literacy-nipissing

The more things change, the more they stay the same - or do they?

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 18:11:13 GMT

Ch-ch-changes

I don't know if you like change - I love change. I love the change of seasons. I love changing my furniture around in the room, but my husband doesn't like when I do that. I love changing diapers because then I can try to get a smile or a giggle out of my grandson while I am doing it. I loved changing from mom to nana - best change ever!!! This is not quite the same but I loved hearing my dad jingle his change in his pocket (he never liked the loonies and toonies because that made his change too heavy). One change I detested was the change of life. The people in my life probably didn't enjoy that change very much either :-)

I am embarking on the biggest change of my life in the next few months. I will be retiring. Even typing that word makes me all butterflyey inside. How am I going to adjust? Will I be able to leave the worry behind? Will I be able to sleep past 7 or stay up past 9? Are they going to survive without me? All of the answers to these questions is a big old YES!!

I have worked in literacy for over 33 years. I started in Elliot Lake in a small agency and then moved to the Adult Education Centre. I worked in a portable in Mattawa for Canadore College's upgrading program when I first moved to North Bay. Then I worked at the main campus before coming to The North Bay Literacy Council (then "changed" its name to Literacy Nipissing). I have seen a lot of changes in these 33 years. Here are some of the changes that stand out to me.

1.The name of the ministry who funds us. Ministry of Education, Ontario Training and Adjustment Board, Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities, Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, back to Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities and now Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. I am sure I am missing ones, but I am old - forgive me.

2. Technology has changed - major big time. I don't remember my email address from back then but I think I would have had one. There were limited computers in an office or classroom. We use to print on paper that had holes up the sides. Internet was a privilege. And thankfully, my computer skills have improved over the years. I know way more today because of helpful colleagues and Google :-)

3. My vocabulary has changed. I use words every day that I did not know existed 33 years ago. And I have been called names that I never knew existed.

4. My understanding of the reasons why someone can't read or write have changed. When I first started I thought that people wouldn't be able to read or write because they fooled around in school or just didn't care. Yes, I was one of those people. I sit in amazement when learners tell me the reason their reading or writing isn't the greatest. Some of the experiences that our learners have endured through their lives - well, if I told you, you would think I am lying. Strength, courage, persistence are all words that describe adult literacy learners.

When you learn, you change. Not only have the learners I have worked with changed in their understanding but I have learned so much from them. I am not the same person I was and that has come from the things I have learned. I thought I would write down some of the things that I have learned that have helped change me.

1. AF does not mean "after the fire", it means something totally different and it will get your post kicked off of social media

2. Even though they look the same, marijuana and oregano do not smell the same.

3. If you are recalling a conversation in court, you must say exactly the words you heard to the judge even if it has 4 letters and starts with "F".

4. Putting a "that was easy" button beside computers is just an invitation to steal them.

5. When demonstrating the safety instructions of a beater, don't stick your hand between the beaters and then turn it on.

6. When taking an important call at 4:30 in the morning about your office burning down, make sure the person on the other end knows you are awake and that you won't go back to sleep.

7. When looking at insurance, take into account how much things cost now, not 20 years ago when the insurance policy was first created.

8. Do not chase purse thieves into the woods without the police providing back up.

9. Someone who bakes is a baker but someone who sews in not a sewer.

10. I wouldn't change these past 32+ years for anything :-)

Good things come from change and I know that only great things will come here in the next few years!!

Summertime

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:25:14 GMT

A short update

July 2024 – A short update

“Summertime and the livin' is easy”.

This is the first line of an old song by George Gershwin. I only know the first line of the song and I sing it in my head a thousand times each summer. I really should learn a new song ��

But this line is so synonymous with summer. Things seem so easy in the summer. We head to the beach and relax. We go fishing and relax. We head to the waterfront to listen to music and relax. We take holidays and relax. Sometimes I don’t even turn on the oven during the summer. Living is easy.

When people relax and take it easy, sometimes that means that few learners come in for classes. Now, I am not really complaining because who really wants to be in class when they could be enjoying time at the beach?? But we do miss the hustle and bustle of classes. We still do see some learners and it is nice to see them, but we sure understand the need for a break.

So, when it is quiet here, it allows us to plan and get ready for the rest of the year. This year we are getting ready for the new GED – called the CAEC (Canadian Adult Education Credential). On a side note, it is pronounced “cake” and cake is never a bad thing. The CAEC will still be a grade 12 equivalent and we understand that it will be recognized just as the GED was. There is still no official timeline for when the CAEC will be ready for use, but things are happening. A lot of work is happening behind the scenes to get all the ducks in a row so that the test will be ready to go in late summer or early fall. If you are interested in writing the CAEC but need some preparation, give us a call and we can start.

GED Replacement Announced!

Wed, 15 May 2024 13:44:44 GMT

Breaking News!

A GED replacement has been announced! Coming in summer of 2024, the GED will be replaced by the new Canadian Adult Education Credential (CAEC) The CAEC is for adults who do not have a high school diploma but need an education credential for employment, post secondary or training, more information will be posted as more details emerge. https://ged.ilc.org/

Literacy Nipissing is available to help prepare you for writing the new CAEC, we have preparation classes available for adults age 18 and older in the Nipissing District.

