Literacy Tutor Training at Rockville Library

I remember a man who worked for my father when I was a kid. He was one of the best mechanics and he had a country western band that played parties at our house. He also couldn’t read. When my dad needed him to run an errand, he would write the first letter of the business on a piece of paper and send him down the street to match it to the correct sign. As a kid I couldn’t believe a grownup was unable to read.>
So, I was struck by the fact that today, right here in Montgomery County, our Literacy Council (LCMC) estimates that 1 in 8 adults are functionally illiterate. They are unable to complete an application, understand a package label, or even read this blog. LCMC helps by providing volunteer tutors, but it has over 200 adult students on its waiting list. They will continue to wait 6 to 12 months.

LCMC provides some other literacy facts:

-Children of parents who are unemployed and have not completed high school are five times more likely to drop out of high school.

-Annual health care costs in the U.S. are four times higher for individuals with low literacy skills than they are for individuals with high level literacy skills.

-Women in the U.S. who have little formal education are more likely than educated women to be in abusive relationships.

-One-half of all adults in U.S. federal and state correctional institutions cannot read or write at all; 85 percent of juvenile offenders have reading problems.

-A one percent increase in high school graduation rates would save approximately $1.4 billion in costs associated with incarceration.

Obviously, it’s much more than just reading.

LCMC is holding tutor orientation right here at our new Rockville Library on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 from 7:30 PM – 9 PM. Tutors teach an adult to read, write or speak English either one-on-one or with small groups. They meet with students in libraries or community centers at mutually convenient times.

Since 1976, LCMC has tutored more than 9,500 native and foreign born students, with the aid of over 6,800 volunteers. If you have the time to volunteer, you could change someone’s life for the better.

Registration is required. Call 301-610-0030 or email info@literacycouncilmcmd.org After the orientation session, potential tutors attend a two-day, 12-hour training workshop. There is a $25 registration fee to defray the cost of the workshop.

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