Diane Shimota

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program recently published its fourth volume of Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, composed of writings from adult learners enrolled in the Redlands Adult Literacy program. This year’s anthology is especially significant because many of the stories were written by adult learners who worked with their tutors remotely during the pandemic. Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, shared: “The community can celebrate the dedication of tutors and learners who prioritized writing during this difficult year. The anthology is filled with heart-felt and powerful stories, poems, and letters. The commitment to literacy expressed by each participant in the literacy program is evidence of the learners’ resilience.”

The anthology includes learners’ stories of overcoming challenges in their lives, including taking the first step to ask for help with reading and writing, choosing to leave home for a better life, or supporting relatives suffering from the Coronavirus. Manuela Ballesteros described her experiences of the past year in How the Pandemic Affected Me, sharing, “Fear and panic can paralyze you at any time and in any circumstance.” In her story, My Experiences During COVID-19, Maribel Mejia shared her experience as the mother of four children who spent the past year learning remotely from home. “It was stressful for everyone, but I am glad my kids were able to manage this situation and help each other with assignments. Two of my kids play the trumpet; you can imagine how noisy it was, but my other kids didn’t complain too much… they knew how important it was for their brothers to play an instrument.”

Personal stories highlight the authors’ transformative experiences or personal connections to people in their lives. Some learners shared their dreams for the future, their interests, or their important memories. In The Story of “Smallpox,” Yanhong Zhou shared the poignant story of her son’s love for his pet frog, a story that will touch the heart of any parent whose son has experienced love and loss of a pet.

Stories in this collection reflect the wide range of writing levels of adults in the literacy program. Each author worked diligently through the writing process with the assistance of a volunteer tutor. By working with their tutors, learners develop vital literacy skills.

Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, Volumes 1 through 4 are available for checkout at A.K. Smiley Public Library. Additionally, many of the authors who submitted writings for the anthology accepted an invitation to read their stories on videotape and share them with the Redlands community. These stories will be available for viewing soon on the literacy webpage, www.akspl.org/literacy.

Adult learners, their tutors, and the community can celebrate when an adult learner reads their first book or newspaper article, attends a computer class and sends their first email, or writes a letter or story that expresses their hopes and dreams. These literacy skills enable adult learners to step forward to achieve new successes and change their own and their families’ lives. We are grateful for the continued support of the community, the city council, the Library, and the volunteers who make adult literacy, and now family literacy, available in Redlands.

If you would like to volunteer with the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909)798-7565 ext. 4138 or email literacy@akspl.org. You can learn more about the adult literacy program by attending the next volunteer tutor orientation scheduled for January 2022.  Please contact Diane for more information.

If you know of someone who needs help in reading and writing, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their life by contacting the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. Tutoring is free and confidential.

Support from the Redlands community has helped the Redlands Adult Literacy Program provide one-to-one tutoring which helps adults learn to read and write in English. Adults seeking help with their reading and writing skills often want to get a new or better job, assist their children with their homework, or further their own education. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program has a wonderful team of trained volunteer tutors who help these adults reach their unique literacy goals.

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program’s tutor volunteers and materials assist learners in overcoming lifelong reading and writing challenges. Adult learners in the program have shared their gratitude for their new reading skills that allow them to read their mail, product labels at the grocery store, restaurant menus, or books to their young children. Tutors focus 100% of their efforts on helping learners meet their individual literacy goals. The strong connection between tutors and learners helped learners to continue to improve their literacy during the pandemic by meeting with their tutors remotely over the phone, Zoom, or other applications. Today, tutor and learner teams can choose to continue to meet remotely or at the Library.

Some adults who ask for literacy assistance have little or no foundation in reading. At this level, participants learn the sounds of the letters of the alphabet so that they may read and write common words for the first time. Others who join the program are able to read words, but cannot comprehend longer texts. By working with a tutor who properly introduces reading passages, models fluent reading, and checks in with the learner by asking pointed questions about the readings, learners improve their understanding of the stories they read.

Adult learners join the program with a wide range of writing needs. Some learners only know how to write their names but want to learn how to fill out forms or write notes to friends or family members. At the opposite end of the spectrum, advanced learners join the program to learn how to organize and improve their writing skills so that they may pass a standardized exam, write coherent emails at their jobs, or advance their own education by going to college. One-to-one tutoring provides opportunities for all learners to work on their individual writing goals regardless of their current writing level.

The literacy program supports tutors by providing continuing education and networking opportunities through round table meetings and workshops enabling tutors to gain ideas and strategies to help learners work toward their goals. The program supports literacy teams by providing materials at a range of levels from basic phonics workbooks through advanced grammar and writing materials. All literacy materials are available to borrow at the Library and are listed on the literacy webpage (www.akspl.org/literacy).