Contact us today at 705-494-9416 or email staff@literacynipissing.ca to see how we can help you to prepare for your future.

FISH IN A TREE

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 20:55:30 GMT

This past year, we were fortunate to be introduced to “A Fish in a Tree” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. What a story!! So we purchased the book thinking that this was a book for some of our students. Well, sure enough, one of our students, “Angel” read it – well actually devoured it. So Angel and her tutor set about to write a book review. You all need to read this review and then read the book for yourself. (That was a command, not a suggestion). You won’t be disappointed in reading this review and then in reading the book. So in Angel’s own words we have…”Fish in a Tree”

The book “Fish in a Tree” written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, is about a girl who couldn’t read. Her name was Ally. She really liked to draw. Her grandpa gave her a sketch book. Her grandpa always told Ally that she was very talented. She named her scrapbook Alice in Wonderland. Ally has a brother Travis. Ally is his favourite sister; she would always say to him, “I’m your only sister.”

Ally had been to seven different schools in seven years. In each school she had hidden that she couldn’t read. Her teacher, Mrs. Hall, was going to have a baby so she left the school and Mr. Daniels took her place. Ally really didn’t like school. She couldn’t read and struggled. She was bullied. Kids made fun of her. She was always afraid to ask for help. Ally really like Mr. Daniels. He arranged for Miss Kessler, the learning skills teacher, to do a test on Ally. She did puzzles, games and a bubble test. Ally really liked Miss Kessler.

After school Mr. Daniels gave Ally extra help with reading. He spoke to Ally’s mom. Mr. Daniels told Ally that she was smart but had learning differences. It took awhile for Ally’s confidence to grow but by the end of the book, she knows she can succeed at school and is much happier.

Ally reminded me of me (Not being to read and write.) Trying to hide it, sure is an awful feeling. I felt scared and didn’t tell much. I had a hard time dealing with it. Kids were very mean to me and called me some really bad names; Dumb, stupid, loser, ugly. I used to be called greasy hair. They would say that I wasn’t normal and they called me a freak.

I was surrounded by bullies. I was not lucky enough to get help after school like Ally. We never had one book in our house growing up. I was never lucky enough to even have a colouring book or crayons. We had really nothing. I live a very sad childhood. I love to colour so much now. I have to use a lot of colours and put a lot of detail in what I do. When you are a child and traumatized everyday, it is the most awful feeling ever. Right up to this day, when someone compliments to me about something, I have a very difficult time accepting it. I remember always being classed as DUMB and STUPID. Even myself to this day, I have a hard time believing what I can do.

I feel sad. It sure did bring back a lot of memories. I also tried so hard to hide that I couldn’t read or write. I have always had very low self-esteem. I really like Ally’s second teacher and how he picked up on her not being able to read and write and helping her after school.

“Fish in a Tree'” is a really good book to read. I would recommend anyone who likes to read to READ IT.

Don’t you want to go right out and read this book??

GED – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE??

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:52:30 GMT

Once again, it has been a while since I wrote anything in our blog. Why can’t I just make this a regular thing and not wait until we have something vital to say?? Maybe I need to enroll in a course “How to remember to blog.” I might get some tips ��

I am writing to clarify some information that we received and that you have maybe seen in the media in the recent days.

As of May 3, 2024, GED testing will no longer be available in Canada. GED is a test that allows adults who have not finished secondary school the opportunity to earn an Ontario High School Equivalency Certificate signed by the Minister of Education. This a nation wide stoppage and it affects thousands of Canadians. There is word that a replacement will be made available but we don’t have any official announcement.

Literacy Nipissing has been offering GED preparation classes for almost 15 years. In the past 6 years, we also hosted the testing so that North Bay citizens didn’t have to travel out of town to achieve this vital certificate. Over 100 adults in North Bay alone, have written and achieved this certificate, that we know of. Holding this credential has allowed many of our students to attend college, find meaningful employment, sign up for an apprenticeship but mainly, fulfill a lifetime goal. We have heard a lot of excited screams and seen huge grins when that big envelope with a certificate comes in the mail. AND we all feel like proud parents, our buttons popping when we hear the good news.

There are a lot of different reasons why an adult may not have completed high school. Society believes there is only one reason – laziness. When I hear that, I want to punch the nearest wall!!! It is not right to make assumptions when you have not spoken to people who don’t have their high school diploma. High school was not the same experience for many people and a high school diploma is not achievable by everyone. A GED is a viable option for many people who don’t have a high school diploma and it takes into account life experience.

Before I started working at Literacy Nipissing, I worked in other adult upgrading organizations. I didn’t have any experience with someone writing the GED. I had heard it was easy to get and anyone who wanted to write it could pass. In fact, I was told that GED stood for “good enough diploma”. Boy, was I wrong!! It is HARD. One year, I decided to write all the math tests that were available to us and I didn’t fly through them. I had to really think and calculate to get the right answer. The questions were real life situations and involved more than one operation. If you didn’t review whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, area, perimeter, volume, integers, factoring…get my point – you would be lost. There was some prior knowledge needed to write the social studies. You had to know a little about how our government works. The point that I am trying to get across is that people who have earned their GED, EARNED THEIR GED. It was not just given to them because they decided that it was the easier route, they worked for it and achieved it. These 100 or more adults who earned their GED while attending here, deserved it and worked hard to get that precious diploma.

