Becoming a Bridge

Teaching and Honoring

2011-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

I want to talk about two things today, and I will keep it brief because I am a busy busy girl!

First I want to talk about using games in ESOL tutoring. For my third week, I decided to try a couple of games with the students. To shake it up a bit. I created a bingo game using pictures and words for grocery store vocabulary. I used a great website that has a bingo card generator on it:

Here is an example of one of the cards:

I gave them pennies and buttons to use as their markers.

Observation 1: Normally when you play bingo you only have to get a whole row across, down, or diagonal to win; but when the cards only use 16 pictures, the game ends too soon. I suggest using the rule that you have to fill the entire card to win. We played about 5 games of bingo, in about 10 minutes, too fast!

Then I played a response game with them, to try and teach them the words under, over, beside, etc. I gave each student a piece of paper with these two pictures on it:

Then I told them to put an X on the table, put a check under the table, put a circle in the box, and put a plus sign beside the box. Then I showed them my sheet of paper and told them it should look the same:

Most of them understood, and those who didn't would ask their neighbor to help them, so they all got them right. I wanted to do this game because my partner N and I noticed that they were getting confused with the words on, in, and at. N told me that in the Spanish language they say "on top of" as in "Put the X on top of the table." English speakers say this also, but most people say the shortened version "put the X on the table" and I want my students to understand what that means.

This brings up a good point. There are many idiosyncrasies in the English language that can not really be translated well to other languages. Whenever possible it is good to try to explain and teach these to ESOL students, the more they use the "real" American language, the more they will feel at home. In my opinion anyway.

So we did those two games, which took me about 4 hours to prepare, and in class they took about 20 minutes to finish. That left 40 minutes of open non prepared time. I sort of panicked and looked helplessly at N when I realized I had nothing to do for the next 40 minutes. She suggested we go over some emergency words, so we talked about the different times you would call 911 or go to the ER versus calling a doctor. Like I have said before, the students are all so easygoing and they never missed a beat. This is why I love teaching this class!

The other topic I wanted to talk about was the recent LVNJ Annual Literacy Awards Celebration. I didn't get a chance to talk about this before it happened because I was so busy preparing for it. LVNJ hosted a beautiful event where two important people in the adult literacy world were honored. Mr. Dennis Bone, president of Verizon, and Reverend Dr. M. William Howard, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, NJ.

These men have contributed so much to the field of adult literacy and it was nice to be able to honor them, and personally I love to hear Dr. Howard speak. I saw him speak at the LVNJ Literacy for Life conference in 2010 and I was so moved. He has a passion for helping people reach their potential and he is a genuinely caring and gregarious figure.

The best part for me that night however, was hearing Jefferson Vidal speak again. Jefferson is a literacy student with LV-Monmouth County. I saw him speak this past Spring at the LVNJ Literacy for Life 2011 conference where he was a Student Excellence Award Winner. He made me smile at that event with his sweet and humble words of praise for all literacy volunteers. This time he got up and was interviewed by one of his tutors who asked him questions like "What was it like when you could not read?" and "How has your life changed since you learned to read?" One of my favorite things he said though was that "Everybody's stupid in a way...somebody with all the education, they could be still stupid." Yes, that is so true! He made that point because he said he felt stupid when he couldn't read, but then as he learned and met more people, he realized he was not stupid for that. Anyway I loved his speech and I loved talking to him before and after his speech, he is a wise person.

Here is a picture of Jefferson with Miss New Jersey at the event. Yes Miss New Jersey was there also. Her name is Kathryn Nicolle and LVNJ invited her because her platform is literacy. One thing I have learned from working with LVNJ, it is always great to have famous people talk about literacy!

If you would like to know more about Jefferson's story here is a link to his bio. Also here is a link to a story about him on The Literacy Tribune website.

ESOL tutoring week two

2011-10-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

So being an ESOL tutor is tons of work and reaps tons ofbenefits, it is the ultimate in satisfying deeds. This past week, oursecond class, I had help, a student teacher named N who is minoring in Spanish. We divided the class up into two small groups and worked on grocery store vocabulary and questions and phrases you might use while in the grocery store.

There were less students this week, only about 10.

First I had the students go over their introductions. I had them first introduce themselves: "Hi my name is Carlos, I have 3 children, this is my friend Maria, she has 4 children." I had created a chart from the information I gathered in the first class. Name, how many children, children's ages. I hung the chart up and pointed to each name as they went around.

Observation 1: I noticed that the students tend to want to say the phrase backwards which makes sense since in Spanish most sentences are reverse. They also shortened the phrases, for instance they often said "This my friend", or "she my friend." I am not sure if this is right, but I corrected them and had them say the phrase as a complete sentence.

Next we went over grocery store vocabulary. I created large pictures that I found on google and put the word in English on top.

The words we started with were:
Aisle
Shelf
Cashier
Deli
Bakery
Produce
Meats
Frozen Foods

Observation 2: Many of the pronunciations of words and phrases are completely new to the students, and some of the digraphs and blends are new also because they are not used in the Spanish language. For instance, the sh. The students pronounced it ch. Or the letter j. In the Spanish language this letter is pronounced like a y as in you, but in English it is pronounced as a g as in giraffe. I took the time to help them try to sound the words out the right way. Not sure if that is correct either, it just felt right.

Here is a list of sounds not found in the Spanish language that I found on a fabulous website called ¡Colorin´, colorado! This is "A bilingual site for families and educators of English language learners."

This is such a great website!

Next we split into small groups and worked on questions and answers they might use in the grocery store using TPR and Response Drills. "Where is the juice?" "The juice is on aisle four."

Observation 3: I had them practicing these phrases and questions for a few minutes and then I realized they seemed to be repeating them fine, but I sensed they didn't really understand them. I asked them if they understood what they were saying and one woman asked "What is aisle?" So when we had gone over the vocabulary it had not clicked with her exactly what an aisle was. So I got up, went between the desks and showed using my arms that the whole space was an aisle, then they understood. I knew they understood because they started saying what the word was in Spanish.

Then another woman asked, "What is shelf?" So I went to a bookshelf in the room and pointed to one of the shelves and said this is a shelf, the book is on the shelf. They nodded and said the word to each other in Spanish.

I am starting to question the whole process of using pictures to explain things. Especially with grocery store terms.

Observation 4: Ever wonder why in the English language we say, at the back of the store, or in the back of the store and they mean the same things. Or, "Can you help me in produce", and "How many packets are in this box?" Or what about the word ON. "The juice is on the third shelf", and "The pharmacy is on your left." To us it makes sense, to ESOL students it is very confusing. I had a hard time trying to make them understand, so basically I said, "The English language is tricky, one word can have many meanings." Which is true but doesn't make it any easier for them to understand. Unfortunately they are going to have to figure it out as they go along.

The class did such an amazing job and again they are so accomodating and open to learning. I love that enthusiasm for understanding. If only we all had that desire.

Next week I am going to try a bingo game and a response lesson. Stay tuned!

"Hey ESL Teacher"

2011-10-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Photo by Vanessa Jones

Yes!

That was the subject in a recent email sent to me. The ESL teacher at my daughters school started a wonderful evening program at the school. Family Learning Nights, you can learn English, Spanish, get help with preparing for your GED, get tutoring help for your child's homework. D, the ESL teacher is also a master trainer for LVNJ and just a really cool person, and this idea he had is so fantastic. When he sent the word out looking for help with tutoring I immediately signed up.

I haven't had a student to tutor for about 6 months, it has been a busy time in my personal life so I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with the tutoring. It was so difficult for me to drive almost 30 minutes to get to the tutoring sessions before and it was so inconvenient, and then my student rarely showed up, or if she did she was always late. It clouded my experience.

But the thought of being able to tutor a student at the school which is just around the corner from my house, in the evenings when my husband can take care of the children. And to know I am working with parents of my kids friends. People in my community. This idea completely appealed to me.

The thing is I had only ever done basic literacy tutoring, and the training I had for ESL tutoring was a year ago. I told D I would tutor a student, thinking I can handle one on one. Then I got an email from D the day before the first FLN:

"Brenda,

Would you be interested in taking a small group of beginning ESL students?"

Umm, PANIC! So the LVNJ training mainly focuses on one on one tutoring, but we did touch on the small group training. But like I said that was a YEAR ago! How could I possibly say no though? The parents wanted to learn, and I repeated to myself that first empowering thought I learned in training "If you can speak English, you can teach someone to speak English." So yeah! Yes I will take that small group, and I will do the best I can, I am totally willing and able!

The day came, and I poured over my training manual, and a great manual my boss J suggested and I went online and came up with a very basic lesson plan. I did not know the level these students were at in their English speaking skills so I had to go on the assumption that they were very beginner.

I decided to start with a grid, and use the Repetition Drills I had learned and practiced in training to have them practice saying: "Hi, my name is," "I have three children," "I have two girls and one boy." And I would have them introduce themselves and then their neighbor using the grid to help them.

