Learners Stories and information for Adult Learners.

Learner Stories in the 2007 Writer to Writer Contest Dean John Howard Society of Canada - Rich Campos Dear Juanita - Sandra Cardona Dear Margaret Wise Brown - Margo Jean Spinden Dear Scott Hamilton - Eugene Kwon Dear Sarah Thompson - Benjamin Dear Readers House Publishers - RR   Stories & Poems by Learners A Second Chance by Ruben Camping with My Family by Maria D. Learner Stories Submitted in the 2007 Writer to Writer Contest Dean John Howard Society of Canada,             I enjoyed Roxanne Stevenson’s painful story about what she went through and all other who wrote in this book.  At a very young age, she went through a very bad experience because she was raped.  She turned to alcohol and drugs.  She took the law into her own hands and killed the man who raped her.  I feel that she wanted revenge.             This book is the first book I have ever read in my life.  Lorri Anne Cope’s story was really good also because she spoke if the spiritual side of her life that she was blind to.  I have a lot of respect for people that can better their lifestyle and change their behavior.  I know that drugs and alcohol have a big part of them getting in trouble.             This book has been very inspirational to me.  I liked the big colored pictures, the easy print and the stories are true.  I can relate to most of the stories.  I would like to encourage you to write a book about teens in juvenile hall for the young people to read.  By the way, I am in the Adult Literacy Program at the Hayward Public Library. Rich Campos Dean Juanita             It was a please to read your booklet A Child Apart…Growing Up with Lymphedema.  In your little book you described both the physical and psychological pain of growing up with a rare hereditary condition: one that caused both of your feet and legs to swell.  It motivated me to think about your courage with admiration.             To read this booklet was important to me because it was written by you, my literacy tutor.  It gave me the opportunity to share your feelings when you wrote it.  For me it was very nice to understand the feelings of a person who has lived with a chronic disease.  In the beginning your parents tried to find a correct diagnosis and then tried to find the right treatment.              While I was reading your story, I remembered part of my like when I got sick and no doctor in my country of Columbia could make a correct diagnosis.  It took three years before they knew that I had a chronic disease.  In that moment I was connected with you.  The main difference was that it was that you got sick during your infancy and I got sick during my adulthood.  I think it was more difficult for you because you were a child and you depended on your parents decisions.             As a child, you did not understand why you were treated differently by your classmates, friends and adults.  I think that children don’t understand that not everybody is equal and their natural reaction is to isolate the person that they don’t understand.             Some thoughts that passed through my mind when I read your booklet were that you thought that your little classmates discriminated against you because of your swollen feet, really it was because of the boots the doctor required you to wear.  Your classmates thought that you were trying to show off.             When you later met a lady who knew you during your youth, she remembered that you were different from all of the others.  She remembered you not because of your swollen feet, because of the flower you wore in your hair every day.             I admire you because you learned how to have regular activities appropriate for your age and to handle the pain and swelling.  You continued a normal life, going to a university, getting a job, helping others to understand lymphedema and having a beautiful family.  Another person could be apart forever! With admiration and gratitude, Sandra Cardona Dear Margaret Wise Brown            The Runaway Bunny was a nice book to read.  The pictures were good.  It made me feel happy.             The mother leaves the baby bunny.  I would read more books like this. Your Friend, Margo Jean Spinden  Dear Scott Hamilton,             My name is Eugene Kwon, I am a big fan of yours.  I read your book, it was very interesting.  It says in your book that you have had to undergo several hardships. Such as, your mother passing away from cancer and you having to survive a cancerous tumor.              You had to go through so much.  I think you are a very brave person and a wonderful athlete.  You are nice and I also enjoy watching you skate on television.             I think you are also a good sports broadcaster because you are very knowledgeable. I also aspire to be a broadcast journalist as well. Sincerely, Eugene Kwon Dear Sarah Thompson,            My name is Benjamin Harris.  I read the book you wrote called Amazing Sharks.  I enjoyed it because I learned about different kinds of sharks.  I also learned that sharks can smell one drop of blood in the water and that sharks can feel electricity in the water.  I was amazed when I read that there are more than 350 different kinds of sharks.  By reading your book it made me want to read more books.  It got me excited about reading.  Now I want to read more.  I ‘am in a wheel chair and I like to read books.  When you read a book the world will open up to you. Sincerely, Benjamin  Dear Readers House Publishers,            Hi, my name is Ramona.  I have lived in West Oakland for thirty-nine years.  Coming up in school, it was very hard for me.  I could not read and I did not want my friend and family to know that I could not read, so I pretended I could read.  It was so hard for me.  Sometimes my friends would call me up and ask me some questions about the homework we had got that day, I would play it off by saying I didn’t get it at all.  I would be mad at myself because, I cold not read or spell.  I dropped out of school in the eighth grade.  I had a baby when I was twenty-two years old.  She grew older so I had to start teaching my daughter how to read and I did not know how to teach her how to read.  All I could do was teach her what I knew well.  She got in to a higher grade and I did not know what to do when she came to me and asked for help.  I tried to help her, but I could not so I had to tell her why I could not help her.  I could not read, so I had to tell my family and I was so embarrassed, because my two sisters and brothers could read and I could not.  When I told them they said they would help me learn how to read, but I would not let them.  I told them I will get by the best way I can and I did.  My friends would take me to a restaurant and I would always order hamburger and French fries, chicken or something I could read on the menu.  I wanted to read so badly.  When I went to jail all the ladies in there liked to read and I wanted to pick up a book very badly.  When I got out of jail, I went to this program called Second Chance that is in Hayward.  I was looking at a billboard, which had some information on it.  Some of the information I could read and some of it could not.  I know it was a message just for me that said, “Learn how to read.”  It was an adult literacy program called Literacy Plus at the Hayward Public Library.  