As of August 14, 2023, we still don’t know what the GED will be replaced with. At this time, we have been told that there is another system that may be ready to be used sometime in 2024 or later but we can’t give a concrete answer. There needs to be a replacement for the GED so that even more adults can reach their goals and we are hoping that it will be in place sooner rather than later.

Until then, we are going to try and concentrate on the next test that we have scheduled – November 22, 2023. It will be the last GED test written in North Bay. But the legacy of the GED will be seen in your fellow citizens who have worked hard to earn the right to be called high school graduates by completing the GED.

WAITING…..

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 19:51:02 GMT

Today I am waiting for a very important document to be emailed to me. I have until 11:59 tonight to get that document to someone or, well, I don’t want to know what will happen.

Let me be upfront and tell you right now about a character flaw I have. It has always been something I have tried to work on. It happens all the time and when I fail, I get so annoyed with myself. I berate myself for exposing this character flaw and vow that the next time it won’t happen again. I will try harder and harder. But I fail again. I suppose you are now wondering what this annoying character flaw that I possess could be. Maybe I shouldn’t tell anyone in case you think less of me. I don’t know.

How do you feel that I haven’t told you about my annoying character flaw? Have I taken too long to let the cat out of the bag? Am I making you wait too long???? Are you annoyed yet??? Well, my annoying character flaw, wait for it, I hate to wait. I have no patience. If you are like me, that second paragraph was the epitome of frustration. “Get to the point already!!!!”

I was the one in my family who searched for hidden Christmas presents. I couldn’t wait for the morning of the 25th. As soon as the hockey season is over, I start to dream about the next one and it can’t get here fast enough. AND I am a Leafs fan, so you can imagine my frustration at waiting for 55 years (and counting) for another cup!! Last June, when my son and his wife told us that they were expecting, well that was 9 months of pure torture!!!!! It didn’t seem as hard to wait for my son to be born compared to the birth of my granddaughter but getting sick and fat might have distracted me!

There are a lot of things we wait for.

A bus
Cake to cook
End of school – 3:00 or June!!
Hair to grow
Next season of your favourite show
Summer
Kids to finish their chores
Teacher to mark a test
16th birthday to get a license.
Gadot (don’t ask)

A lot of our students have waited a long time to come back to school. It is not that they can’t do the work. Life happens and then they put off getting their GED or upgrading their skills. Then one day they say to themselves that this is the day to just do it. “I can’t WAIT any longer to do what I really want/need to do”. That is usually the time that we meet them at the door, sit down with a coffee and have a conversation about goals. They are done waiting. It is time to get going. We aren’t annoyed or bothered about whena student comes to us, we just want them to come. This is one time that waiting is a good thing. If we wait for that door to open, good things are going to happen. We just have to wait ��

What are you waiting for ????

DO READING AND WRITING SKILLS AFFECT HEALTH

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 19:34:53 GMT

Written by Catherine Johnson

Catherine is a community content writer from North Bay. She approached us about writing articles to bring light to the issues that adult students face in our world. Catherine is very keen to show the struggles that low level literacy adults face and how they adapt to life in our complicated world. We are so thankful that Catherine is now using her talents to help us showcase the struggles and triumphs that face adult learners every day.

Good reading and writing are essential skills in our modern world. Yet many people in Ontario do not read or write well enough to manage at home, work or for life in general. 1 in 6 people in Ontario have trouble reading the most basic text.

Most people will find this surprising, because illiteracy is often hidden in plain site. Industries, such as trucking and many trades could be learned on the job 20 or 30 years ago. A high school diploma was not required at that time, nor was a high level of reading or writing skills. Many people who started working during those days are still in the workforce today.

Even in today’s world there are jobs that do not require strong literacy skills, such as cleaning or jobs in the manufacturing sector. These jobs are dominated by women, pay poorly and are often part-time.

John is an example of a man who cannot read or write well, but was able to earn a living working in the construction industry.

John is now an older man. He doesn’t read or write well, and his math skills aren’t great either. He never did well in school and didn’t like being there. He left high school at age 15 to get a job and start earning some money. What was the point of staying in school?

There were lots of jobs in those days. He became a roofer in the construction industry. He learned his trade on the job. No one needed papers to prove they could do the work. There were no courses or tests to pass. If you showed up and didn’t work hard, you’d be fired. Things were simple then.

John worked until he was 60. He often jokingly says “All I have to show for 45 years of hard work is a bad back!” Now a senior, John is low income. He was never a member of a union, and his employers never offered a pension plan. He lives on his “Old Age Pension.” He doesn’t own a car because he can’t afford one.

Like many people who have poor reading and writing skills, John is actually very clever. He has found ways to supplement his income. He does odd jobs. He mows lawns in the summer and snow blows driveways in the winter. He has just a few customers, because he finds he has less energy and his back hurts more and more as the years go by.

He is a natural with simple mechanics. Sometimes he finds lawnmowers or bicycles that others have abandoned and fixes them up. He sells them off his front lawn. John is good at home repairs both inside and out. His neighbours will pay him cash for small tasks. He can put up curtain rods, do exterior painting, and refinish small pieces of furniture. There isn’t much he can’t do.

Except use a computer. It wasn’t necessary to use a computer to be a roofer, so he never had to learn. He always managed his affairs by going in person, or calling customer service. When The COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everything became virtual, he really felt left behind.