I also found pictures of different scenarios on google, Talking to your child's teacher, At the bank, At the grocery store, and At the doctor. I would poll the students and say: "I need help speaking English when I am..." and then I would show them each picture while saying what it was and then ask them to each pick a scenario they wanted to work on. Then we would work on things you might need to say in those scenarios, using the Repetition Drill and the Response Drill.

So I had a plan and I was scared but hopeful.

I got there and started drawing out my grid on the board and then waited. Then the students started showing up. And showing up. And showing up. I had a total of 11 students that night! Yikes, I am sorry but that is a large group in my opinion!

Photo by Vanessa Jones

But I never skipped a beat, and I went through my lesson plan and oh my gosh the students were so awesome! They were eager, upbeat and totally accommodating. LOVE teaching ESL!

As I was gathering my things at the end of the class, one of the ladies said, "Thank you teacher!" Heart melting!

Up to?

2011-09-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Who me? Up to something? Never!

No really, want to know what I have been up to lately?

1. Husband in hospital: Yep, for four days. He was only having testing done, but it was four days I was without another adult person around the house. My only companions at home were small children, until bed time, then I would watch really bad television and wish I had some one to talk to. Waah! But really it wasn't so awful, and he is home now. For now. He is having surgery sometime in the next few months, and then he will be away for maybe a week or longer.

Daddy is Home!

2. Kids started school: YAY! Seriously, I love my kids, and at the end of the school year I can't wait for them to get out of school so we can hang out and do fun stuff together. By the end of summer I am SO ready for them to be in school so they can stop, eating all the food I buy in one day, telling me how bored they are, watching insane amounts of obnoxious tv, rolling their eyes when I tell them to turn off the tv and read or do something, just generally being around to remind me of all my shortcomings.

This year we have, Maddie in 5th grade, Katy in 1st grade, and Ally started preschool. They were extremely precious on the first day of school, and I was extremely proud of being able to get them to school on time and with very nutritious lunches, and with their entire supply list bought.

3. ME starting school: Go me! I am going back to school, on-line, through University of Phoenix, to get my BA in Elementary Education. I start October 1st. I am SO psyched!

4. I am going to start reading: The Book Thief. I love historical fiction and saw this book recommended on a Better World Books post on FB. I will keep you posted.

5. I need a new iPhone case: mine looks like it was gnawed on by badgers. I downloaded a couple of iPhone games for my kids the last week of summer (see number 2 if you are wondering why). They are actually really cool learning games that they enjoy playing, but while they were playing, the decided to also fiddle with my already delicate iPhone case. I tried gluing the top layer back onto the hard case part, but it was all stretched out and the corners wouldn't stay and I only succeeded in getting glue all over me. So now I need a new one.

My friend at My Life With Pie just posted about this same thing and found a really cool one with Beaker on it. Not sure I can pull that off, but I do want something that reflects me. Any suggestions?

6. I have been watching a few shows in Netflix and Hulu: Parks and Recreation, Glee. Parks and Rec is so hysterical. I love Glee also because I am a band nerd from the old school!

What are you guys up to?

Good News!

2011-08-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share some excellent news about two new websites I have been following.

First, Better World Books, a non profit on-line bookstore that I am literally infatuated with, has made a big move. For every book they sell, they donate a book to someone in need! If you are familiar with TOMS Shoes, this is the same concept, except with books. Which let me just say is the coolest thing EVER!

BWB is so much more than the book for book thing though, they support so many awesome literacy programs around the world, and if I haven't said it already, I LOVE THEM! Please support them, and please spread the word!

Second, Wonderopolis, which has a blog, Wonders, that I started following and wrote about last week, has made the Time.com list of 50 best websites of 2011! Yay Wonderopolis I am so proud of you! Please check this awesome website out, you will not be sorry!

I am working on a big Back to School post, to be posted soon, so stay tuned! Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Share the Wonder!

2011-08-01T11:36:00.001-07:00

Just started following this blog I found through the National Center for Family Literacy, Wonderopolis. The blog is called "Wonders" and they share a new wonder every day. All to promote together time between kids and their parents! Love it!

Also, I am totally excited about my upcoming guest post at Life With Pie. Should be this Thursday, I will let you know.

Check out the Wonders, and share them with your kids!

Tips for Visiting the Doctor

2011-07-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

So I was browsing through the current issue of Parenting magazine (early years), and came across an article called How t o Talk to a Doc. This article offers tips, given by doctors, about how to prepare for your next Dr. visit. The article is geared toward parents and offers advice about well visits, but what I found was that the tips actually apply to anyone preparing to visit a doctor.

Presumably when you are an adult you are visiting for some sort of health problem. It isn't like when you take a baby to the doctor every month in the first year, and then every year after that for check ups. But regardless of the reason, visiting a doctor is a lesson in time management. Generally you get about 15 minutes with a doctor. Sometimes less. Their schedules are usually back to back, and your schedule is probably pretty tight too. It is important to not waste each others time. So we need to be prepared, and sometimes we need lessons on how to do that.

I know that any time I visit a doctor, whether it is for my daughters' check ups or my husbands medical problems, I have to write down questions before I go. Here are some more tips offered in the magazine about how to arrive prepared.

Number 1: "Find a go-to health care provider." So the magazine says you should create a "medical home" for your child. A place where they have records about everything to do with their health care since you started going to them. I have been taking my kids to the same practice for over 10 years now. While I don't really know them all by name and do not really have a close relationship with them, they always have my kids charts, and when we go for a visit, the chart is right there for them to look through and check on things. When my daughter was about 8 she started suffering from ear infections quite often, and the doctor warned me that because she had taken antibiotics quite a few times for them she might build a resistance to them if we kept giving them for every instance. If I had taken her to a clinic or ER, they might not have known she had been on meds so many times. They would not have had her history, and I might have forgotten to mention it in my worried state.

My youngest after getting blood taken at the doctor.

Number 2: "Know your child's medical history." The magazine suggests keeping a folder or even a smartphone app with all your child's immunizations, etc. This would be a great way for me to keep track of the number of times my daughter has been on antibiotics for something, and so if we ever do need to visit an ER you have all that information stored and don't need to remember it all. With three kids, and multiple Doctor visits it can become very confusing for me to try to remember everything. I would suggest going one step further and maybe even keeping a journal, writing down each visit and what the Dr. said each time. I am going to start doing that, it will be nice to look back even for nostalgia's sake and see how they have changed over the years.

This tip could also of course apply to adults. I know I keep a folder with all of my husbands medical information, and I keep a list of all his meds. I never know when we will need it, so I am also going to start using a smartphone app. The one that I am trying is called "My Medical". This is through iPhone and is only $1.99. The thing I like about it most is that I can keep track of the medical info for everyone in my family. This app takes down all the information, from height, weight, blood type, to allergies and medications you are currently on, and even medications you have taken in the past. I will keep you up to date on how well it does.

Screenshots from my iPhone of the My Medical app.

Number 3: "Arrive prepared." Basically, don't forget the folder with your child's (or spouse's) medical information. Be sure to bring the questions you have been thinking of with you also.

Number 4: "Take notes." Yeah, I always forget what the doctor said. I take notes all the time at the doctor, especially regarding medications. Sometimes I even have the doctor write it down, if they will, because they know the names and dosages more readily. I always write down what the doctor said about medications because the pharmacy can make mistakes. This is where the journal would come in handy. The iPhone app has a notes section for each patient you are keeping track of.

Number 5: "Don't be afraid to second-guess." This is seriously not a problem for me because I already don't completely trust doctors. Especially in Er's. But some people really find it hard to go against what a doctor tells them, even if their gut feeling is really telling them it is wrong. Trust your gut. And if you are still concerned, get a second opinion, or even a third opinion. Remember that you are your own best advocate, and when it comes to your children or your spouse, you are their best advocate also. A nurse friend of mine told me recently about my husband "you are his best nurse." That is so true, who better to provide the most personal care possible than your own mother or spouse.

Anyway I thought these tips were important, and that tutors could easily make a health literacy lesson out of these. Let me know what you think!

From A to Z: Literacy Treasures

2011-07-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

We posted about this story on our Facebook wall, but I wanted to share this with all my followers as well. First let me say that I am totally guilty of not always reading to my kids at night. Lets face it, sometimes we parents are so tired we can barely keep standing. Even before reading this story I had made a secret promise to myself that I would fight the urge to just put my kids to bed and I will read them at least one story every night. No matter what.

After reading this story I am more committed to that than ever. I should never ever take for granted the fact that I can read, and therefore can read to my children.
Please read the story and get inspired yourself!

A new learning center is opening in Massachusetts. A one stop shop for all adult learning needs. We need more of these all over the US.

"Lives will change as a result of this building," said Robert Pura, president of Greenfield Community College. "Lives will change for the better."

Read the story on gazettenet.com

This print for sale on Etsy:

Introducing HONEY! Bringing awareness about adult literacy. Oh and she is a dog!

