Call for Community Tech Tutors

From Bing Images

Well-versed in the exquisite cyber arts? Enough to be dangerous? Help your neighbors improve their digital kung-fu by becoming a community technology tutor. 

As a community technology tutor, you’ll introduce new pupils to the basic styles and techniques of digital literacy: the potent way of the web-browser, the elegant power of broadband technology, the deadly speed of email, the furious efficiency and deep mysteries of word-processing software, and much more.  With your help, students will leave our program well-prepared to journey into the world wide web, using search engines, creating resumes and filling out online job applications with decisive, foe-crushing force.

There are many who lack the essential knowledge and skills to utilize new technologies.  Your tutelage can make all the difference.

I go in peace.


Not a techie? Find other ways to volunteer with adult literacy.  To learn more, follow the links or send your questions to volunteer@themlc.org.
 

October's Literacy Leader:

Elizabeth Burns

- Hubbs Center, St. Paul

Many adults in America experience the challenges of learning a new language and adjusting to a new culture, which can be extremely difficult - and terrifying. That’s why we’re lucky to have people like Elizabeth Burns, who volunteer and work to lessen those challenges and to quell some of the fears associated with them.

Elizabeth came to St. Paul’s Hubbs Center after meeting Ruth Rodriguez, the Hubbs Center’s volunteer coordinator, at a University of Minnesota volunteer fair. Over the past two years, she’s had amazing success as a volunteer classroom assistant. As a result of Elizabeth's excellent volunteer experience, she was offered a work-study position at the Hubbs Center (an off-campus work-study site through the University of Minnesota). Through her volunteering, she has been able to grow, take on new responsibilities, and help support her own educational goals, as well.

Last year, Elizabeth volunteered in Mary Pat’s ELL class. Mary Pat says, “[Elizabeth] enters our classroom with her charming smile and amazing personality, and the heart of every learner in the room is captivated…she has a unique, humorous, yet quiet style that promotes others to listen to her ideas and wisdom.” With such a dynamic teaching assistant, it’s little wonder that over the past months, dozens of learners in her classes have shown marked improvements in attendance, attention to work, and test scores.

In a typical evening, Elizabeth meets with the teacher before class to discuss and review the lesson plan. She greets students as they filter in. Conversations are struck, jokes told, and while everyone catches up on each other’s dealings and current events, Elizabeth edges the discussion into alignment with the lesson plan. After that, she circulates the classroom, answering questions and helping students individually as needed.

When we asked Elizabeth what she likes best about her volunteer work, she emphasized the relationships she’s built with learners and the joy she gets from their successes. She says, “I love coming in week after week and being able to tell that they have learned something and have effectively used their new conversation skills or interview skills.”

An exemplary adult literacy volunteer, Elizabeth has earned the respect and admiration of the students she serves and has inspired those she works with. “We all have an impact on each other’s lives,” she says. “I am so glad to be a part of their journey here at Hubbs.”

Outstanding Adult Learner

Abdillahi Mohamud:
Lake Street GED Graduate
& Scholarship Recipient

How do you feel now that you have your GED?

“I’m excited, delighted. I feel like it’s a milestone.”

When hard working volunteers in adult literacy meet hard working learners like Abdillahi, the results are undeniably good.
 
Abdillahi Mohamud was born and raised in Somalia, and came to the United States in September of 2010. Abdi enrolled in the MLC GED program in May 2011, and recently obtained his GED with help from the new MLC GED scholarship fund.

“The scholarship helped me a lot, and opened the door for future scholarships I may receive. It was my first one!” Receiving the scholarship was very important to Abdi, and he really appreciates the opportunity to receive such an honor.

Abdi has worked very hard for this accomplishment. With his incredible work ethic, diligence, and intelligence, he received an average score of 516 on all five GED tests! (The minimum passing average is 450.)

Abdi is currently applying to several colleges and universities to continue his education. While he is undecided as to what his major will be, he said he is interested in Informational Technology and Business Management.
 

When asked what he learned throughout this experience of studying for his GED, he said, “It boosted my confidence. It made it easier for me to understand the way of learning here [in the U.S.]. It motivated me to go to college and get further education.”

Abdi would like to encourage those still studying for their GED to continue to become hard workers, to become strong, and to not be afraid of the GED process.