So how does having poor reading and writing skills affect health?

Literacy skills are strongly related to good health. Adults with lower literacy levels are less likely to have a family Doctor, were more likely to misunderstand written medical directions, and had more trouble accessing health care. They also had more frequent trips to the Emergency Room.

Let’s hear more about John.

John doesn’t have a Family Doctor. He hadn’t been to a doctor in 20 years, but finally his back pain became so bad, he went to a walk-in clinic. The doctor told John his blood pressure was really, really high and prescribed a medication to bring it down.

John asked for “pain pills” for his back, and was told the walk-in clinic did not prescribe narcotics. John felt intimidated and insulted. Did they think he was a drug addict or something!

John looked at the bottle of his new medication. There was a lot of writing on the small label and some long words. He thought the Pharmacist had told him to take one pill a day. Well, he couldn’t read the label to check.

John felt angry. This was the reason he stayed away from doctors and hospitals. They weren’t helpful, they never explained anything, and thought they knew what was good for him better than he did himself! He decided not to bother taking the medication. Afterall, he didn’t feel sick so how bad could his blood pressure be?

Sadly, there are many people in Ontario like John whose lack of reading and writing skills are a barrier to good health. John is unable to read a medication label. He is unable to understand printed patient health care information, fill out consent forms, and does not know how the health care system works.

Most literate people use the internet to find health care information, such as hours of operation, COVID-19 regulations, and information on health conditions. Some of this information in not available anywhere else. For people like John, who are unable to use the internet, this information does not exist. Most of it would be above his reading level anyway. It is not surprising most of his contact with the health care system is unsatisfying.

References:

Literacy in Canada – PMC (nih.gov)

Why literacy matters. Links between reading ability and health – PubMed (nih.gov)

Community Literacy of Ontario (2018). Literacy: Why it Matters (Brochure). Barrie, ON: Author

2020 – OH BOY!!!!

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 20:24:46 GMT

I remember last year when we were anticipating 2020, many people were coming up with some catchy slogans. “2020 – the year of clear vision”, “2020 – Looking to the future”. Some wanted Barbara Walters to announce on the New Year’s Eve shows when the ball dropped, “This is 2020”. A year later, you see pictures of a wasp nest with the caption, “If 2020 was a pinata”. 2020 didn’t work out like we “envisioned”.

We could never have dreamed that 2020 would look like it did. In fact, at times it was more of a nightmare. You are probably tired of hearing about the fire, but it is stamped on our minds. I think that at least once a day you will hear one of us saying “oh remember that, it’s gone.” We actually only salvaged three things from our office. We have 2 tablecloths that we used for events (and only because I brought them home to wash), our incorporation book (damaged by smoke and water even though it was in our “safe”) and the letter “N” from our outdoor sign (we dug it out of the rubble the day after).

It is hard to believe that this event was one year ago. It still seems like yesterday. Even though we are in our new office and we have replaced almost everything that we lost, the events are still branded into our memory. But you really know who you can count on when the “chips have burnt to a crisp”. Our staff jumped in and adapted to our new temporary home at YES Employment. They also were patient with me when I would let out a noise of frustration. One situation still makes us laugh. We were trying to forward our phone number to our cell phones so that people could still reach us. The very helpful (I say that last word while gritting my teeth) person at our phone provider said to me “Yes I can do that for you. Ok, if you can pick up the receiver of the original phone, then we can forward to your cell phone.” I told her that there wasn’t a phone to pick up because it was destroyed in a fire. “Well, madam, I can’t forward the number to your cell unless you pick up the receiver of the original phone.” Anger and frustration started to rise, and I told her forcefully that there was no phone to pick up. I eventually had to do a little freak out and make sure she understood that the original phone was under a mountain of rubble, I couldn’t pick it up. She got it then and forwarded our calls. Cassandra looked at me with surprise and laughter. The stress seemed to come out of me that day and that poor phone provider received the brunt of my emotions because of what had happened to us.

We were on the receiving end of generosity that I could never have imagined. People walking in with boxes of binders, paper, pens, pencils. We received donations to help us rebuild. I hope that when people see our office, they think that we were good stewards of their donations.

It took us almost 3 months (to the day) to get our office stocked and ready to welcome students and tutors. March 16th was the day that we would be ready to host classes and begin our “rebirth”. But then a pandemic hit. The day we were to open was the day that we had to shut down. Things were just not going our way this year but we were glad to stop in mid step in order to keep everyone safe. The staff worked from home for almost 3 months and we tried to encourage our students with learning and life. On June 8th we came back to our office. But it still took us another month to get things in order to safely welcome students. We’ve had more changes than a support group for menopausal women (only menopausal women can say this)!

Since we re-opened, things are different but good; slower but satisfying. Learners are thankful to be back and the learning is happening once again. It is so nice to hear laughter coming from our classroom. The thing that amazes me most is that there are no complaints. I know that there are a lot of people out there who are complaining about restrictions and having to wear a mask but we don’t hear that here. ? We hear “thanks”, “how are you feeling today”, “I really like this office”.

As we reflect back on this year, we want to share with you the top 10 lessons we have learned.