W stands for WOW. Please read this blog post, written by an MD, on the NY Times website. I literally said OMG when I read it.

My husband and I recently decided he needs to be wearing some sort of medic alert jewelry. He told me he would be the least annoyed with a dog tag necklace. Here is the one I found on Etsy. I think anyone who suffers from a medical issue like seizures, or diabetes or such should wear something like this. But how much more important for someone who can't speak the language. If they are taken to an ER, they show their bracelet, the team automatically knows they suffer from seizures and are on this medicine for them.

Understanding prescriptions and medicine labels is a huge part of health literacy. It became very clear how big an issue, after the tornadoes in Joplin.

Good News! NJ Health Literacy Coalition now has a website! I will be adding it to my "My Favorites Internet Trips" page. Check it out!

I'm Too Busy to Slow Down

2011-07-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story using only 6 words: "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn."

If you had to write your life story in 6 words, what would it say?

Here are some examples written by adult literacy students in Canada.

Summer Brain!

2011-07-11T07:55:00.001-07:00

This is where I wish I was RIGHT NOW!

Anyone else out there suffer from "Summer Brain"?

This is an affliction that hits me every summer. I get so excited and jazzed that I don't have to get three kids dressed and out the door every single day that I completely lose my mind.

I think, hey, it is summer, kids are out of school, who cares about going to bed on time, or making sure there are groceries in the house or making sure the kids hair is brushed.

Problem is, I am not on break. I still have a job, and I am never done being a parent, so the kids still have to be dressed and be fed, and occasionally brush their hair, which I am in charge of.

I was placed with a new student. He is a basic literacy student who had to quit high school and now wants to get his G.E.D. He needs help preparing for the test this fall. Right now however I am feeling so lethargic from the "Summer Brain", that I haven't even called him. I am fearing the onset of another responsibility that will remind me that I am not on a break.

Does "Summer Brain" happen to anyone else? Do you start to feel lazy and wish you were on vacation all the time? It is really embarrassing actually, I am an adult with three kids and bills and stuff, I shouldn't feel like going to the beach every day. Right?

A sunset at the beach, pure joy.

Anyway, I am admitting this to the world so that I don't hide from my "Summer Brain" any longer. Time for me to face the facts, life will pass me by if I just sit around with laziness. So here is to my recovery. Hopefully someone else will admit to their affliction as well and we can recover together!

Adventures with Kidney Stones

2011-06-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Or "Tales from the ER!"

So by the title of this post your first thought is, okay, since she has stopped tutoring she has REALLY lost her vision for the purpose of this blog. But stick with me, I have a purpose.

My husband was recently in the hospital for 3 days, intermittently, for kidney stones. I have never had them personally, but every time I told someone he had kidney stones, the person's face would get all squinchy (it's a word) and they would say "OH, I/My Spouse/My Aunt/My Grandma/My Hairdresser's Sister's Cousin, had those and that was the worst pain I/They ever experienced.

So I tried to understand the pain and be supportive while with Tom in the ER.

I really dislike hospitals. The smells, the sounds, the sick and sad people every where. And then there is the staff.

Now before you start in on me about how You or Someone You Love or Know works in a hospital and they are the nicest most caring person you know, I am totally aware that there are exceptions to the rule. I also have a mom and sister in law who are nurses, and many friends who are nurses, and my Aunt and Uncle are doctors. It doesn't mean I don't love THEM, it means I generally dislike the people in hospitals OTHER than them.

Anyway, the first time he was in the emergency room of our local hospital, Sunday evening, he had a really sweet nurse, who actually took the time to explain everything to us. But the doctor was the opposite of this. Dr. Mean Face (her face was scary) was about as warm and caring as a metal chair.

After Tom had been there for about 500 hours (I realize that is an exaggeration, sue me), had thrown up all over the bed from the pain, had a CAT scan, been given 3 different pain meds. that did not work, here comes Dr. Mean Face. She came in and said "I am sending you home and I am giving you prescriptions for these meds., drink lots of water and see a urologist."

My husband is on many many meds. already. He has seizures and needs meds. for that, and then he also has these weird hives and joint pain that we are working with an allergist for, so he is on 3 more meds. for that. So I said to the doctor "Can you please write down instructions for when and how he should take these." I figured this was a reasonable request, and wouldn't take much time, and wouldn't she want to make sure we knew all the information we needed?

Tom after brain surgery in 2005.

She looked at me like my face was on upside down, and had spoken in Klingon language, and said "The information will be on the prescription bottles." And she promptly walked away. Thanks, for that Dr. Mean Face. Luckily Nurse Sweety was nice enough to take the ONE minute it took to write it out for us.

Next time in the ER, Monday afternoon. The urologist, after hearing that Tom had been vomiting all night, totally writhing in pain, and incapable of keeping any of the pain meds., or any other meds. down, told us to go straight back to the ER. The Dr. said he would call ahead and make sure they knew he sent them. I felt a little better about this, and figured, hey maybe they will actually treat him this time. WRONG!

We get there, tell the NURSE, NURSE'S ASSISTANT, DOCTOR, NURSE PRACTITIONER, JANITOR, LADY IN THE HALL, everything that has been going on for the past 24 hours.

In comes Dr. Speedy (he talked about a mile a minute and saw Tom for about 2 minutes and then left for about 3 hours, so I am assuming he was on Speed). He asks what has been going on, feels Tom's stomach and back for one second and says, "It's a Kidney Stone."

I wanted to scream. Instead I said, "Yes we know this, we were here LAST NIGHT for this, but the Urologist sent us back because he has been vomiting and is still in great pain." Dr. Speedy looks at me like my face is on upside down when I also tell him that the Urologist wants this test done (KUB) and he would like you (Dr. Speedy) to call him (Urologist) and speak to him about it.

Dr Speedy says, with obvious contempt, "I don't know why he wants THAT test done, all it is is an X-Ray."

"Please call him (Urologist)." I say.

"Let me go call him." Dr. Speedy says as if he just came up with that idea.

After sitting in the ER for another 3 hours, which included being moved from an actual room in the ER, into the hallway, then back into another actual room, here comes Dr. Speedy again.

This is my favorite part of the whole day.

Dr Speedy says, "Did you have your CAT scan done here yesterday?"

"Yes, we were here in the ER why would we go somewhere else?" (I was obviously losing my patience with Dr. Speedy by this point.)

"Well I can't find the report in the system, would it be under another name?"

"Um no, he only has one name." (I look at Dr. Speedy like his face is on upside down this time.)

"Can you check again?" I say

"I can't pull up a report that isn't there." says Dr. Speedy

At this point I want to punch Dr. Speedy in the face but he walked away. He came back about 2 minutes later and hands the report to the Nurse Practitioner who is now taking Tom's entire life history back to when he fell off his bike in the third grade.

Dr. Speedy looks at ME and says, "The report was under just his name without the Jr."

Then he says with serious annoyance in his voice, "That is why I ASKED you if it would be under any other name."

What I said back to him at the time was, "Oh good."

What I wanted to say back to him was, "You flipping idiot, how many years of education does it take to have the common sense to know that if you can't find the report under the person's name and they have a Jr. at the end, MAYBE I should try looking it up WITHOUT the Jr."

Tom wearing a portable EEG machine in 2008.

Sigh...

So after spending the night in the hospital and not being able to eat, and possibly getting exposed to about 5 million other illnesses, Tom came home in pretty much the same condition. He is not in as much pain, and is able to keep food down, but honestly it was not because of anything the doctors did. From what I hear from Tom, he was pretty much left alone in the room the entire time with intermittent visits from Dr.'s and nurses saying "Everything looks fine you should be able to go home soon." Obviously the definition of soon means something entirely different to them.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well first because it is making me feel better to share this experience. But mostly because it made me think about the health literacy epidemic.

I call it an epidemic because it really is everywhere, and while there are few people working to make it better, the health care professionals and systems in general are pretty much ignorant.

When I asked our Dr. Mean Face if she could write down instructions for us about the meds., why did she treat us like that? Isn't the goal of doctoring to make people feel better, and doesn't that include making sure they understand their medications? What if my husband and I could not speak English. When I think about the implications of that, I literally get knots in my stomach.

When Dr. Speedy was "helping" us, was it really that difficult for him to treat us with just a little compassion? Was it necessary for him to have speak to us with annoyance and contempt?

The main thing I kept thinking while we were there is "what is that smell?" But also, "where is the disconnect?"

When did it become THE DOCTOR on this huge pedestal, and the patient, down here in this little hole? Or was it always that way and now there are some of us who are saying, "this is not acceptable."

Just because we did not go to med school, we have every right to know what is going on with our bodies and to expect that our questions about that will get answered with the same respect we show them.

Maybe I am generalizing too much, but I don't think I am, the statistics prove that most people do not know what their Dr. is saying to them, and even if they ask, what are the chances that the Dr. is going to answer them with any kind of respectful thoughtful answer. My fear is that those chances are slim.