“There are a lot of people out there who don’t know where to start. Getting a GED will be the foundation. The Minnesota Literacy Council helps people do that.”

Abdi is the 3rd GED Graduate at Lake Street and the 1st Lake scholarship recipient!

Lindsey Cermak
GED Coordinator
Minnesota Literacy Council

37.1

That’s the percentage of Twin-Cities-metro residents who volunteered their time in 2010, according to a study from the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The CNCS complied data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that Twin Cities residents have retained their long-held status as national leaders in volunteering.

In her article, “Why Twin Cities residents volunteer more,” the Minnesota Post’s Cynthia Boyd found that volunteers save America billions, with last year’s efforts being valued at $2.2 billion for the Twin Cities alone, this according to officials from both the CNCS and the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration.  With the world’s economy on its heels and America reeling from nearly four years of recession, help is needed now more than ever.  Minnesotans understand that no contribution is too small.  Last year, some of us volunteered a handful of hours, others put in ten or twelve per week, some committed full-time to their respective causes, but  together, we lifted our community to the no.1 slot.

Mary Lynn Smith from the Star Tribune takes a good stab at the “why” in her article Twin Cities helping hands lead nation.  In it, she quotes Community Service corporation’s CEO, Robert Velasco, II, as well as the head of Lutheran Social Service, Mark Peterson, who attribute the results to both individual and institutional compassion.  We have high rates of education and home ownership, short commutes, a generous, civic-minded corporate environment, and a generally warm-hearted population that doesn’t mind baking the occasional pan of lasagna for a hungry family, or driving it over to them. 

Minnesota’s volunteers save billions of dollars in service costs, feed, educate, and provide counsel to their neighbors, and assist with daily needs and personal goals, sometimes helping in the realization of dreams. 

Volunteers, volunteer organizations, corporate sponsors, faith-based groups, and a wide, effective range of public programing and funding are what keep Minnesota’s legacy of fellowship and goodwill alive and active throughout our great state.  The Minnesota Literacy Council knows that adult basic education is vital to our continued success.  Adult basic education programs enrich the lives of Minnesotans and ratchet up the potential for economic growth.

If you can read this post, and know what a couple of billion means in relation to the state or national debt, and if you can get here (as you must have) via web, read and contextualize the data, assess the claims, follow the links and reach a conclusion, odds are you have a better chance of finding a job and supporting a family than someone who cannot read, or do basic math, or surf the web.  Speaking, reading and comprehending English; learning to use math and quantitative reasoning, computers and web-tools; preparing for a GED test; these are some of the things people can accomplish when they meet with a volunteer in community literacy.

I’m glad to have a role in MLC’s mission, and proud to live in a community where 37.1% of the people strive to connect with and strengthen other members.  Congratulations to all volunteers.  You address your convictions by taking action, and you deserve your community’s deepest thanks. 

Joe Conry

Volunteer Outreach Intern

August Literacy Leader

August Literacy Leader - Mike Hennessy

Five years ago, Mike Hennessy spotted an ad for ESL tutors in his local community education brochure. He answered. At the initial training, Mike learned of a high need for GED math tutors and offered to help in that arena instead. Since then he's been tutoring math at the Wayzata ABE program.

A couple of years after joining up, Mike met with another opportunity. He heard that IOCP (Interfaith Outreach Community Partners) needed more tutors in their computer lab. "I offered to help them," he writes, "and have been tutoring in the computer lab and teaching basic computer skills plus basic Word and Excel for over a year."

Once a week, Mike spends his morning helping students prepare for the GED--the math portions mostly, but he isn't shy to help in other subject areas when needed. He says that he prefers tutoring one-on-one because "it's easier to focus on what a student needs and build up their confidence one-on-one." With Mike's help, several adult learners have overcome their fear of math, some have passed the GED; others can now set up email accounts, apply for jobs online, use a word processor, and attach or post resumes.

When asked how volunteering has impacted him, Mike responds: "It's humbling when I see students pushing to get their GED while balancing kids, one or more jobs, in some cases learning English, and other day-to-day issues. I really want to help them succeed. Also I've had to re-learn some of the math, especially parts of algebra that I've forgotten over the years, so it keeps my mind working."