Don’t play with matches
Take home your secret Christmas gifts as soon as you get them (I was hiding my husband’s Christmas gift at the office and was going to take it home the day of the fire ?)
There is a North Bay, California so you need to ensure that you emphasize North Bay, ONTARIO.
Stuff can be replaced but people can’t.
Our community pulls together when there is a need.
Kindness matters even when you are tired and frustrated (those poor telephone helpers ?)
We have a plethora of friends
Our provincial literacy community is really a small family and they are there to help.
A new normal can be just as good as the old normal.
Nothing, not a fire or a global pandemic, can stop learning.

TIME TO GIVE THANKS!

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 19:22:46 GMT

It is Friday afternoon, a few hours before we close for a long weekend. Thanksgiving weekend…hard to believe this weekend is here already. It is really quiet in the office this afternoon. I am the only one in here right now and I thought it would be a good time to reflect on “thankfulness.”

While I type, I am listening to the announcement from the province about the shut downs that are going to start because of the increase in Covid-19 numbers. So here is my “first thankful”. No one in our office (staff or students) has or has had Covid-19. Even more than that, I am thankful that everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – has been respectful of the rules that we have in place to keep each other safe. I have not heard one complaint or watched a hissy fit because we are asking everyone to wear a mask. So I need to say a “thank you” to all of you. Thanks for putting other people before your own needs. Thanks for thinking of others in that you are working to keep us all safe.

My “second thankful” is for our community. Have you heard that we had a fire in December that destroyed our office??? (good joke right?) Our community has rallied around us to help us rebuild. As I look around the office right now, I still can’t believe how far we have come. We have books, tables, chairs, desks, computers, filing cabinets, phones, whiteboards, paper, files, pens, pencils, pictures and on and on. At this time, there is nothing that I can think of that we need. That might change on Tuesday but we are good. Our community has given so much to make sure our students have what they need to keep learning. And it has only been 10 months!!!! Thankful…that word doesn’t even cover how we really feel.

My “third thankful” is for our staff. Between the fire and Covid, our staff has never thrown up their hands and said that they couldn’t do it. To be honest, that was probably me!!!! No job was too big, no obstacle was too great for them to deal with. I think that the staff are the examples of how you put others before yourself. They really want to do what is best for our students. No person who walks through our doors with a desire to learn, is ever dismissed. Even during a pandemic. You might be asked a lot of personal questions when you come in but that is for the sake of others.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to me to say THANK YOU to all of our staff and volunteers. We are better because of you.

My “final thankful” is to our learners. It is interesting to write this point and to actually think of all the “thank yous” I received because we offer this service. But learners, you inspire all of us every day because of your commitment to learning and your determination to do it!!! Thanks for helping me/us to keep going when things get discouraging. You are an example to all of us about the importance of learning and why we open the doors every day.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Maybe as you sit around in your social bubble this weekend, you can think of all the things that make you thankful. Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to turn it into a writing assignment on Tuesday. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for everything you give to us!!!

ATF – AFTER THE FIRE

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 19:21:14 GMT

Last week we posted the first part of our “fire experience”. What a day that was!!! I feel I aged about 25 years in one day. So in the words of an old radio host Paul Harvey, here is “the rest of the story”.

We all tried to have a normal Christmas with our families. But we were still getting emails and phone calls about how we were doing and next steps. Even turkey couldn’t help me escape from my “fire thoughts”. We were so thankful that YES offered to house us until we could find a new office. Our Employment Ontario partners to the rescue!!!! One item off the list!! The next was to get some books. I remember sitting on my sister’s couch one night and ordering over $5000 worth of books so we could have something to work from. Second thing checked off. But even though it seemed like our first priority was stuff, it had to be ensuring the learners and tutors so that there would be no disruption of service (wait, you may be thinking, a fire causes a disruption in service – you are right) and we would do our best to get them back to learning as soon as possible. BTW (look at me, so cool using the language of the kids ) our students only missed one week of classes �� #firewon’tstopus

It is amazing when you go through something like this, how your to-do-list and things-to-get list grows. “Oh wait, what about a phone? We need to call learners and tutors”. Write it on the list. “Oh, we don’t have any paper or pens”. Ok, I will get them. “But we don’t have a copier”. Oh yeah, I better cancel that contract and get another one ordered. “You need to pay that bill.” Oh, I better get some cheques. “But Vandra, where is your new office?” Ahhhhh – I will get back to you in a few days.

We were once again blessed that our current landlord has another office just down the street from the rubble. It had to be renovated a bit but we thought we could be in by March. Check and check. Now that we had a office a very nice one at that. It just needed tables, chairs, computers, blinds, security system including a fire alarm (lol), filing cabinets, books, stapler, pens, paper, clocks, bookends – the list is endless. Here is a funny story…we needed erasers. So in our office supply order I ordered, what I thought was 24 erasers. We don’t make many mistakes – 24 is enough!!! I ended up with 24 boxes of 24 erasers. That equals 576 erasers. Maybe someone was trying to tell me that mistakes are made here – mostly by me!!!!