I wrote down the number and held it for three day and I decided to call and set up an appointment.  I was so afraid to meet the person with the program.  I was so embarrassed, because I could not read.  I did meet with the person.  I talked a little about myself, and then the person said, I will be getting a tutor, but while I wait, I could go to a learning class.  When I arrived for the learning class, I was so nervous.  Once, I saw that there were other men and woman in the class, I no longer felt I was alone.  When the class was over, I had realized I was in the library for the first time and getting help.  I was still afraid, but I really wanted to learn how to read.  When I was finally matched with a tutor, she called and set up an appointment to meet at the library.   Her name is Mary, I told her a little information about myself, and we talked about what reading skills I need to work on.  I looked around the library and saw so many books.  I wanted to pickup a book and my tutor suggested that I check out a book to read.  I checked out a book called Speaking To One Another.  I took it home and started reading it.  It is a story about people like me, who had a problem reading and what they went through before learning how to read.  After reading the book, I was so inspired that I started picking up more books, trying to read them to become a better reader.  Thank you for writing this book, it has changed my life.  I am working harder that I ever have before to learn how to read. Sincerely, RR   A Second Chance by Ruben  I slipped through the fingers of education for a number of reasons. One was the class was always ahead of me. So I just kind of turned the whole thing off. I had no pressure from home so everything was fine. But now as an adult I realize the importance of education. I heard about the Literacy Plus Program. I waited a long time but I finally made it here.    They assigned me two tutors. My first tutor, Shawn, and I work on spelling, reading and writing. Shawn is a wonderful tutor. She has lots of patience with me. When I have trouble, she stops and explains it to me. She's great! My second tutor, Tom, is also great! We work on the computer. We practice spelling by typing words. When I started the program, I didn't know anything at all about a computer; now I'm moving right along.    My spelling has really improved. I feel so much better about myself. I've joined clubs and church groups. Now I can actually participate in them. A lot of windows have opened up for me. I have a whole new life now. I should have started sooner. But I know now that you're never too old to start.   God bless the Literacy Plus Program for a second chance.

Families for Literacy (FFL)      Families for Literacy is a part of Literacy Plus. It helps adult literacy students with their young children. One of the goals of FFL is to get FREE books into the hands of the families so parents can enjoy them with their children. One way this is done is through monthly story times and other family events.      Literacy Plus students who have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or foster children under the age of five are welcome in the FFL program. If there are older children (up to age 12) in the same family, they are also a part of FFL. Students find out about the program when they come for their initial meeting at the Literacy Plus office.       Share Your Writing So That Others Can Read It     “Why do writers write?  Because it isn’t there.”      Thomas Berger Share Your Writing!  Let Your Voice Be Heard!      Learners – Please send in your writings!  We would love to put your story, poem, or letter on our website, right here, on this page.  If you do not want your name used on our website, that’s okay.  We can still post your writing without your name. Be proud of your work and share it with others!      Please call 510-881-7912 or deliver to the Literacy Plus office.  Share your writing so that other learners can read it! Learner Tips      Take Notes.  Keep a journal.  Free journals are available in the Literacy Plus office.      Finding time to write is very hard.  We have jobs, families, children, friends, pets, laundry, grocery shopping, and a million other things that take up our time.  But, we need to steal back a few minutes a day to work on our writing. Carry a notebook or memo pad with you everywhere you go.  Write down words you see that you do not know.  Write down words or phrases you hear that you do not understand, even if you cannot spell them.  Give it your best shot!  Then take the list to your tutor and discuss what you wrote. Keep a journal.  Write down life stuff.  Date each entry, each time you write.  Write down grocery lists.  Write down what the doctor said about your mother’s illness.  Write down what your child learned in school today.  Write down if the dog ruined another pair of shoes.  Write down anything and everything!  It only takes a few minutes. Keep a diary journal.  As you write down all the things going on in your life, respond to how that makes you feel.  Write how it made you feel when the dog ate your favorite shoes.  Write how sad you felt when you heard your mother is sick.  This can take a few minutes more, but can be very rewarding! Write a letter.  It can be to someone you know or someone you don’t know.  It can be to someone famous or someone in your family.  It can be to someone alive or someone who has passed on. Write a poem or story.  It does not have to be very long, just a few lines or sentences.  Here’s are some examples: winter air thick as the branches bare -------------- Wait, wait, till I open the gate, Then you can skate.  You can skate straight. Don’t skate till I open the gate; Otherwise you won’t be skating so great! Finding a place to write can be really hard to do.  Here are some ideas: Write for a few minutes before your family gets up, or a few minutes after they have gone to bed. When you are waiting for an appointment, like at a doctor’s office, or when you are waiting to pick up the kids, use that time to put a few ideas down on paper. Write when you are on the bus or BART. Show up a few minutes early to your tutoring session and use that time to write. If you need someplace quiet, try a park or a corner of the library.      If you practice your writing, it will help you make the most of your tutoring.  It will help you practice the spelling of words you know and will also help you learn new words.     Camping with My Family by Maria D.      I went to Fresno Easter weekend. I went camping with my family. We haven't gone in a long time. It has been two years since we went camping. It is my favorite outdoor recreation because it is so much fun. My kids like it too. They enjoy camping, and I like that.      My husband and my brother-in-law set up the tents, and they made a fire. I made coffee for everybody. We were talking, laughing, and singing around the fire.      We went to sleep very late, and we woke up very early in the morning. We had breakfast, and I went for a walk with my sister. Everybody went to the river to swim, but the water was freezing because it came from snowy mountains.      I recommend that all parents take their children camping because their children will always remember this wonderful event.