Cheryl Lubinski, Wayzata's ABE Coordinator, says that Mike is "a very active and versatile volunteer." She recalls last summer, when Mike drove a handful of students to their GED graduation ceremony, students who otherwise would have lacked the transportation. He caters his skills to different learning styles, and even works on call for students closing in on test day. In addition to his volunteer role at Wayzata ABE, Mike also volunteers with AARP to do free tax-preparation. Using this skill set, he has helped many of his students who needed this free service.

"Michael is a wonderful community volunteer," Cheryl writes. "He has the admiration and respect of the many individuals whose lives he has touched."

Thank you, Mike, for your amazing contributions.

 

 

Do you know an exceptional volunteer? Each month the Minnesota Literacy Council highlights a talented and enthusiastic adult literacy volunteer in Minnesota. To nominate someone you know, please contact Tricia at tbrooks@themlc.org.

Thoughts on Movie Night

by Joe Conry

Picture from http://brothertowns.com/.

At MLC’s most recent Movie Night, John Gutterman from the Advocates for Human Rights introduced and led a discussion on the documentary Brother Towns by Pueblos Hermanos.

The film moves between Jacaltenango, Guatemala and Jupiter, Florida, crossing the voices of impoverished Guatemalan families with those of concerned Florida contractors, residents and civic leaders to create a compelling narrative weave.  It follows Jupiter’s mayor in her efforts to support a very successful community resource center called El Sol.  An awkward dance with state and federal officials ensues, with lawmakers trying to determine the center’s legal status, weighing it against the need, and against obvious results.  And that’s where it ends, more or less undecided—a divided community pleading for a legal resolution.

The post-film talk was lively.  Gutterman emphasized the human side of immigration, the ground-level issues, like family, jobs, and the crucial services provided by volunteer-, non-profit-, and faith-communities.  He also shared a bit of his intimate knowledge of the 2008 Postville Raid, when federal officials stormed a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, arresting and imprisoning hundreds of migrant workers.

Many discussions about immigration revolve around economics. ‘Can we afford to keep our borders open?’ ‘Is a more open immigration policy sustainable?’ ‘Is it fair to taxpayers?’  And that’s totally understandable.  The issue is, after all, a global search for (or, depending on your camp, defense of) economic opportunities.  But the people in Brother Towns—the frustrated contractors and migrant workers alike—are not driven by greed but by need, by an obligation to contribute their skills to the world and thereby provide for their families, and to somehow weather the shock of massive social, cultural, and economic changes.

The takeaway point for me was this: if we discuss only the economic components of immigration (jobs, taxes, medical expenses, etc.), then we advance the notion that our relationship with newcomers and guest workers is purely exploitative, and if you’ve seen this film, or have ever known or worked with any recent immigrants, you know that can't be the case.  

It was great to encounter so many compassionate, informed people at Movie Night.  Brother Towns was well worth the drive out.  MLCers are a really neat bunch.

Thanks for a wonderful Monday evening.

Troubling News for Florida's Adult Learners

According to an article from the Orlando Sentinel, from this month forward, adults in Florida with literacy and educational needs can expect to pay anywhere from “$90 to $360 a year for adult-education courses,” as recently mandated by Florida’s state government. Nationally, Florida has one of the highest percentages of adults who struggle with limited literacy skills, rendering the state’s decision a bit incomprehensible. High fees will only discourage vulnerable populations—like refugees, new immigrants, and families living at or below the poverty level—from acquiring much-needed educational resources.  In my view, making it more difficult for potential workers and innovators to access public education forums is a step in the wrong direction.

The Minnesota Literacy Council, along with its network of volunteers and affiliates, is committed to keeping community education programs affordable (if not free) for learners.  In our 2009/2010 program year, MLC directed the efforts of more than 1,000 volunteer teachers and tutors, who donated a combined total of over 27,000 hours, a value of $565,217.  These volunteers worked with approximately 30,000 adult students, helping them to meet specific educational goals.

The prevailing tradition in Minnesota is to invest in the long-term success of all of its residents, which is a huge reason why our state remains a national leader in community literacy.  Although a handful of our over 500 adult literacy programs charge a $10 or $20 fee for materials, the fees are not mandated by the state, and learners are not denied access if they are unable to pay. 

As we hope for improvements in Florida, we should take a moment to appreciate the comparatively robust health of Minnesota’s community-education programs, as well as to acknowledge the crucial role of our many incredible volunteers. 


Joe Conry
MLC Volunteer Outreach