Now like I said before, I know that not all Doctors and Nurses are like this. And I will say that most Nurses seem to really care and be concerned for their patients. Also most of us have health insurance and are lucky enough to pick and choose who we go to for help. But when you are suddenly hurt, and sick and afraid and you visit an ER, you don't have that luxury.

The CDC released a study in 2010 showing that about 46.3 million Americans do not have health insurance, that is about 15.4%. In my mind these people are at the greater disadvantage because they are sometimes forced to use only the Er's or Urgent Care Facilities. They are faced with over worked, over tired, doctors and nurses. And it is abundantly clear to me that they are severely understaffed.

I think more than ever we need to put an emphasis on the need for health literacy for anyone working in the health care arena. It should be a requirement.

Even more importantly we as patients need to stand our ground and not allow ourselves to be bullied. That never means it is ok to be mean, but maybe it means we can get a little bit angry, and a little bit loud, and make ourselves heard.

My husband and I are coming away from his experience with knowledge and understanding. We understand that doctors and nurses have a really hard job. We now know that in order to break through that barrier we have to be much more assertive.

Tom with a little home health aid.
(He obviously decided against the ER that day.)

Do you have any stories like this? Any thoughts on how to handle them? We all need to be our own best advocates!

The Power of Shame

2011-06-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Watch this video from the Children of the Code website video series.

From A to Z: Literacy Treasures

2011-05-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

First up, we have a list of the TOP TEN teaching requirements, for GOOD teaching. From the U of Hawaii website, written by Richard LeBlanc. Check them out, I love lists!

This next story is about a really cool program started at the Adult Literacy League in Florida. "Read to Me" is the name of their project and it is all about family literacy. It really hits home because my kids go to a charter school in an urban area and so many of their classmates come from homes with NO books. The first time I learned that, I almost cried. I really wish we could start something like this program here in NJ. Click the pic to see the story.

D.C. Learns a literacy coalition in Washington DC has this very smart blog that I just recently started following. Check out this post about the difference between advocacy and lobbying.

Check out this study posted on the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal website. In short, a study was done determining the link between childhood literacy or language ability and several components of home and family situations, including education levels of their parents. Interesting, but really nothing we didn't already know.

In this article on Nurse.com there is a useful list of ideas for nurses working with low literate patients. Here is the list:

"Once literacy is assessed, nurses should tailor their oral and written communications to match the patient’s level of understanding. For patients with low literacy, Mullen suggests:

• Developing written materials below fifth grade reading levels.

• Keeping content and format simple, with shorter words and sentences.

• Using larger, boldface or underlined fonts, increasing space between lines and black ink.

• Having a magnifying glass and good lighting available for older adults.

• Ensuring patients have assistive devices, such as reading glasses and hearing aids.

• Involving a significant other or caregiver.

She also notes that nurses can refer patients to online resources for medical information and community programs that help improve health literacy levels."

and here is a link to the entire article.

Have you heard of this website: Patients like me? It seems like an easy tool for people to use to find information about their health and also to connect with people who have the same problems. Very simple questions are asked on the main page in order to join. It is only in English though.

This really funny clip from one of my favorite shows "The Big Bang Theory." A funny look at what happens when you don't get the pronunciation right.

And this really cool video of one women saying the same sentence in 21 different accents!

Blogging is (not) Easy!

2011-05-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, C, that I have know since HS is thinking about starting a BLOG.

C and I were in a writing class in HS together. I loved that class. I loved taking it with her, she was and is so smart and she taught me just as much as the teacher did. She went on to become a fabulous lawyer and now mother, we were able to reconnect through Facebook (Love It) and I love seeing her posts about her cute little daughter.

C asked me for some advice so I wrote up this really long reply which basically listed everything I have learned since I started blogging. They are things I wish someone had shared with me when I first started.

While I was writing I thought, "this would make a great post." So I am adapting it a bit to make it less personal, and am sharing it with all of you!

So anyway about blogging, there are a few blogs I follow that I get inspiration from for my blog, particularly with design, I will list them below.

Here are some things I have learned about the blogging world, these are just my perceptions based on my experience.

First, pick a name that is short and catchy and fun and totally relates to the topic!

When I first started blogging it was mostly one giant paragraph with no pictures. The more blogs I read, the more I realize how important it is to always have some visual eye candy in every post, i.e. pictures, drawings, links. Also it is so important to break up the post with lots of paragraph breaks and such.

Huge pet peeves of mine, and most serious bloggers, use spell check! Even the most seasoned writers out there make the worst mistakes with spelling and grammar usage. It is so annoying to readers because they will be really enjoying the post and then BAM! All they see is the mistake blaring at them.

Set a clear goal and objective for your blog. I have a really hard time with this because my blog is so specific, but it relates to so many areas of my life, because anything that takes time away from my family is personal time to me. But I try really hard to stay relevant to what my main goal is for writing the blog, which makes it easier to keep my posts from wandering.

Be warm and personal in your posts. Readers want you to be real and they will pick up on fluff really quickly, and not want to come back. You should decide before you start whether you want to remain anonymous in your blog or not. I personally prefer to not be anonymous because I feel I have nothing to hide, and I never say anything on my blog I wouldn’t say in person to someone. I use my kids’ full names, but I know some people who change their kids’ names in blog posts. I do keep other people anonymous, so when I mention my student or boss I use only their first initial. That way I don’t need to really get permission to use their name, although I never say anything bad about them. Here is a link to a post from one of my favorite bloggers (Four Eyes Rella) about this subject: Should your blog be anonymous or not.

Don’t get discouraged. I have been blogging for about 5 or 6 months now and I only have 10 followers and rarely get comments. When I first started I would check for comments like every 5 minutes (SHAME), but then I started to talk to myself about how that is so not why I started blogging. I really wanted to create an honest blog about what it is like to be an adult literacy tutor, and to share those feelings with the world. I had to remind myself that I did not do it to be accepted or validated. Don’t get me wrong, it feels great when people do comment, and I love to check the stats and see how many times it has been read, but I don’t allow the lack of comments to keep me from posting again and again.

Use pages. I don’t know what blogging tool you are using (I use blogger with google) but they all have a function where you can create “pages”. It makes it fun for the readers, and basically people love to click on things. I have a “blogroll” page, a “My favorite internet trips” page, a “My tutor bag” page and an “Adult Literacy Book list” page. You can look at other blogs to get some inspiration for that.

Post often. Especially in the beginning, because when people find you and start following you they want to see something new every time they come back.

Have fun! If you are enjoying yourself it will come through in your writing.

Okay here is a list of my favorite blogs and why:

Four Eyes Rella: - I stumbled on her blog from I don’t even know where. She lives in Canada and works at a tattoo parlor and has tattoos all over her body and has a really cool bull dog named Tank. She takes fabulous pictures and she does a post every Thursday called “Things I Love Thursday” that is so cool. She scours the internet and brings back all of the coolest things you could find and lists them for you. She is insightful and funny, and very real. I also love her blog design. I discovered great ways to share things from her posts, and I have also learned about blogging etiquette which is important.

Angelina La Dawn Tomato: - I don’t know where I found this blog either. She is a teacher with two cats that are hysterical, and she takes funny pictures, and she also creates the coolest crafts and artwork and such. She is also very real and funny.

Blogging is for Dorks: - I found this blog from Four Eyes Rella’s blog roll. She is a seriously great writer, very touching stuff. She has 5 kids and she writes about them in her posts and it is so funny and heartfelt and relatable. She also crochets which I love and has funny pictures and videos.

A(n) (Un)common Family: - I found this blog from the Studio30+ website which I will tell you about in a minute. She and her husband adopted two kids, their son from Vietnam and their daughter from Ethiopia. She is so funny, like when she talks about how her daughter loves Yo Gabba Gabba I laughed so hard because I could of course relate. She is very open and real in her posts which I also love. Good stuff especially for parents who adopted.

Hyperbole and a Half:- This is the first blog I started following. When I first found it I was so addicted I spent like a whole day looking at all the archived posts. She does mostly comic posts now which I think take a really long time so there are long periods in between her posts. SO, so funny! I have never laughed as hard as I have when reading her posts. She doesn’t take herself or life too seriously. She has funny animals which she posts about and is very smart with her writing.

Last but not least,

Cake Wrecks: - Found this one from the Hyperbole and a Half blog roll. Seriously, funniest blog ever! They post every day which is great because there is always something new to read.

Studio Thirty Plus: - This site is like a gathering place for bloggers over 30. You have to sign up, then you create a home page and you can list your blog on there. It is sort of like a social network for bloggers. They have a featured blogger each week, and they also have great writing prompts every week, which is a cool way to come up with ideas when you can’t think of something.

I really hope this all helps, and I can’t wait to read your blog, I know it will be great!

Brenda

Uncertainty is unconfortable...

2011-05-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hey blogger world, it's me again!