We were also blessed with help from the ministry who funds us. They were so supportive – and I am not just saying this to get on their good side. They knew that this was a big job to rebuild and there were only 3 of us to do it. We were given some extra funding to hire some extra help. I pulled in two amazing people who knew literacy and who could keep me from going in many directions at the same time. But this wasn’t the only support we received. People in our community donated money, paper, binders, thumb drives, pencils, pens,a coffee pot (an angels sang when we got that), gift cards for books, and much, much more. We received boxes and boxes of books from other literacy organizations around the province. We received “Thinking of you” notes to encourage us. AND HUGS. Boy, we needed those!!!! I saw love and compassion every day from our community and from the literacy community in Ontario. We weren’t alone!!!

We scheduled our move into the new office for March 16th. The day we were to open the order came down from the province to close for health reasons – Covid 19 hit. The fire wouldn’t stop us but it took a pandemic to slow us down.

DON’T WORRY, WE ARE STILL HERE!

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 19:19:53 GMT

Many of you are asking this same question. Where is Literacy Nipissing and why haven’t we heard from them in a while. Well…..we’ve been busy.

I look back at the past blogs and it shocks me that the last time I wrote one was a year ago. And then I think “that felt like yesterday”. I am grimacing while I write this sentence because a lot has changed for us in just one year.

I remember writing that blog one year ago, so excited about our move to our new office at 175 Main Street. We were giddy about our store front location, proud of how it looked and busy with all the students who were learning. We went through the fall and that excitement never stopped. We had a Halloween party for our students and it was a blast. We had GED testing in our new building (everyone passed by the way!!!) and then we participated in our first Downtown Christmas Walk. We served hot chocolate to over 200 people who stopped in to see our office. We sold the Santa series books and Vintage Whine books and met so many people who really just wanted to warm up!!. We had the office decorated for Christmas and it was so pretty (anyone who knows me, knows that Christmas is my favourite time and decorating for Christmas is a passion)

It was time for our staff Christmas lunch before we had a Christmas break and we planned to get together for lunch on the Friday before Christmas. I was going to wrap things up at the office on Friday morning and head to lunch. 2:00 AM on Friday morning, I was awakened by a phone call from Cassandra. The alarm company was trying to get in touch with me and couldn’t so they called her ( I can sleep through a lot). Our office was being threatened by a fire in a building near by. I quickly pulled on my heavy coat and drove down there. Main Street was blocked off but I could see flames and smoke near our building. I found a firefighter there, who happened to be a friend, and he introduced me to someone in control. I was told that our building was safe at that time. There would be smoke damage but at that time it was felt that the fire could be contained to the vacant building beside us. I was worried about anyone being able to enter our building and loot but I was assured that the firefighters had things secured (and I trusted them). So after watching the mesmerizing flames for 1.5 hours, I headed home around 4. I went back to bed and received a call from Cassandra around 5:30 to tell me that she was watching the news and the fire had jumped to our building. I calmly told her thanks, hung up and fell back to sleep. It didn’t register as to what was she said was happening until I woke suddenly at 7 and recounted the conversation we had at 5:30. (Never wake me in the middle of night with important information – I am truly useless) I quickly went back down and our building was engulfed in flames. The roof had collapsed and I could see flames through the broken front windows all through our office.

I remember standing there and my firefighter friend found me and hugged me. He told me that they were in shock as to what happened. I had a good cry and then my mind started to whirl. It looked like things were bad but maybe there was a possibility that we could get in there once the fire was out to see if there was anything we could retrieve. That is what they do in the movies!!

I went to speak with our ministry representatives about next steps and to make some phone calls. I called the staff and we decided to still meet for lunch to see what we should do. I know I gave an interview to CBC radio, The Nugget and CTV news but I have no idea if what I said even made sense. I do know that I said that a fire wouldn’t stop us and that is the truth. It has been our mantra since that day. When I came back down before lunch, I saw a heavy duty machine digging into the side of our building and tearing it down. My eyes got wide and I remember say “wait, what are you doing?” A few more grabs of the building and it was completely down. It was taken down in order to limit the fire to just that area. In 12 short hours our office was gone – and I mean an empty space of rubble. Our paperwork, our books, our computers, our 41 years of historical documents – all gone. I write that and it still leaves me in shock.

Christmas 2019 will ever be remembered as the time of re-birth for us. My husband surprised with a new ornament for our tree – a fire engine!!! I am never going to forget this Christmas. We spent our holiday making lists of what we needed and what we had to do. We really had no idea what the next few months would look like for us but we knew that we would start over and continue the good work that we are known for. We have excellent staff and a community that supports us – and that was so evident during those first days. We also have students that set an example to never give up. How could we give up after this devastation?? Our students have never given up and we were going to be just like them – strong and determined.

So this is the story of what we have been doing – at least the start of the journey to where we are now. This is getting long so I will recount January to June in the next blog but I won’t wait for a year to do it – I promise. Who would have thought that we would lose our building and then a pandemic would hit?? Not me but I was wrong again. Stay tuned…..

WHERE DID THEY GO AND WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 19:18:18 GMT

It is July 8th – half way through 2019. Hard to believe. Six months have gone by in a flash. But we have been busy.

You may have asked, “where did they go? They are not in their old office.” Our board of directors decided in January that we would move our location. A wonderful spot opened up on Main Street. It was bigger, brighter and street level. We were excited. So we started to pack and found things that surprised us. We found documents from 1978 – the first year we were open. We found things that will probably be in an antique shop soon – like a floppy disk. Remember those?? We had 7 huge bins taken away for shredding. We were at 347 Sherbrooke for 17 years – and after the bins were taken away, we realized that we were hoarders!! Most days it was fun to pack and see things from the past. Other days it was hard, “should we keep this?? Call Jane and see what she says.”

