|
Irma Carranza, a Sunnyvale resident, works on her personal journal every Tuesday night. She writes a few paragraphs about important people and events in her life, even includes pictures of her husband, her four children and others. The book is very special, Carranza says, not only for its content but also because she is the one writing in it.
Carranza has difficulty reading and writing English.
Every Tuesday night at Columbia Middle School, Carranza meets with her tutor, Jean Bradshaw, to improve her English skills.
The two adults participate in the ATLAS program—Adults Teaching Literacy to Adult Students—offered by Cupertino-Sunnyvale Adult Education. Trained volunteers tutor students in a small-group setting, working with one to three students at a time.
Lek Gottschalk says her tutor has helped her improve her English reading skills. "I understand every word when people speak, but I can't read well. My big goal was to spell my name, and now I can," says Gottschalk. She has worked with her tutor, Bob Ramage, for three years and is so attached to him that she refuses to work with anyone else.
Some find hope there. Tears well up in one student's eyes when she says she never thought she would be able to return to school. She plans to go to community college when her English improves.
In the current class, there are 15 tutors and 20 students. Tutors can choose a different curriculum for different students, depending on their needs and reading level. Carranza and Bradshaw work on her journal entries and also spend time reading a basic-level newspaper, answering comprehension questions and working on a crossword puzzle every week.
Bradshaw says the program caters to its students and says working on a journal has helped Carranza improve her English reading and writing skills. "You learn the things that are relevant to you," Bradshaw says.
Speaking highly of the program, Carranza says she wishes the class would meet more often. Vern Sproat, a Sunnyvale resident of 48 years and a tutor since November, says tutoring is not as easy as it sounds. Sproat says, "If you've spoken English your whole life, it's hard to explain why something is the way it is to someone who doesn't speak it."
Mary Klein, lead teacher for the ATLAS program, says the program attracts a lot of interest because of Sunnyvale's diverse community. "Given where we live, most people grew up speaking another language," Klein says.
A professional teacher is always present in the room to lead volunteers.
"A good fraction of our volunteers are retired, but some are working and they just want to give back to the community," Klein says. She says the program is starting to accept tutors for whom English is a second language.
For more information, call 408.522.2709.
|