I have noticed as the weather gets warmer and the days are sunny longer I have had less desire to blog. I also noticed many of the blogs I read have had fewer posts as well.

I have had less and less things to write about also because my student has bailed out of every session we have scheduled for the past month and a half. She was in the hospital with pneumonia, then she was away. Then she just stopped calling.

I keep thinking I have done something wrong. Maybe I haven't been encouraging enough, why else would she stop coming. I know she gets discouraged because she wants to finish that masseuse course and get a certificate, but as much as I want her to get to her goal, it is never going to happen as quickly as she wants it to.

That is the frustrating thing about volunteer tutoring. Generally it is only one hour a week, a very slow timeline when you are working with a low level reader. And if the student is not seeing results fast enough, it can be so discouraging for them.

I understand that and try so hard to make it worth her while, but my enthusiasm is just that, mine. I can't force someone to be excited to learn, or dedicated to the process just because I am. I struggle with this in almost every aspect of my life, my kids: why can't they see that with every fall from the bike with no training wheels there is another opportunity to get back on and try again, with my colleagues on the board: why can't they see that there is value in helping out every chance they get, with my friends: why can't they see that helping others is so much more rewarding than complaining about what they don't have in life.

I lament because I no longer have the answers, and I am feeling disheartened and it is affecting my life. I feel my level of patience has been exhausted with my student and that worries me.

But saying it "out loud" helps. I know I will get over this disappointment quickly, rally myself up toward a new goal and seek to make it work.

I did make a big decision recently. I am going back to college. I have always known I would go back some day, but with three small kids I felt there was always an excuse, and I felt afraid of the amount of work that would be involved. After this year I am confident I can handle it.

I went to a year of college at a national technical university and really learned so much there, more than just computers and code. I had an excellent writing teacher who taught me to let go of my inhibitions about writing. I enjoyed going to school and learning, but I put enormous amounts of pressure on myself and when I felt myself slipping (below and A), I started to lose my confidence and dropped out. I am so sure that will not happen this time. I know it will be hard, but I have learned that nothing worth having in life comes easy. I have also learned I don't have to be perfect.

I still plan to tutor, whether it is with D or a new student I don't know right now. But I love tutoring and would never dream of giving it up.

Stay tuned...

P.S. The photo above is a picture I took of my girls on a bridge at a local park. I love when I find bridges now because when I see them I am reminded of my journey.

Fun Finds For Funky Tutors

2011-04-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

One thing I have learned since officially becoming a "blogger" is that bloggers read many many blogs. I have a blog roll on my page that lists my favorites, but I read so many more than that. I get ideas, both for content and for style from my fellow bloggers.

One thing I have picked up while strolling across the 'net is this obsession most bloggers have with Etsy.

Etsy is awesome. It is a website where crafters and artists and sculptors and thrift shop junkies can sell their wares.

I recently purchased that really cool necklace above from Etsy. I wear this thing every day. I have a thing for bumble bees and have decided this necklace is just a first for my collection. To add to the variety of my posts I have decided to post some cool things, all literary, that I come across on Etsy.

SO... This week we have:

This really cool print, I want it!

Wouldn't these be cool to teach an ESOL student the alphabet

Yes Please!

Yes Yes Please!

Ok, the description for these says "for your child" (which actually is cool too) but I could see using these for a student also. They are super cute!

And last but not least, I so need one of these!!

Have fun shopping ya'll!

Children as Literacy Partners

2011-04-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

On a completely non-tutoring note, I changed my blog colors to make them more Spring like. I love Spring, it is my second favorite season. Fall is my first, but of course there are some wonderful things about Spring that you can not get in any other season. At least not in the North East.

As you can see from the picture of me above, I have always loved Spring! When Spring is here, I feel so peppy and ready to work.

I am hoping my student starts feeling that way also. Lately she has really lacked motivation and she seems to be in a funk.

Back to business: Last week I ended up bringing my youngest daughter to our tutoring session. I had to pick her up early from the sitter because the sitter had an emergency. I didn't want to cancel my session with D, because we had missed the week before. So I said to myself, I am going to bring Ally with me. She is three and LOVES books, so I immediately decided this week, D would read to Ally during our session.

Of course, D was late, again. But I didn't say anything negative to her about it. I am always positive with her, which is not easy because she is a generally pessimistic person.

When she walked in she saw Ally right away and smiled big. She seems to really like children, and Ally is cute and sweet and easy to like so there was an instant attraction.

I told D she would be reading to Ally and she got nervous. I reassured her that Ally is only three and has no expectations about how well or not well she can read, so she relaxed.

I actually took a video of her reading to Ally. I will post it at the end. It is hard to hear her, but hopefully you can understand.

The book Ally picked was a rhyming book about a rabbit family. In the beginning she stumbled over many of the longer words, and I had to correct many of the words for her, but by the end of the book D was reading more fluently. It just confirms for me that with more practice she will be able to read fairly well.

The hard part is getting her to practice at home when she is not being pushed. She really has a hard time pushing herself.

I know some libraries use dogs to help young struggling readers. They have dog volunteers come in and the children just sit and read to them. The theory being that the children can relax and just read, there is no pressure because dogs do not judge. Well neither do three year olds. Ally was an easy audience for D because there was no pressure, no judgement, she could just read.

I wish I could bring Ally to more of our sessions. It would be very difficult logistically. I know D has some nephews that live with her and her family. I am thinking about donating some of my kids' books to her and having her, as an assignment, read to them each week. I am going to bring it up to her this week, I will let you know how that goes.

The picture above is of my two oldest girls. Maddie the 10 year old is a great reader and will often read to her sisters, if they can convince her. Children make great literacy partners!

Now here is the video, I edited it to make it shorter. Enjoy!

Health Literacy is HOT!

2011-03-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

I have been writing a lot about health literacy the past few weeks. It is really something I am feeling passionate about lately. Probably because my family has had so many healthcare issues.

In my first post about HL, I mentioned that I went to an in-service on this topic. It was taught by a woman, Elissa Director, who founded the Health Coalition of NJ. Like I said in that post, this in-service was very informative and I wish it had been longer.

Great News! At the upcoming Literacy for Life conference, this workshop is being offered: "What Tutors Can Do to Increase Health Literacy." This is a double session workshop, from 9:30 to 12:45, jam packed with fabulous information to help us tutors make an impact in our students lives with health literacy. Not only that, you are guaranteed to take away some valuable information to make your own self more health literate!

Here is the workshop description:

Navigating the US healthcare system is extremely challenging. Two decades of research indicate that today's health information is presented in ways that is not usable by most Americans. Participants will examine the changing definitions of health literacy, the impact of low literacy on health, and the role that culture plays in determining health practices and beliefs. We will identify some of the many literacy tasks needed to understand and act on health information and how to incorporate skill-building activities into tutoring sessions. In addition to providing useful health literacy resources for adult literacy students, each attendee will receive a copy of Staying Healthy: An English Learner's Guide to Health Care and Health Living.

Let me just say that Health Literacy is really HOT right now, in the literacy world that is! I think it is even bigger than financial literacy. Anyone tutoring right now should know the information being taught in this class. Anyone tutoring an ESOL student should be REQUIRED to take this class.

PLEASE SIGN UP!! You will not regret it. You have my personal guarantee.

Click HERE go to the conference page. Or even better, give me a call at the LVNJ office and I will sign you up over the phone.

Cheers!

From A to Z: Weekly Treasures

2011-03-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. I am really unsure how I feel about this first article I found on EducationNews.org. On the one hand I know from personal experience how difficult it really is to tell the level of a person's intelligence simply by testing. On the other hand it is really the only tool available to determine the levels across a broad range of people.

I do however agree that testing can be improved, but then that requires more funding and more manpower. Shouldn't those resources go to helping people instead of testing them. Read the article, Maliteracy Practice in the Assessment of Adult Literacy , and see what you think. I am interested in know your thoughts!

I am so impressed by anyone who holds these large conferences. Mainly because I know how much work goes into them.

I love to hear about a literacy program getting honored!

A very informative article from about the problem of health illiteracy specifically regarding consent forms.

More stories that illustrate how important health literacy is. I love the line at the very end: “I never ask, ‘Do you understand?’ ” she added, “because they say, ‘Uh-huh,’ and you don’t know what they understand. So instead I’ll say, ‘I know your daughter is going to want to know about this, so what are you going to tell her?’ ” From the journalgazette.net.

I did not know this! Obama Administration Announces Start of Student Exam Window for 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge.

Does anyone have a high school student who took this? I am really interested to find out the results!

April is National Financial Literacy Month. Check this unofficial website to learn about the 30 steps to financial wellness.

And finally this, it is powerful.

My First Vlog

2011-03-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to do a Vlog for a while now. I love to keep things fresh and exciting! This video I captured recently seemed like the perfect choice for my first one.

