"People seem to forget about the children of yesterday," said Literacy Unlimited executive director Jill Roberts. "They've become adults unable to find employment, get medical care, or use a banking machine."
Almost half of all Canadians lack enough literacy skills to be able to function at a very basic level in society, a level consistent with a high school graduate.
Literacy Unlimited meets with clients one-on-one for 12 weekly tutoring sessions which range from one to two hours. The program is flexible and clients often return to the organization to take part in computer literacy classes that teach internet navigation, email, basic word-processing and how to do online job searches.
"The sessions are learner-driven," said Roberts of the clients' literacy objectives. "It's not formal education, but could be an education-based goal or a personal goal." Roberts gave the example of a mom whose child was just diagnosed with a wheat allergy and was looking to improve her literacy skills to ensure she could decipher product ingredient labels.
"We're able to work with that goal, but it also sets the stage for lifelong learning," she said.
The biggest misconception about illiteracy is the assumption that someone can either read or they can't. Roberts said that very few people are completely illiterate, but rather have limited literacy skills.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines literacy on a five point scale, with five being the highest level. Only 20 per cent of Canadians are in this range. Almost five million Canadian adults fall into the lowest range with the ability to recognize only a few familiar words in simple text. Roberts said that 54 per cent of all Quebecers fall below level three, equivalent to secondary school completion.
Literacy Unlimited is a not-for-profit organization offering their services free of charge to those who are able to speak English fluently.
Sixty-five percent of their funding comes from Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS) and as demand for literacy improvement continues, the centre has acquired additional funding from Gildan Active Wear, London Life, and West Island Community Shares (WICS).
"They're the most courageous individuals to say 'I know I want a better life' and to take the steps to improve their life." -
The office located in John Rennie High School at 501 St. John's Boulevard is open Monday to Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Learners and tutors are matched by personality, scheduling availability, and the strengths of the tutor.
Roberts said that the general public is often unsympathetic towards those struggling with literacy, assuming that laziness is a factor in the issue. "They feel intimidated because they're always hiding their lack of skills," she said. "But they're the most courageous individuals to say 'I know I want a better life' and to take the steps to improve their life."
Approximately three out of 10 kids in Quebec high schools will drop out before graduating.
"There are an awful lot of people who fall between the cracks," said Roberts citing schools' reluctance to fail students who don't meet academic expectations.
"People have different learning styles," she said. "For a person who's an auditory learner, school can be very difficult." Roberts said that schools are beginning to address these learning issues by offering different types of teaching programs but success is not yet reflected by the graduation rate.
Literacy Unlimited is staffed almost entirely by volunteers, most of whom are retired teachers from the Lester B. Pearson School Board.
"These are people from the community who want to give back," said Roberts, who credits the volunteers for the success the organization has achieved.
"That's the whole basis of who we are and what we do. They aren't getting paid, but say they get back more than they give."
For more information, please see:
www.LiteracyUnlimited.ca
www.FondationAlphabetisation.org
www.ABCLifeLiteracy.ca
