Understanding adult literacy
Every day, many adults in Cache Valley are struggling to read road signs, labels and job applications – Bridgerland Literacy is striving to correct that situation.
According to The State of Literacy in America, which was published in 1998, 8 percent of Cache County adults read at a level one literacy.
Level one is described as those who cannot locate an intersection on a map, locate two pieces of information in a sports article, identify and enter background information on a social security card application or calculate total costs for a purchase from an order form.
Bridgerland Literacy is working to make that number smaller.
Renee Magnusson, the literacy coordinator who recently joined the staff, said the program is hoping to increase the student load by one quarter or roughly 30 students above what they currently have. In order to do that, they need to increase the number of people who volunteer to tutor.
“That means we need 30 more tutors. We can’t have more students if we don’t have more tutors,” she said. “Students come in waves. We definitely need tutors always.”
Currently the program has 46 students and 50 tutors – four who are waiting for students to work with.
Magnusson said the program was started in 1987 and is now housed in the Logan City Library.
Ronald Jenkins, executive director of the program, said the program has changed very little in the 14 years it has been in operation.
“The main focus has been the same all along which was to teach adults who did not know how to read, how to read,” he said.
Students have come from many different sectors of the valley including those referred by religious leaders, employers and vocational rehabilitation offices such as the Department of Workforce Services, Magnusson said.
She said the process for a student includes contacting the office and then taking a reading test. In order to be part of the program, a student must read below an eighth grade reading level.
Jenkins said the most recent census material available showed about 7 percent of adults in this area read below a fourth grade level.
Jenkins said, “You can’t survive at that level. Our focus has always been to work with the low-level readers.”
Once the students have entered the program, they are matched with a tutor who shares common interests or has a similar personality. Magnusson said tutors are encouraged to keep the reading relevant and of interest to the student. This may include reading drivers license books for those who are learning to read in order to pass their drivers tests.
About two years ago Jenkins said the program expanded to include working with children. Mostly the children are those who are related to adults in the program.
“Illiteracy tends to go from generation to generation and we are trying to break that cycle,” he said.
Jenkins said many times parents are not able to read with their children or help them with their homework, and often that creates the problems with the children.
“You can go into homes here or all across America and you will never find a book or a magazine because people don’t read,” he said.
But education and awareness can help solve the problem, Jenkins said.
“Most people are not going to walk up and say ‘I can’t read.’ The educated person needs to help identify those and get them in the program,” he said.
The length of time students are involved varies depending on the student and their reading level. Jenkins said some students go through the program quickly while others can take three or four years.
“Our long range goal is that everyone will learn how to read and put us out of business,” he said.
That is not something he expects to see in the near future. As the job market changes, many people are being forced to learn how to read in order to survive, he said. Most of the students in the program are those who have grown up locally and are not individuals from other countries as is typically believed.
“Of course I knew there were people out there who couldn’t read before I got this job, but it is so different when I have a man sitting in front of me and I realized he has never read any of these books,” she said.
As part of her job, Magnusson said she hopes to improve the training tutors receive and help them go into the tutoring process with solid ideas on how to help the students who come into the program.
Each of the tutors must attend a 12-hour training program, which is taught in September and in February, before they can begin working with students.
“They’re not just teachers or English majors, we have people who are in business or science and all that,” she said.
Magnusson said many of the students are extremely talented people in many different areas, but just can’t read.
“I respect the students a lot. They have a lot of talents, they just can’t read very well for whatever reason,” she said.
Currently, Bridgerland Literacy is sponsoring their Have a Novel Christmas program. Individuals can donate books that are new or in excellent conditions which will be taken out into valley homes to encourage reading. Drop boxes are located around the city and can be found at all of the bookstores, Jenkins said. A box may also be added in the Eccles Jones Education Building on campus.
Those interested in working as a tutor or helping with the program may contact the office at 716-9141 or stop by the Logan Library.