TROPICAL DAYS AT SAFEWAY TOMATO SOUP Frozen Campbell's. a 0 q Concentrate. 284 mL tin 341 mL tin BAKERY KAISER BUNS 6 for MasterCard. Scotch Buy. B.C. LING COD In the i Piece. Thawed for Your convenience. 44/ 100g Ib SUNLIGHT ular Quality. Approx. 10 Ib. bag. iba begs eae ORANGE JUICE S9 NEW YORK STEAK Boneless. 6-8 per pkg. Cut from the Strip Loin 10.98/ k lb PRICES IN EFFECT... Dec./ 1992 Y, December THURS. | - FRI. Advertised prices in effect at your neighbourhood Castlegar Safeway store. Quantity rights reserved. Some items may be exactly as shown. eopty frazpo hh I got so frustrated, | would go into my own little closet where I could hide away. 77 —Tracy Morrell, 30 At least 650,000 adults in British Columbia can not read or write. When they look at simple labels on containers, open a book, or look at street signs, what they see may be as hard to decipher as the above headline. These people who have minimal, or no functional reading, writ- ing, or numeracy skills, are termed illiterate. This story will explode many myths associated with illiteracy, and will also share one young woman’s struggle to overcome adult In 1989, a survey was conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of the National Literacy Secretariat. The surveys, which consisted of interviews administered to individuals in their homes, involved a series of tasks designed to measure literacy skills commonly encountered in daily life. Upon completion of the survey, some i ing and shocking facts Pp Only two in every three Canadians functioned at level four. At level four, Canadians can meet most everyday reading demands. This group exhibited a wide range of reading skills. On the other end of the scale, level one, there were one in 20 Canadians who had difficulty dealing with printed material. These people identified themselves as people who could year of my life.” Tracy’s reading did improve, but very slowly, “Like an ant walking across the floor, very, very, slowly.” Even though Tracy found the special program was helping her, she said even the teachers treated her differently. “The teachers figured that once I was in a special education class things should be easier for me.” But Tracy still struggled with reading, and due to the different and often negative treatment she received, she became withdrawn. “I got so frustrated, I would go into my own little closet where I could hide away.” There were some people in Tracy's life who realized she had a serious reading problem. These well meaning friends, and family members would bail her out by helping her to cover up her disabil- ity. Through her teen years Tracy would do odd jobs for people. Quite often they would leave her a list of chores they wanted her to do, but Tracy found a way to cope with the lists. “I would get the list and then phone my family, or friends. I would spell out the words to them, and then they would tell me Story andsphoto by Karen Kerkhoff this required some amount of reading. i “The children would ask me to read them stories, so I would substitute reading with videos, or I would play card games with them. If that didn’t work, I would try to find a book that I could read, but it had to have very, very short stories.” Tracy remembers one incident in particular which made her realize she had to lear to read better. “I was in grade eight, and I was babysitting two children. They asked me to read them a story about a big, red dog. I sat down with them, with the book in my hand, and I started to make up a story about a big, red dog. The kids looked at me and they said ‘that’s not the way the story goes’. That was when I realized I had to be able to read.” Tracy is now working on that realization by getting the tutoring she needs. Once a week Tracy goes to the home of her literacy tutor, Linda Parker, to receive two hours of tutoring. Parker said she has also realized benefits from the program. “I was looking for some worthwhile volunteer work to do, and I thought tutoring would be very worthwhile. Through the tutoring, Tracy and I have formed a lasting friendship. Watching Tracy's self-confidence and reading improve has been a not read. In British Columbia, that means roughly 650,000 can’t read well enough to function in an} Myth: Most of the functionally illiterate are immigrants. everyday world which requires adequate reading | Fact; More than two thirds were born in Canada and speak English or iS. Coupled with the rapidly declining number of | French at home. Jobs which require no reading or writing skills, | Myth; The functionally illiterate are older people who didn’t have a lessons. these shocking facts and figures prove that B.C. z has a serious literacy problem. chance to go to scliool. ga Conation Task Force on Libsracy cape Fact: Almost half of these adults are less than 45 years old. illiteracy costs