We moved to 175 Main Street East – with a few glitches but we were officially moved in before the long weekend of May. I am forever thankful for a staff that was flexible and not afraid to lift a box or clean up a mess. We really do have a great staff. We finally are settled into our new space and sometimes, I feel I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real. The space is beautiful and we are having a great time meeting neighbours and decorating our new space. We even have a vault – and no, we do not put learners in there when their homework is not completed!!! The learners seem to like the new space and I hope they feel welcome.

Well, if a move wasn’t stressful enough, we had another change. After 13 years of volunteering and teaching, Maureen officially retired. It was a difficult couple of weeks because we all realized that this was a big change. Maureen has done a wonderful job of creating a GED preparation class that produced successful graduates. She has had a part in helping over 70 students obtain their GED certificate. We already miss her special vocabulary “dodad etc.” But we are happy for her in that she can spend some much deserved time with her family.

As hard as it was to say goodbye to Maureen, the transition was seamless. Deanna, our Mattawa instructor for the past 5 years, has stepped into Maureen’s shoes. Deanna is a very good teacher and we are looking forward to what she will give to our students.

So, where are we?? We are downtown North Bay, by the new nurse practitioner’s clinic. Our surroundings look different and some of the staff look different but nothing else has changed. We are still working hard to “strengthen our community…one learner at a time.”

Drop in an see us sometime!!

WHAT IS OLD CAN BE NEW AGAIN

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 19:16:29 GMT

As I was looking through my computer for a document, I found this “essay” that I wrote for a newsletter almost 5 years ago. I thought it would be fun to share it here. I was tutoring a student this morning and we were talking about writing so I realized that this topic is always important. Also, I wrote the article in May so I do say that I wish I was outside but now…I can hear the snow hitting my window so I am ok with being inside.

I hope you enjoy this and don’t forget to “write. write, write” !!

What to write, what to write…

How many of you learners (or tutors for that matter) ask that same question? I am sitting at my desk, trying not to look out the window. I want to get outside and get in my garden but I feel I must sit here and face the wall and write something for the blog.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. Ok, maybe I am. Who wants to be inside on a beautiful May afternoon writing a 5 paragraph essay? If anyone but Maureen puts up their hands, I will yell at you. But I need to do this. I need to write something to the volunteers and tutors to encourage, inspire and motivate you all to write. But I still don’t know what to write about.

What I am trying to get at with these opening paragraphs is that writing is hard. I have been writing essays and other things for many years but I still have trouble finding ideas when I need to produce a masterpiece. We, as tutors/instructors, want our learners to sit and write a paragraph or a three paragraph essay or the dreaded, 5 paragraph essay but can we do it ourselves? So in this “essay”, I will try to give some encouragement and advice for all of us.

Write about what you know.

Who knows more about you than you? You have life experiences that only you have. How many of you have had the chance to run your fingers through the best head of hockey hair ever to race down a hockey rink? I have. If I had more time, I would write a story about the time I was able to touch that hair but I digress. People enjoy reading about your experiences and these experiences are easy to write about because you lived it. We don’t need to write about the historical significance of the Capitulary of Saxony. Do you care about that or would you even want to read about it?? No, but you might like to read about a special event in the life of someone you are starting to know.

Tell us your story.

When you write, you are still learning.Every time you write you still have to follow the rules of grammar, spelling and writing. Even though you may be telling your story, we still need to be able to read it. If you used misspelled words or improper grammar, we wouldn’t be able to understand what you want to say. We want to concentrate on your story not be distracted “buy rong wrods or badd speling.” Have someone look over your work to see that your thoughts are clearly understood. If you don’t know how to spell a word, look it up. If you don’t know if a sentence is proper, ask for help. Your story is what we want to enjoy.

Write, write, write.

You may never hear this again from me but who cares what you write about, just write. We don’t care if you write about the effects of eating too many blueberries over a 24 hour period of time, (well, don’t be too gross). Just write. Take 10 minutes a day and sit and write about your thoughts, a memory or a plan to make the Leafs win the cup (you could make money on that one if it works ) You don’t have to share your writing with anyone. But the more you write, the better you will become. Practice, practice, practice. The more you write, the more you will be able to find your own mistakes and then improve. But if you don’t write, you will never improve.

When I first started teaching adults I was worried. I wanted to make sure that I treated each learner with respect and dignity. I didn’t want them to do any work that they felt was too easy. But I soon learned that many adults, who have returned to upgrade their skills, were never taught how to write properly. I had a very wise mentor that told me, “if your student can write, then don’t worry about the rest.” Your writing doesn’t have to be long or filled with 15 letter words. Your writing has to be interesting and readable. The more your write, the more you will learn to be a good writer. A lot of learning comes by just writing. Well, as I write this, I must admit that you won’t learn fractions by writing but maybe I now have the topic for the next blog. Hmmmm, let me think. “How to learn fractions when you only have HALFa brain.” Nope that’s not it. “Fractions – eating ¾ of the pie is bad for you.” There we go, everyone likes pie

If anyone, learners or tutors, would like to share with us some of your writings, we would love to include your masterpieces in our newsletter. But in order to do this, first you must write, write, write.

