspiring stories to share.
An "Open Mike" session will feature LVA learners discussing their own journeys to literacy and how the assistance that LVA is providing is helping them to improve their lives and those of their children and grandchildren.
The 2014 edition of Write From the Heart, which showcases the poetry, prose, and artwork of LVA learners, will be available for purchase at the ceremony. The cost is $5.00
Admission for the Learner-Tutor Recognition Ceremony starts at 5 PM. RSVPs are required to gain entrance.
The District of Columbia Community College is located at 801 North Capitol Street, NW. The ceremony will be held in the 1st floor conference room. Photo ID will be required to enter the building.
Union Station is the nearest Metro stop to DCCC.
LVA THANKFUL FOR HEATHER KUTA'S SERVICE
by Literacy Volunteers and Advocates on 03/28/14Heather Kuta spent years in the Coast Guard protecting our nation's shoreline. Now, she continues to serve by volunteering as a tutor with LVA and teaching a math class at Wardman Court.
Heather's latest detail is to assist with administrative tasks at the LVA office. Characteristically, Heather, who was raised in a military family, is pleased to accept the extra assignment.
"I knew I'd have free time when I left the Coast Guard," she explains, adding that her mother was a literacy tutor when her father was stationed in North Carolina. But Heather's work extends beyond a sense of obligation to carry on her mother's good work.
"I love to read. It frustrates me that there are other adults who cannot share in the same pleasure," Heather explains. What is satisfying about the math class she instructs is "the small victories" she sees happen.
"It's always very exciting when someone in a math class grasps a concept they had previously not been able to master."
Math literacy is important and Heather agrees too little emphasis has been placed on upgrading the poor math skills that too many DC adults possess. But those small victories in math that matter to Heather can yield a big pay-off for the learners.
Many occupations, notes Heather, including those such as dressmakers and construction workers, must be able to make precise measurements. People who shop for their families can benefit by knowing how to calculate percentages so they can figure out the prices of items being sold at discounts.
Heather says, "It is exciting to see people who have been told constantly throughout their lives that they cannot do things set out to prove to those people that they are more capable in many, many ways."
