LITERACY: Finding a new life

Students find new hope through Literacy Volunteers of Niagara County

By April Amadon<br><a href="mailto:amadona@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail April</a>

It’s been about six years since Marvette Ralands finally decided she needed some help.

Born in Jamaica, Ralands left school after eighth grade, the only one of 10 siblings not to graduate from high school. She’d always struggled with reading, and she remembers other children making hurtful comments about her skills in the classroom.

After she moved to the United States 18 years ago, Ralands tried to get her GED but again found herself struggling. She underwent testing and discovered she had a learning disability.

“They said I couldn’t go any further,” she said. “My back was against the wall, and I couldn’t go any further.”

Thinking there was no hope for her, Ralands , who now lives in Lockport, went through life hiding her illiteracy. She said she found ways to get people to show her information or tell her what she needed to know, rather than having to read it.

This is a common scenario, according to Vickie Kutnyak, program director for the Literacy Volunteers of Niagara County.

“People that don’t read have a high capacity for memorization and other coping skills that make them able to function in a world of words,” Kutnyak said.

The National Center for Education Statistics estimates about 14 percent of the U.S. population is at or below basic levels of literacy. In New York, the number scoring below basic is 19 percent.

It may be hard for these people to seek help, Kutnyak said.

“It’s something most of them have all of their lives tried to hide from people knowing,” she said. “To come to an office seeking literacy services, you just kind of put yourself out there and say, ‘I have a deficiency in my life.’ We want our weaknesses to be downplayed and hidden, rather than out there.”

“I would never tell anybody I didn’t know how to read,” Ralands said. “It was definitely a pride thing.”

Finally, Ralands made the decision to seek help, and her life began to change.

How it works

When a student comes to the literacy volunteers, they are given an assessment test and put on a list to be paired with a trained tutor.

The tutors are all-volunteer. There are two training sessions a year for new tutors, and the literacy council provides ongoing support, including resources such as tapes and workbooks.

Students are either people with basic reading deficiencies, or people learning English as a second language.

Each person has different needs, so the tutors are taught many different strategies for teaching, Kutnyak said.

“We have to use a different approach (than the schools). We have to go back and fill in holes in their early reading education,” she said. “The thing we try to communicate to our tutors is that adult students are really worthy of our respect where they are right now. We don’t treat adult students like children.”

Ralands met with her tutor, Sandra Weger, at the Lockport Public Library for her tutoring sessions.

The one-on-one attention was key to the process, she said.

“I’m willing to go the extra mile, because that person’s willing to leave their house to come over there to help me,” Ralands said. “These people don’t get paid. They are volunteers. If they can put so much interest in trying to help you to learn, why can’t you have enough interest in yourself to learn?”

Since starting the program, Ralands has earned her U.S. citizenship and her nursing license. She’s now willing to talk about her disability without any shame.

“I would never go out there to volunteer to speak about this ... it was too much pride to let people know I didn’t know how to read,” she said. “That’s why I know that I’m richer somewhere.”



Successes, big and small

For many students, it’s the little victories along the way that mean the most.

“We like those little (goals), like writing a letter, just as much as the big ones. They're all just blocks to build upon,” Kutnyak said. “We've seen people get driver's licenses, be able to read to their grandchildren, help their children with homework. A lot of those things that are kind of intangibles that make our lives richer.”

Once literacy is achieved, many students want to turn around and help others the way they were helped.

For Ralands, the plan now is to make a difference. She hopes to reach out to others through the Internet and possibly one day start a charitable foundation for literacy.

“I think a lot of people just give up because they just think it’s so hard to learn. But you have to go the extra mile,” she said. “It’s not an easy road, but you have to have the determination to be successful.”

Contact reporter April Amadon

at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

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