This is a video of my middle daughter Katy who is 6 years old. She has wanted to learn to read for a long time now and has worked really hard this year in Kindergarten. She has figured out most of her phonics and has learned many sight words. I am so proud of her, and so happy that she loves books as much as I do.

Here she is reading Green Eggs and Ham, her favorite book, all by herself.

Literacy for Life 2011

2011-03-17T09:41:00.001-07:00

I am doing a promo today for the conference I am working on. This is an annual event for LVNJ and this will be my second year working on and attending the conference. It is going to be an exciting and informative event and I encourage any adult tutors or educators who are in the area to COME!

Click on the logo below to get to the registration page at LVNJ.org

It's Personal

2011-03-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

I have been putting this off for a long time. I didn't really want to write about the personal stuff going on in my life right now, mostly because I am unsure if I should really feel free to do that on a blog. Most people I know tend to keep their personal lives hidden and shy away from sharing. This is not how I am in life, and this blog, while only a snapshot of a small part of my life, is an outlet. When the ideas for writing start forming in my head, I need to release them before they become stagnant.

I haven't been tutoring for the past two weeks. My poor student. I will get to why in a minute, first here is the back story of my family. I am married and have three beautiful daughters, Maddie who is 10 and super bright and energetic. Katy is 6 and so loveable and bubbly. Then there is Ally who is 3 and truly the spoiled baby of the bunch. I always say she rules the house. My husband is young and energetic and helps out around the house all the time.

6 Years ago my husband suffered a grand mal seizure while sleeping one night. Long story short he had a benign tumor in his brain. He had it removed and has been taking medication to prevent any further seizures. He has been basically seizure free for about 5 years. So for 5 years we have been moving along. I increased my responsibilities outside of the home, believing that everything was copacetic. I love to keep busy and use my brain so I signed up for as many things as I could that would allow me to do that.

Wednesday March 2, 2011, Tom (my husband) and Maddie were driving in the mini-van, on the way home from picking up a desk we bought on CL. While driving on a very busy 2 lane highway, he had a grand mal seizure. He crashed into 10 cars sitting in a used car lot and then slowly came to a stop on the side of the road. The airbag deployed and saved his life, and my daughter was wearing her seat belt which saved her life. The car was destroyed.

Now they are both healing, mentally and physically. For me I have been going 100 miles an hour ever since it happened. This is how I operate, I can't sit around and wait for things to happen, I need to make them happen on my own and in my own way. Life does not work that way, and I have to let go and give in to what is being directed to me. Flat tires happen (and did happen), even when I am already stressed enough. Power window motors die while I wish it didn't all happen at once, I can't control that.

The reason I share all this is on my tutoring blog is because tutoring is part of my life now. Even though tutoring is not always personal, our lives are and one tiny stone thrown causes multiple ripples. When I feel out of control in my personal life, it affects every aspect of my life. My husband can't drive now, I have to be available to pick up and drop off all my kids. My car was totalled, it was the most reliable source of transportation we owned that could fit our whole family. These "stones" could create havoc, but I am choosing not to let them.

While my first priority is to my family I always think about the affects on my other priorities in life. I may need to shift a few things now and maybe give some things up, but tutoring is still a priority to me and a passion, so I want to keep it!

I have a new car (well new to me) my family is home safe and sound, and I can go back to my tutoring this week with the realization that no matter how hard I try I can not control everything.

From A to Z: Weekly Treasures

2011-02-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

From the Oak Cliff Advocate, a story about a literacy tutor helping to make a difference in Texas. I LOVE stories like these!!

The Open Doors program in Winnipeg Canada is helping to change the learning experience for adults who can not read. Here is the whole story from The Times website.

Ok, this is so cool. I found out about this on the BBC website. Well known personalities in South Wales were approached to write short novels that are aimed at new adult readers. What I want to know is when are we going to do this in the US?

Quick reads boost adult learners

Health literacy is a two-way street. Agreed Agreed! Check out this blog post from the timesunion.com. It is written by a doctor who seems to understand that improving health literacy comes from both sides. I really enjoyed the "Mom's RX" list at the bottom, especially the advice: "Talk to your doctor when you are fully dressed, not while sitting in a hospital gown."

Take this test which is an excerpt from he Newest Vital Sign written by Dr. Barry Weiss. This blog post written by Joe Rojas-Burke challenges: "Are you health literate?"

This video of an adult literacy student named Edward is so awesome! Brings a tear to my eye!

Literacy is NOT Defined as Reading

2011-02-17T07:01:00.000-08:00

A common misconception among most people is that just because you can read you are literate. Not true. What if you don't understand what you are reading?

What do you think when you read the word "Hypertension"? Of course if you are a doctor or nurse, or actually suffer from this and have learned what it is you would know. But what if you have never heard this term before, you go to your doctor, and they say, "well you are suffering from hypertension so I want you to take this prescription and come back in a month." If you don't specifically ask what it means what would you think? I am too tense maybe?

A study done by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) back in 1996 showed that patients with low literacy thought the term "high tension" (what they used to call hypertension) meant "a disease of the nerves caused by stress, worry, or an anxious personality." The book Explaining Illness: research, theory, and strategies, written by Bryan B. Whaley, says that these patients "believed the way to treat "high pretension" was to rest and relax-to take it easy."

I looked up the word and it means, High Blood Pressure. I don't even know what that means. The medical websites say it is high tension in the arteries. Well what does that even mean? There are a lot of words that I did not understand when I tried to look it up. Systolic, Diastolic, oh and then there was pre-hypertension.

Basically after wading through all those terms I got to the heart of the matter, and basically if you have a "High Blood Pressure" (what is high anyway), you could die from it.

So if an adult, with only a 3rd or 4th grade reading level, or an immigrant who does not understand the language very well and is maybe somewhat intimidated by the whole health care system was told they have "hypertension" with no other explanation; would they know what it meant? Would they know where to go to find out? What is the likelihood that they will do what is required to take care of it?

Here is another example. You walk into a doctor's office and the receptionist hands you the "Privacy Statement" that you are required to sign. If you are like me you just sign it without really thinking about it, because let's face it I am there to see the doctor and whatever I need to do to get into that room faster and get out and on with my life I am going to do.

But I challenge you to actually read it the next time, and tell me honestly if you recognize all of the words and acronyms that are used throughout. Here is an excerpt taken from a local doctor's privacy statement:

Okay, because I am pretty well read and went to college and was forced at college to learn most of the words in this paragraph, I think I can easily figure out the gist of it. But what about an adult that only reads at a 3rd grade level. Do you think they would understand this paragraph? The word "Pursuant" for example. Or "Provision" or "Disclosure".

These privacy statements aren't life threatening, and they aren't meant to hurt us as patients, but they are confusing and somewhat intimidating in nature. Isn't that how most forms are at the doctor's office, or hospital, or clinic?

I went to an in-service on Tuesday at the Plainfield Public Library. It was titled: "What Adult Literacy Tutors can do to Increase Health Literacy." This workshop was taught by a well known expert in the field of Health Literacy. She is one of the founders of the Health Coalition of NJ and has given many workshops to tutors, students, and even health care professionals.

First question: What is Health Literacy? Well Health Literacy is defined many different ways actually, and has changed throughout the years. One definition put forth by The Centre for Literacy of Quebec states:

Health literacy allows the public and personnel working in all health-related contexts to find, understand, evaluate, communicate and use information.
Health literacy is the use of a wide range of skills that improve the ability of people to act on information in order to live healthier lives.
These skills include reading, writing, listening, speaking, numeracy, and critical analysis, as well as communication and interaction skills.

All these skills are required to be able to understand health and wellness: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Numeracy, and Critical Analysis.

Honestly it never occurred to me how really cut off low literate people are from really understanding health care. I am thankful for this workshop, for opening my eyes to the facts.

I learned that according to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy that 88% of the country is below the proficient level in health literacy. To me that is way too high and it is so obvious that there is a clear disconnect between how the information is being given to us and how it is received.

So what can be done? The workshop presenter gave us tutors, tips and ideas, and resources to use to help introduce the topic into our tutoring. But she also mentioned that it is a two way street. She feels, and I agree, that the health care providers need to learn to make it simple. That doesn't mean dumb it down, it means make it easier for everyone to understand the important information that we as patients need to know. And maybe doctor's and even nurses could take a little extra time to make sure their patients really understand and not just assume that they do.

My mother is a nurse and I have an aunt who is a doctor, and I have many friends who are in medical professions. I love these people and have learned many important things from them, and because of them I do not feel intimidated to ask questions. But I know many people still are, and I challenge those who work in this profession to learn to look out for these patients. In the mean time I will do my best to help my student with whatever health literacy needs she has or wants.