Canadian industry over four +. =i : billion dollars a year. The costs associated with Myth: Undereducated people live 1m rural areas. welfare, unemployment, prison, and lost tax rev- | Fact: Over half live in metropolitan areas. billion dollars caper ese Society Of cight to ten | Waysh: These people are not capable of learning to read or write. billion dollars every year, but the personal cost associated with illiteracy can never be measured. Tracy Morrell, 30, knows the personal cost of illiteracy, since she has paid the price her whole | life. But one and a half years ago she decided the eracy program. Tracy started her schooling in Utah, at the age rewarding experience for me.” There are no standard lesson books for literacy tutors. Each no ding adult is an ivi with individual needs, and so it is up to the tutor and the learner to determine which books are appropriate for Tracy and Linda scoured the library in order to find the books which would help Tracy. Parker said this process was a very valuable tool. “We had to decide what books to use, so and I had to decide together which books to pick out. It helped Tracy to realize that instead of saying ‘I can’t do this’, she had a choice in the matter on which she could read. It was not that Tracy was not smart, Fact: Those considered unable to learn are less than one per cent of the | and couldn't read a specific book, but that the book tion, whereas 14-20 per cent are illiterate. , he | Myth: The problem is being t Price was too high, so she enrolled in an adult lit- | Frag: Atleast nine out of ton illiterate adults are not getting help. was the wrong one for her. With us working together and deciding on books, it gave her control, which she felt she never had in school. This worked well. She was then able to make choices and say ‘I enjoy this, Please give me more, or, I don’t enjoy this, I don’t want to do it.’” of four, whereas in many other states and provinces the minimum age to start school is five. With children, the maturity, psychological, and physical differ- ences from age four to five can be quite vast. These differences may be so vast at times, that some schools will not even entertain the thought of admitting a four-year-old child into school, no mat- ter how bright or mature that child may appear. Tracy’s family moved from Utah to Spokane, Washington when Tracy had finished grade three. Tracy had been doing well in school until the move to another state, and another school. When she started grade four it quickly became obvious that her reading level was not the same as her classmates. Because of her low reading level, Tracy’s teacher suggested Tracy enter a special education class and repeat grade four. Even in the special education class, Tracy realized her reading skills were not up to par with other students, who also learned of her difficulty. “Even in that class I was in the lowest reading level program. The kids were very rude and cruel to me. I think that was the worst what it was I was supposed to do.” Even though Tracy appreciated those gestures, in retrospect she now knows that getting bailed out was only a temporary stop-gap measure which would not help her in the long run. “I wish I would have had a tutor then, someone who would have helped me, and not cover for me.” Tracy struggled through school, and graduated, but only with a grade four reading level. Graduation meant Tracy would soon have to find a job. She did find one, but quickly lost it because she could not read well. “With the amount of reading I had to do in a fast food restaurant I lasted one day.” Tracy had to look for another job, but she soon encountered another problem. “I would have a difficult time reading the job applications. I would take the application home, and it would take me two to three days to fill it out. I would have to wait for someone to read it to me.” Eventually Tracy took a job babysitting, but she found that even Anderson said she feels a lot of people are hesitant to get tutor- ing because they remember how much they disliked school and learning. “For the first time for Tracy, learning is a pleasant experience.” Through the Literacy Program, Tracy is now reading at a grade six level, and plans to enroll in Selkirk College’s Adult Basic Edu- cation program after the birth of her baby. Tracy is determined to continue on with her reading because of her baby. “Once I have my own children I don’t want them sitting here like I am, I want them to be able to read and write, and I want to be able to read stories to them.” For more information on Project Literacy West Kootenay: call Castlegar and District Public Library at 365-6611, or Susan Port, Regional Coordinator at 365-6056. Above Photo: Tracy Morrell, left, works regularly to improve her reading skills, with the help of her tutor, Linda Parker.