the importance of literacy volunteers

Educated people should volunteer as literacy tutors

Why Literacy Matters.
It’s an invisible problem. Thousands of people in the Bangor area have trouble reading.
But even if we can’t usually see it, poor literacy affects us all. It is linked to lowered workplace productivity and accidents, crime, health care costs, and problems in school for the next generation. Our tax dollars are used to address these problems.

Why Tutor?
Tutoring is our #1 job opening at Literacy Volunteers. If you enjoy teaching, mentoring, or coaching adults in a 1:1 situation, then consider this position.
Many think that it requires teaching experience or the ability to speak another language. It requires neither. All you need is the desire to help someone.
For about an hour a week, you’ll help someone work towards their goals, like get a high school diploma, get a driver’s license, become a U.S. citizen, get a better job, vote for the first time, or read to children.
And here’s the bonus: tutors say the rewards are far greater than the effort.

We affirm the following as guiding principles for everything we do:
Literacy is a civil right, the foundation of democracy.
There is no substitute for the caring heart of a volunteer.
Everyone has the right to access lifelong learning opportunities.
Barriers are challenges to be eliminated.
We believe in readiness, not "compliance.”
There is no such thing as an "average learner,” and there is no such thing as the "best way to learn.”
We seek to "change the direction of their lives without judgment,” not "change their lives.”
We are providing opportunities for lifelong learning, not remedial education.
Adults expect and deserve individualized, personalized education.
Mistakes are opportunities to learn.
The adult learning process is a teacher/learner partnership and relationship.
The process begins by starting where the adult learner is.

Hoang Lam
In 2004, 19-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Hoang Lam came to the Literacy Volunteers of Bangor office with his English-speaking uncle so that he could apply for an English tutor. At that time, he understood very little English. “My English was horrible…It was like a nightmare for me,” remembers Hoang.
After hundreds of hours and lessons with his tutors, Hoang is now actualizing the American dream. In the spring of 2009, Hoang received his Associates degree from Eastern Maine Community College in Electrical Engineering Technology. In the summer of 2010, Hoang became an American citizen. In the spring of 2011, he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology and began his engineering career with TRC Solutions in Augusta!

Ray
One fall, Jory began working with Ray, a Basic Literacy student who never completed high school. During one of their first meetings, Jory brought The Easy to Read Voter’s Guide (produced by the League of Women Voters of Maine Education Fund). He learned that Ray had never voted in an election. Throughout Ray’s life, he had been told by his father that he was “stupid, worthless, a good-for-nothing.” He assumed – incorrectly – that his opinion or vote would also be unappreciated. Jory quickly corrected him by saying, “Your vote counts just as much as mine!”
This realization inspired Ray and the two quickly devised a plan to prepare for the November election. They registered Ray as a voter with the City of Bangor, watched the gubernatorial debates, devoured the Voter Guide, and talked about what to expect.
Despite the fact that it took Ray one hour to read the entirety of the ballots (with Jory’s help) and that a warden warned them that they were taking too long, Ray exited elated. He was physically exhausted but proud of his first-time accomplishment!