If you would like more information about Health Literacy in NJ, please click here:

"Going slow does not prevent arriving." ~Nigerian Proverb

2011-02-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

Life is overwhelming in general for me as it is for most people. I am a mother and wife and I work part time and help out at my daughters' school all the time. I feel like every day I am going 60 miles an hour and sometimes I forget to slow down and enjoy something that I am doing. When I am tutoring D, I am forced to slow down and revel in the process of learning and teaching. I leave our sessions actually breathing slower and feeling more calm. We read a story together and talk about it and I help her learn new words and understand them and while we only get through one story in an hour, it feels like longer because we take our time. While I know I am helping to teach her something new each week, she is inadvertently teaching me about patience.

D never comes to class prepared. I have been asking her to buy a cheap spiral bound notebook and maybe a little journal and some pencils since the first week we started. She has never brought them. I never say anything negative about it, I just keep reminding her to bring them. She also does not do homework most days, but I still try and give her at least one small assignment to do each week.

D is still a child in many ways, she lives at home still, relies on her family for most things like transportation and she actually whines sometimes to me about how hard the reading and writing is for her. I finally brought her a small examination booklet to use as a journal, just to get her writing. I asked her what she might be interested in writing about, she shrugged her shoulders. I asked her what her favorite t.v. shows were. She started naming some shows that my 10 year old daughter watches. She said "I am still a big kid." I smiled and said, we all have a kid in us.

I tell her all the time, "you CAN read, and you are very capable of learning to read more, you just need to practice, and they only way to practice reading, is to READ." She usually looks at me and smiles and says, "yeah I know."

So how do you motivate a student who has never been motivated to learn to read or write fluently. They teach us all about goal setting in tutor training, using the SMART goal system. But she has only one goal in mind, to pass her online masseuse course and get a job. It is not going to happen that way. The goals need to be broken down into smaller pieces. This is something I am determined to work on with her next week. Otherwise she will never be motivated to do the work in between now and her ultimate goal.

Some new things I have learned: 1. She really enjoys reading magazines. We tried with some People magazines for a couple of weeks, because she told me she is really into gossip and entertainment news. But she stumbled over so many of the words that I knew it was too advanced. So I thought about some kids magazines. I pulled a National Geographic for kids and a Girl's Life magazine out and let her choose. She picked the Girl's Life magazine and did much better with the reading. She really enjoys reading human interest stories and I noticed that once she got into the story she was reading much more fluently, and sounding out words without me having to remind her. She would stop after each paragraph and ask me questions about the story and I would smile and say, "let's keep reading and find out."

2. Also as you can see in the picture above I have her use a pencil point to keep track of the words while she is reading, and it has helped so much with helping her keep track of where she is and to focus on really reading each word. When she gets to a word that she doesn't immediately recognize she often tries to guess at it, but I make her sound it out. I use my thumb and finger to cover parts of the word to help her break it down.

I will continue to push her, though I have learned it can not be too much. I will continue to push myself and keep learning new things and new ways to help her learn. Next week we will be working on some short term goals, and I am going to try reading a play with her, I think the back and forth of the dialogue will be an interesting change.

The business of tutoring continues everywhere, everyday, and I am really enjoying being a part of the process. I am reminded each week that patience and caring can go so far. Until next week...

From A to Z: Weekly Treasures

2011-01-24T07:26:00.000-08:00

In my ongoing quest to know as much as I can about the world of Adult Literacy, I have uncovered more thoughtful and insightful blogs and articles on the subject. Enjoy!

A. From Suite101.com, this blog written by Jacqui Taylor, a literacy tutor in the UK, is about one of my newfound biggest pet peeves. Finding good reading material for adult literacy students.

From the Richmond Confidential website out of Richmond, CA, this article describes a great new program being started by LEAP. The Literacy for Every Adult Program received a grant to start an adult computer literacy program geared to helping adults learn about all that the WWW has to offer.

C. Watch this very cool video clip from the blog of Eva Gilliam, a videojournalist in Africa. This short documentary describes how adolescents in Mozambique are helping to combat adult illiteracy.

d. From a blog spot on the ReadingHorizons at home website, find out about some great new resources for using technology in tutoring adults.

e. Amazing article about a man who learned to read and write at the age of 98. “And he got out his pen and started writing his name. He had never written his name before.” From the Ann Arbor Chronicle website.

A must read!

F. From the American Observer a piece about the state of adult illiteracy in Washington DC. The numbers are staggering, especially the contrast between white and black residents.

G. We have all heard about the tragic events that took place in Tucson, AZ, but did you know that Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) is a supporter of Adult Literacy and is actually a member of the House Adult Literacy Caucus. I learned this from the sympathy statement posted on the ProLiteracy website.

In this Associated Press photo, mourners and supporters gather near a memorial in front of the University Medical Center in Tucson.

h. We all know adult illiteracy is a very serious problem especially since funding is being cut everywhere we look. Crying won't help, so we might as well laugh. From the Canadian show This Hour Has 22 Minutes here is a funny clip to help us all keep our sense of humor.

Tutoring Is Not For The Weak at Heart

2011-01-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

Yes I know it’s been a while since I have posted anything. Frankly I have been just too busy to do anything but the absolute necessary; sorry to say the blog was not absolutely necessary especially during the holidays.

I did get matched with a student, about a week after my last post. I was really excited when I found out, I mean I had been waiting for a while, but I was also really nervous. Let me introduce you to D: She is a young woman, 26, she was born and raised in the states and graduated high school with a special degree. So she is a basic literacy student which is what I requested after training. I really like her, she is sweet and energetic, and seems motivated.

We have met 4 times so far, first time we met in a coffee shop, I told her about my family and I asked her about her life and what her dreams in life are. She really wants to become independent and have a good job, and help to take care of her family. She signed up for an online course to become a masseuse, she has to finish by June 2011 or she will miss the deadline. Here is the reality, she can’t read the workbook. This workbook they sent is written on a college level and she is reading at a 3rd grade level. Also, the course she signed up for is to learn massage techniques, she won’t be a certified masseuse at the end of this course. I tried to explain this to her, but she is determined to finish the course and then look for a job after. I am still getting to know her so I don’t want to be too pushy. I am taking it week by week.

I decided to start simple; I pulled a book from the library called The Watson’s Go to Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis. It is a bit above her level, written on a 6th grade level. But it is a good starting point because the story is interesting for her. I had her read the first few pages at our last session. She did so much better than when she was trying to read that workbook. And she laughed at the story; I was so excited when I heard her laugh. Success, I picked a book she likes. I say that because the week before I had picked a book of Haitian folk tales for her to read (her family is from Haiti) and she was NOT impressed.

I have had her working on building her sight word base. I have a strong feeling that she might be dyslexic, and the best thing for her at this point is to just learn as many sight words as possible. It may not help with her writing, but at least she will be able to read more fluently. Words like Possibly, Discuss, Distribute, Explain, Diagnose, Describe, Negative are among the flashcards I created for her. We go over them every week, and I have her practice writing them as well. I am trying to follow the tutor training as much as I can but basically I am playing it by ear. I stressed about our meetings so much in the first few weeks. I read tons of manuals and researched ideas on websites, it is so much information to decipher and I usually have very little time to go over it all. So the best thing is to try what I have learned, if it doesn't work then I will try something else.

Some lessons I have learned so far:

1. Make sure you have a well defined lesson plan, but be prepared to change it, especially in the beginning. Some things you will just not be prepared for, like a grumpy student, in which case I found it is best not to expect too much from her. Or a late student which means not enough time to get everything done.

2. You can’t feel responsible for everything involved with your student. D suffers from sickle cell and has a hard time with the cold weather. She has asked me a number of times (sometimes actually whining) if I can give her rides to and from the library for our sessions. It is totally against the rules of tutoring the trainers gave to us; basically it is an insurance liability for them. I understand this and even agree with it on a cerebral level, but on the level of feelings which is where I operate most times it feels wrong. But I am, if nothing else, a rules follower and so I stuck to my guns. Having kids definitely prepared me for saying no.

3. Your student may disappear sometimes. Last week after a two week break for the holidays my student was nowhere to be found. Her cell phone had been cut off, the person who answered at her home phone said she was not there and she was not returning any of the emails I had sent to her. Then she just didn’t show up at our regular scheduled session. I feared the worst. I didn’t want to but I started thinking maybe she was giving up on the whole thing. But I kept emailing her and finally today she emailed me back and is going to be at our session today. It’s weird but I am sure she has a reason; I am just going to keep working with her regardless. We are all human anyway right?

4. Just because I like to read does not mean my student does, or ever will for that matter. I mean she had a hard time reading all through school, she has made it this far in life with only a basic knowledge of the English language, what makes ME think I am going to turn her into some avid novel reader. Still there is a small desire in me that she will one day want to read just for pleasure. I am a dreamer.

5. Like I learned in tutor training, when you are teaching the rules of grammar and spelling and pronunciation to a student, the best thing to say about the rules is: this rule applies until it doesn’t. These lessons apply until they don’t, that is what I am repeating in my head every week. Which can be exciting, because I am learning something new all the time and that is one thing I truly LOVE?

