Helping people enrich their lives
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/rhtn/News/3934/
Volunteers at the Literacy Council of Benton County don’t know the meaning of the word “ bored. ” There’s always something else to learn, volunteer Betty Pierce said, or someone else to help.
Pierce has been working with two students at the Literacy Council office for a year and a half. She took the training to become a tutor from Jo Boucher.
In a separate interview, Boucher echoed Pierce, “ It’s hard for me to imagine someone being bored when they can be involved with volunteer work. ”
“ You do for people when you’re able to and hope that people will be able to do for you when you need it, ” Boucher said, quoting the philosophy of her mother-in-law.
Boucher, who also runs the Friendly Book Store for the Friends of the Rogers Public Library, said choosing her volunteer opportunities was easy. She had always been involved in her community, but retiring to the Rogers area in 1996 gave her the opportunity to think about where she wanted to be involved. She chose the library and the Literacy Council because she knew volunteer tutors who found it to be rewarding.
Her husband is also a tutor with the council and they both volunteer with Faith in Action as drivers. They usually drive area residents to medical appointments, she said.
“ It’s one of the most satisfying things, ” Pierce, who also has a long volunteer resume, said about the Literacy Council. “ You’re helping people enrich their lives by being able to read. You’re helping them increase their livelihood as well. ” There are two programs at the Literacy Council with two separate training sessions available. Some tutors choose to work in the Adult Basic Literacy (ABL ) program with adults who are native English
speakers.
Others choose the ESL (English as a Second Language ) program and help students improve their English language skills as they teach them to read and write. A teacher doesn’t need to speak another language to teach in the ESL program, Pierce said. In fact ESL tutors are encouraged to use only English.
“ We’re not translators, we’re teachers, ” Pierce said. But her students sometimes bring her notes from their children’s school or written information from their work and she incorporates those into the lessons. She’s also helped one of her students translate lyrics that he uses when he performs at his church.
“ It’s life, and what we should do as we teach English, is help in their life, ” she said.
Pierce teaches two Hispanic students who are married. Sometimes one of their three children sits in on the sessions as well.
But not all the ESL students are Hispanic. There are several languages and cultures represented. Some ESL students are professionals working in the area by day and improving their reading and writing skills in the evening.
Most tutors meet with their students for an hour and a half, twice a week. They always meet in a public place, at the Literacy Council office which has several small classrooms available, or at one of the public libraries in the area. Boucher uses the Rogers Public Library which has some small, reservable, mentoring rooms. She always puts a sign that says “ Tutoring in Progress” in the window of the mentoring room and has recruited some new students that way.
There are about 65 tutors working with about 120 students at the Literacy Council, but there’s also a waiting list for students. The council provides all the materials the students may need and tutors are trained in using the materials. The training takes only nine hours, divided over two sessions, although there is optional training available on the Internet.
Some tutors get very close to their students. Pierce said she feels that her students are family and has even attended school events with them at their children’s schools. But a close relationship is not required.
“ I want to be supportive, but I don’t want to move into their lives, ” Boucher said. She considers herself a teacher and doesn’t always stay in touch with her students when they move out of the program. Usually the tutors choose the type of relationship they want with their students, she explained.
The amount of time a student stays in the program varies widely. Some come only for a few weeks, others will stay in the program for years, Boucher said.
Some students just want to improve their reading skills, others have a more concrete goal. A few tutors help students who are studying for their GED, Pierce said. Boucher worked with a young woman who was eventually accepted into a bilingual nursing program.
“ It’s just such a pleasure to be able to do it, ” Boucher said. “ I’m fortunate, and so is my husband, that we’re able physically and economically to donate our time. ”