VOLUNTEERS tutor students at the Drake University Adult Literacy Center, located in the School of Education building. FILE PHOTO
“The Little Engine that could.” “I’m a Pig.” “Drat that Fat Cat.” Compared to a title like “Principles of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations,” these may sound like simple reads. But, for the students at the Drake University Adult Literacy Center, mastering the text of these books is a significant accomplishment.
Last Friday and Saturday, the center trained 15 new volunteer tutors. The volunteers reviewed the curriculum, learned the basics of lesson planning and discussed strategies for interacting with the learning disabled students. Tutors will be assigned to their students in the next few weeks based on scheduling availability.
The center uses a phonics book as the basis of its strict curriculum. Anne Murr, coordinator of the center, said the students practice with nonsense words to build the skills of associating letter combinations with specific sounds.
For example, the books are filled with words like: zag, zal and zam to teach the “za” sound. Beginning students start with only the phonics books. For more advanced readers, tutors also incorporate fiction stories with fewer patterns that are more unpredictable for the reader.
Murr characterizes it as “learning of a different kind” that can take five to 10 years.
The curriculum is extremely strict because the center aims to take the guesswork out of reading and focus on the 80 percent of English that follows grammar rules, Murr said.
Murr compared the learning procedure to teaching Jazz.
“(The tutors) have to teach the chords, but they can also improvise,” she said.
Tutors are expected to follow the curriculum but can tailor the sessions to their student’s needs.
The center has about 70 active volunteers at a time, each assigned to a single student. If a volunteer leaves the center, the student is reassigned to another tutor. For the most part, though, students stick with their assigned volunteers for the duration of the program.
“They teach me as much as I teach them,” said Adele Mikesell, a substitute teacher in the Johnston school district, who volunteers at the center.
The center recruits volunteers through announcements on BlueView and the United Way. There are three training sessions of 15 people each year. The center, established in 1976, attracts young professionals, retirees, stay-at-home moms and students as volunteers.
Four Drake students attended this training session as new volunteers. Two students who volunteered last year will also continue with the program.
Nicholas Janning (AS4) said he didn’t know the program existed until he saw the BlueView announcement calling for volunteers.
“It seemed like a good opportunity to give back to Drake and the community,” Janning said.
The political science major said he hopes to gain a larger world view and to fulfill Drake’s mission statement by “becoming a responsible global citizen” through his tutoring experience.
“I’m just amazed that there are so many Americans that lack the skills that a lot of us take for granted, like literacy,” Janning said.
The center engages in extensive fundraising to teach those skills. Drake provides the location, but all other funds (for books and materials) are provided by grants and donations from the community.
“Fundraising is definitely our greatest challenge,” Murr said.
Murr, a Drake graduate, has worked at the center for 11 years.
When asked which personal stories resonated with her the most, Murr said she couldn’t choose.
“But, it is definitely touching to see grandmothers working so hard to read,” Murr said. “They don’t give up for their grandkids; they want to set a model for them about staying in school. It is an amazing level of determination.”
Murr said that she loves her job at the center. Her dedication seems clear in her voice.
“I get the satisfaction of seeing people learning, giving them hope, hearing their stories, seeing their tears,” Murr said. “What other job can you get hugs at?”