The Redlands community can celebrate when adult learners read their first book or newspaper article, write their first letter, get a better job, or advance their own or their children’s education. Improved literacy skills enable adult learners to change their own and their families’ lives. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program’s services are made possible by the generous support of volunteers, donors, the Friends of A.K. Smiley Public Library, the Library Endowment Fund, the Redlands City Council, and the State of California. Working together, the lives of individuals and families are changed for the better!

If you would like to volunteer with the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909) 798-7565 ext. 4138 or email literacy@akspl.org. To learn more about the adult literacy program, contact Ms. Shimota about the next volunteer tutor orientation scheduled for September 16, 2021.

If you know of someone who needs help with their literacy, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their lives by contacting the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. All tutoring services are free and confidential.

Written communication is an important skill in today’s world. To meet this important literacy need, the Redlands Adult Literacy Program has initiated a series of writing workshops to help adult learners improve their writing skills. The workshops have been designed to help parents communicate with their children’s teachers through email or texting applications. The writing workshops are also tailored to learners who need help finding jobs or want to improve their job skills. Many of these learners have found that employers frequently require them to complete writing skills tests as part of their job applications, or while employed, to communicate effectively in emails and written reports. Adult learners who face the challenge of communicating in writing have enthusiastically enrolled into the writing workshops.

Instructor Kim Green has adapted pre-pandemic in-person writing strategies to a virtual format and has transformed Zoom meetings into interactive, safe, friendly places to share ideas and learn from one another. By practicing their writing in a safe environment, adult learners gain skills enabling them to communicate with educators, health professionals, or employers with confidence. The workshops augment the one-to-one tutoring sessions the learners have with their tutors.

Ms. Green explained, “I designed the virtual writing classes to offer learning opportunities for and be inclusive of participants at varying levels of literacy proficiency… Starting with the first workshop last fall, it’s been gratifying to see the supportive environment and camaraderie that already existed in our in-person classes quickly emerge on Zoom. There is a mutual respect and appreciation for each other, and as a result, participants are willing to share their writing at every stage, from their early brainstorming ideas all the way through to full paragraphs.”

Both tutors and adult learners benefit from attending the workshops. Tutors learn strategies that they can implement in their tutoring sessions, and learners practice new writing skills and enjoy the sense of community that is built as class participants share their writings with one another.

The writing classes are interactive and provide time and space for creativity. Every class begins with a pre-writing activity. Tutor Teresa Wong Stein shared that she found Kim’s teaching methods very helpful. She appreciated the way that Kim would always provide an example so that class participants could imagine what each writing assignment could look like.

Writing templates and worksheets provide a simple, accessible means for class participants to start their own writing projects. As Sheron Bealer observed, “The structure of the course makes it easy to participate. The lessons are broken down to simple steps that make writing fun and something we each can accomplish.” Adult learner Tanya Jauregui shared that the prewriting template helped her to brainstorm ideas for her writing. Tutor Jeanne Fortier added, “I have watched adult learners who attend the writing workshops grow in confidence and help others who need assistance. I am impressed with how hard they work on assignments.”

Marilyn Bean shared, “As a literacy volunteer, I appreciate how completely Kim Green breaks down the writing process. Her instruction helps me to be a better tutor in the learning process. The Library has a strong literacy program for those wishing to grow in their ability to read and write. It is a privilege to be part of the program.”

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program seeks additional volunteers who can help motivated adults improve their reading and writing. If you know of someone who needs help in reading and writing, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their lives by contacting the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. The program provides the opportunity for free, one-on-one tutoring and literacy classes such as the writing workshops. If you would like to learn more about the program, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at 909.798.7565, ext. 4138 or email: literacy@akspl.org. To learn more about the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please visit the adult literacy website: akspl.org/literacy.

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program has named the classic story Charlotte’s Web, written by E. B. White, as its 2021 Community Read.  Charlotte’s Web is a story that speaks to all generations with its themes of friendship, life, death, and the power of words. The Community Read offers the opportunity for parents and children, readers who have read Charlotte’s Web or are new to the story, book club members and others, to experience the book’s message in a new way, particularly as we reflect on all that has occurred in the last year.

Trudy Waldron, a retired teacher and former volunteer coordinator of the Adult Literacy Program, shared how Charlotte’s Web speaks to youth and adults. She wrote, “It is a fact that even if we read a book several times, with each reading comes new insights and lessons to be learned. In Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White writes with an honesty and openness that gives us the opportunity to reflect on such adult themes as loneliness, fear, death and, of course, honest friendships…It is indeed a TERRIFIC read.”

Guillermina Rangel, an adult learner enrolled in the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, is reading Charlotte’s Web for the first time. She observed, “I just love Wilbur, how innocent he is and his determination to learn. I also like Charlotte, who is very well educated, patient and compassionate towards Wilbur. To me, she is like a very dedicated teacher.”