6. I am not perfect and neither is D. So perfection is not even a word in my vocabulary right now. This sets the bar low for me, so I can set it low for D, which is where it needs to be set right now. Baby steps are okay, and they will probably be tiny steps for a long time.
I am determined to do a better job with my blogging from here on out. I owe to myself and to D and it is honestly therapeutic which is definitely something I need right now.

PLEASE feel free to leave comments, I love them!

Adult Literacy Weekly Treasures

2010-10-28T07:27:00.001-07:00

I have become somewhat obsessed with finding out as much information as I can about adult literacy. I have started "googling" adult literacy almost everyday, and have particularly enjoyed some of the blogs I have come across. I am going to try posting my latest finds each week. Happy reading!

From Washington D.C.'s Street Sense: an excellent article about the shame some adult students feel about their illiteracy.
http://www.streetsense.org/2010/10/adult-literacy-a-silent-crisis/

From the Durham Literacy Center, Adult Literacy Community Blog: a post about a little known syndrome some adult students are facing.
http://dlcal.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/irlen-syndrome/

From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Some findings about the number of illiterate adults both Nationally and Worldwide.
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=6401&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201

From Media Post Blogs: An article about the clever ideas used to promote literacy at Greenville Literacy Association in Greenville, South Carolina.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=136025

Last but not least, and ad from the Ad Council called Barriers-Adult Literacy.
http://scaryideas.com/content/19614/

Hope you enjoy these links as much as I did.

17%

2010-10-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

You are standing in line at the bank, the older gentleman in front of you looks like any other citizen. Clean cut, dressed well, he even smiles at you kindly. He gets to the teller and holding his bank book and a check he tells the person, “I forgot my glasses again, could you please fill out this deposit slip for me.” The bank teller knowingly smiles and kindly agrees. What are the possibilities that this man didn’t forget his glasses, but in fact cannot read or write the English language and so has developed coping skills to get through life. The statistics show that 17%* of adult residents in NJ (out of a total population of 8,707,739) are without adequate literacy skills, so it is pretty likely. To me this is staggering.

The story changes only slightly if they are an ESOL adult. Maybe at their job and at home they can speak their native language, but out in the community the majority of the time they need help communicating their needs. These adults are not numbers; they are the people we meet every day, parents or grandparents of friends, neighbors, the young man who delivers your lunch every day, maybe even family members.

It is easy to be angry and say why? Why has no one helped them? If they are understandably too ashamed or afraid to get help, what will happen to them? When I first read the statistics I was overwhelmed and felt somewhat in despair for our state. But when I became a volunteer with LV of Union County, the numbers ceased to matter. I learned that the adults who come to these programs are looking for help and they have a name and a history, and that matters. If you are their tutor, it becomes all about them, making sure their voice is heard above all the noise fear and shame has created. Maybe the illiteracy numbers don’t go down because you helped one person learn to fill out their own bank deposit slip, but that person’s life has become easier, and maybe they have pride and determination to go further.

I finished my tutor training two weeks ago and it was one of the best trainings I have ever been to; well thought out, and full of great examples. I don’t mean to gush, but all of the trainers were so understanding and caring and honest. I learned so much, not just about how to teach an adult, but what it takes personally. I have developed a greater respect overall for tutors and trainers and anyone in this field who is trying to make adult literacy a priority.

I haven’t been matched with a student yet, but I know I will get one. With 1 in 6 adults in NJ needing help, there is bound to be someone who needs me sooner or later. Of course this brings on a whole new set of fears and questions. What will I say to them when I meet them for the first time? Will they be as scared and unsure as I will be? How can I make them feel comfortable and let them know I don’t feel sorry for them, I am proud of them already for coming forward and being a part of the solution? I am eager to find out the answers to these questions and to share them with everyone I know. Stay tuned!

*Estimates of low literacy developed by the National Center for Education Statistics for the U.S Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. Their website: http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/Index.aspx

Power In Words

2010-10-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to a special event hosted by LV of Union county. This is the LVNJ affiliate program whose tutor training I am going through. All of the trainees in my class were invited by our trainer who organized the event. It was a celebration for tutors and students, and a launching of the second annual student writing and art magazine called "Connections."

I had to work that day and I went right to the event from work. I was tired and a little unsure of whether I should even go. But I had said I would go and I wanted to keep my word, plus I was really curious to hear the students stories and to see the artwork done by one of their students.

When I got there I was really happy to see they were serving coffee : ). Also I saw some of my fellow tutor training classmates. I always feel more comfortable in unfamiliar places if I know at least one person. We all sat together in the audience and talked about our days and how we thought training was going, it was a good bonding experience.

Then the program started. There were the usual thanks and congratulations to the people who had made the program possible. But then the students started their readings. The first student was actually a student of our trainer S and she got up and introduced him. He was an older gentleman, a basic literacy student and he had written a short letter about what it meant to him to know how to read. He was understandably nervous, and stumbled some, but it didn't matter, the entire audience was captivated and you could almost feel the power of their support holding him up wanting him to achieve this goal. I was in awe.

Each student that came up was introduced by their tutor before they spoke. I loved this part just as much as the students' readings because you could see the pride in their faces. A few of the stories made me cry, like the woman who wrote about overcoming a fear so she could work and provide for her family. There was one story written by an older ESOL gentleman whose command of the language was very impressive. He wrote about his experience coming to America and finding the LV program to help him learn to read and write English. He ended his essay with a statement about how important it is for everyone who comes to America to learn to appreciate and understand the American culture. I was so proud to be an American at that moment and the camaraderie among the English speakers, new and experienced, was so poignant.

Public speaking is a very difficult thing for most people. I know even myself after having taken classes on how to be better at public speaking and knowing how to read and write very fluently, still get so nervous when standing before a large crowd of people whose eyes and ears are all tuned to me. For an adult, who has not fully mastered the ability to read and write English, to have the courage and determination to get up and read something they wrote, and to do so clearly and with certainty is a most commendable feat.

I was so encouraged after attending this program. When I am touched personally by something it never leaves me, and I know I will never forget this first lesson in the power of volunteer tutoring.

Fear versus Knowledge

2010-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

I started tutor training two weeks ago. My boss, J, wanted me to start blogging about my experience. I started late with the blogging because I honestly did not know what to say. J said, "You could start writing the blog before the training starts, write about what your expectations are." But I really did not know what to expect. I know how I felt which was scared and excited. I am not a teacher and I never graduated from college and aside from teaching my children the basics of life I have never really taught anyone anything. Tutoring seemed so elusive to me. As with most things in my life however, I decided I was not going to let my fear keep me from trying.

So training started on a Tuesday night, and I went with my mind open to the trainers. One of the first things trainer S said has stuck with me like a permanent post it note: "If you can read, you can teach someone to read, if you can speak English, you can teach someone to speak English.” AMAZING! How simple. I like simple thoughts that make sense and this thought resonated with me instantly. Second thing I learned that first night: We don't have to be perfect, we may be the only chance these adults have to learn, we are good enough because we took the time and are willing to be there with them. Another simple but profound thought. Thank goodness for my trainers who probably could see the uncertainty in our faces, and knew just what to say to help us un-cloud our minds.

Talking with some of the other tutor trainees was really encouraging for me. No matter the reason that brought us all there, we all shared one desire: to help someone learn to read and write English. It was both humbling and empowering to be with these very smart and capable people all learning at the same time. I left feeling certain that I could handle this journey, I left unafraid and still excited!

How it All Began

2010-09-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

I love to learn, I have my whole life. I always liked school, even when I didn't like it, you know during those evil teenage years. I also love to read, and I find joy in writing. Since I started working for LVNJ a year ago I have honestly been fascinated by the idea that adults are out there in NJ who never learned to read or write. I can't relate to that, and often times when I can't relate to something I can't understand it. I did my job for the past year like any other job, just going through the motions. Always happy to have a job that I am good at, and a boss that is really easy to get along with, but never really putting it together with the reason we were there. then J, my boss, said to me a few months ago, "I think you should do tutor training, I think you would be good at it and would like it." Huh, that never occured to me, but since I love to learn, why not.

During the time I was waiting for the training to start I was at work one day and got a call, an older woman in her 70's, she was born and raised in NJ, and never learned to read. This struck a chord in me. I love older people, I love to learn from them and hear their stories about life. I wanted to reach through the phone and give this lady a hug and then teach her to read. It all clicked with me. This is why LVNJ is here, this is why I have a job and why it is really important that I do that job so well. This is why J stresses about money. What if we run out of money, what if one day LVNJ is not here and some other adult out there who can't read or write decides one day, that's it, I am going to take steps and find a way to learn, but they have noone to call because LVNJ is gone.

But we are here, and I am becoming a tutor, and while I don't know exactly who I will tutor, it doesn't matter to me. They called and reached out to people and that is an amazing first step, and I am privileged to help take them the rest of the way, no matter how long that takes. Like a bridge makes it possible for someone to cross from one side to the other, that is what I strive to be, a bridge from illiteracy to literacy.