To enhance the reading experience, a Charlotte’s Web activity guide has been posted on the Adult Literacy website: akspl.org/literacy. The guide includes a history of the author and the book’s illustrator, Garth Williams, as well as vocabulary, discussion topics, and activities for people of all ages.

Monthly activities related to Charlotte’s Web have been planned so that community insights can be shared. Everyone is invited to submit drawings or writings with a submission form that is included in the guide. Submissions can be dropped off or mailed to A. K. Smiley Public Library at 125 W. Vine St., Redlands, CA 92373. Deadlines for submissions are as follows:

                              Submission                                                                 Deadline

 

Write about your favorite character from Charlotte’s Web.  Explain                 April 30

why the character was special to you.

 

Draw an agricultural scene – groves, a farm, a ranch – it’s your choice!           May 31

 

Choose a character from Charlotte’s Web and write a story from this               June 30

character’s perspective.

 

Submit an art project that reflects Charlotte’s Web.                                            July 31

 

Write a letter to E.B. White, the author, to tell him what you liked about           August 31

Charlotte’s Web and how his book moved you.

 

Dorothy Nordquist, a retired school teacher and AAUW community volunteer, took a college class that centered on Charlotte’s Web. She shared: “Charlotte became my role model, and even now I remember her wise quotes. A favorite quote from the book is, “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing…after all, what’s life anyway?” We’re born, we live a little while, we die…By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle…Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

Being able to read and express one’s thoughts in writing “lifts” one’s life more than a trifle. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program provides the opportunity for free, one-on-one tutoring to adults who want to improve their reading and writing. If you would like to learn more about the program, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at 909.798.7565, ext. 4138 or email: literacy@akspl.org. To learn more about the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please visit the adult literacy website: akspl.org/literacy.

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program recently published Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, Volume 3, which includes writings from adult learners enrolled in the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. Over 40 adult learners and tutors contributed written works for the anthology. These works focused on the learners’ journeys to literacy, personal reflections, family and friends, memories and adventures, and reflections about books the learners had read. This year, a special chapter entitled ‘Pandemic Reflections’ was added to the anthology providing an opportunity for authors to share the impact that the pandemic has had on their lives.

Diane Shimota, adult literacy coordinator, shared that the anthology “provided an opportunity for adult learners to write stories from their hearts, choosing just the right words to express themselves, and then to share those stories with the broader community.” Previously, the Redlands community would be invited to a “Celebration of Authors” event, where adult learners would read their works to an audience that included their families and friends. Because of the social distancing requirements caused by the pandemic, this year the Library recorded authors reading their stories, so that the whole community could experience the joy of hearing the works of adult learners who are working to improve their literacy. You are invited to view these remarkable videos which are posted at www.akspl.org/literacy.

This anthology’s pandemic reflections were especially heart-felt and relevant as everyone continues to adapt to changes caused by the pandemic. Several learners wrote about the losses they had experienced, like the inability to see family or gather in large groups, supporting children with online school, learning how to meet with tutors remotely, and adapting to wearing face masks.

Author Martha Torres wrote an especially poignant account of what it was like when her sister was diagnosed with the COVID virus in her story Terrible News. She described the anguish she felt when she was unable to be at her sister’s side and the joy she experienced when her sister recovered. Also in the pandemic chapter are a series of six-word stories, written by tutors and learners, who described a pandemic experience in six words. Marisela Casillas wrote this six-word story: “I enjoy seeing my family more.” Six-word stories are fun to write and capture experiences succinctly – you may want to write a six-word story of your own!

In addition to stories on the pandemic, several learners wrote about their journeys to literacy. Cinderella Tran, in The Literacy Path, wrote in detail about how she felt coming to the library to ask for help with her reading and writing. She recalled her first contact with the program, what it felt like to meet and work with her tutor, and how her life changed after she attended literacy computer classes and learned how to use the internet. Cinderella shared that the knowledge she has gained was a “treasure that all of her tutors have given [her].”

Copies of volumes 1, 2, and 3 of Our Stories, A Collection of Writings are available for checkout at A. K. Smiley Public Library. We encourage you to take a moment and read about the fascinating lives of adult learners.

To help adults who want to improve their reading and writing, the Redlands Adult Literacy Program relies on its wonderful volunteer tutors. If you are interested in becoming a tutor, please contact Diane Shimota, adult literacy coordinator, with the Redlands Adult Literacy Program at (909) 798-7565 ext. 4138 or email literacy@akspl.org. If you know of someone who needs help in reading and writing, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their lives by contacting the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. The program is free and tutoring can be scheduled at the convenience of the adult learner and tutor.