40 YEARS

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 19:13:20 GMT

Where were you 40 years ago? I was starting grade 9 at W.C.Eaket Secondary School. I was a nervous “minor niner”. Even the thoughts of my older family members blazing the trail for me at high school, didn’t ease my nerves. My new “back-to-school” outfit and haircut didn’t give me confidence. I was going to high school. This was a whole new world for me.

40 years ago a group of concerned people got together because they realized that there were many adults in our community needing help with basic reading, writing and math skills. A program at Canadore College to help lower level readers had its funding cut but the need was still there and there were people eager to learn. Canadore College president, Murray Hewgill gave John Brock, who was the director of Adult Training, the job of finding a program that Canadore could sponsor and help. Joan Sharman a Canadore staff person at the time said the Laubach workshop was chosen because it was the best material and gave better information to untrained volunteers than any other method. This was the start of The North Bay Literacy Council now known as Literacy Nipissing.

These initial volunteers trained tutors, worked with adults and started to see changes in people’s lives. I have only been at this agency for 5 years but I have heard stories that tug at my heart constantly. I heard of one lady who saw Jane Jackson at a store and ran over to tell her that she could now read her divorce papers and now she knew she wasn’t being taken advantage. I heard another story of a learner who only knew how to spell his name when he walked in our door. He couldn’t read or write anything else. Soon he was learning to read and write and he was amazed how smart he really was. Another gentleman learned to write and then wrote his life story so that his children and grandchildren would have a record after he was gone. I have heard of people improving their skills to the point where they could retain a full time job or help their children with their homework. One young lady worked very hard and has now completed her third college program.

I know that I have not heard all the stories of triumph, which might be a good thing. We are running out of tissue here!!!! But these stories do inspire us every day. A while ago, we calculated that we have worked with over 5000 students in 4o years. We have had over 2000 volunteers donate countless hours to help these learners. And the last thing that we counted was the approximate number of hours that were spent in learning. As far as we can calculate (and we are pretty good at math…) there has been over 1/2 million hours of learning in 40 years. Unbelievable!!! One learner told me that when he first came here he walked up the steps, turned around and went back down the steps. He got to the bottom of the steps and told himself to get back up the steps and walk through the door. That change of direction changed his life. I have two words to describe these learners – courageous and determined. And the proof of that is these 1/2 million hours put into their learning.

As I think about the legacy of The North Bay Literacy Council/ Literacy Nipissing, I wonder if those initial volunteers knew the impact that they would have on our community. I wonder if they ever imagined that 40 years later the agency would still be here and thriving. I wonder if our volunteers really understand the change they have helped make in the lives of so many adults. AND… I wonder if those 5000 learners know how proud we are of them for taking that first step to improve their lives.

I can’t wait to see what is next!!

A LOOK BACK

Mon, 18 Dec 2017 20:11:04 GMT

It has been many months since our last blog post. Is that a good or a bad thing? Maybe we can say that we have been too busy to write or maybe nothing has happened so we have nothing to report. I am hoping that it is the first suggestion. And as I sit facing this computer screen this afternoon, maybe it is time to take a deep breath. We are almost at the end of 2017 and we are getting ready for holidays. What a perfect time to take a look back at what happened at Literacy Nipissing in 2017. Now that we are all a year older, I hope we can remember what happened!!

We started off 2017 with a group of eager students working on their GED preparation. We still had many volunteer tutors who worked with learners and everyone was eager to start the new year off on a good foot. We also hosted our annual Family Literacy Skate with the Early Years Centre. This is always a fun time when we see families have a fun afternoon at the rink. Even those wearing Montreal Canadians shirts are welcome ��

Our students worked very hard during the winter months. But what else do you expect? What else is there to do in Northern Ontario in January, February and March? You might as well come to school!!! We also took some time in the winter to share learner stories. It was a very humbling experience. We were trusted with heart wrenching stories of why some learners have to complete their education later in life. Humbling but there were many times we wanted to punch the air and yell from the rooftops, “Good for you, no one is ever going to stop you now.” If you missed any of these stories, you can find them on our website under Literacy Lantern. But be careful. Once you read them, you may be changed forever.

April brought nice weather and most of our students hung in with us. Especially the GED students. They were so close to writing their final test. At the end of April we also participated in the annual Workforce Week hosted by the Labour Market Group. We have been part of this event for the past 4 years and it is a great opportunity to show our learners that employment opportunities available to them – especially if they have the skills, like a GED.

In June we hosted our first GED test. We were fortunate to have the test administered right in our office for the first time. It sure took away a lot of stress for students to know that they could write their tests in a familiar place. AND the best news was all that wrote the test PASSED. We felt like proud momma birds, watching our chicks succeed and then kicking them out of the nest. Well, kind of. We kick them out of the nest but then ask them to come back the next day for a visit. Two of the students who passed, also started at Canadore this year. Can you hear the pride???? We again hosted the test at the end of November and you guessed it, they passed again!!

Summer was the perfect time to get ready for Christmas. The next book in the Santa series written by Dennis Chippa and illustrated by the Widdifield art students was completed so it was our turn to prepare for the launch of the new book. We decorated the office to the groans of all who entered. We (and I mean Cassandra) drew all the posters and materials needed for the launch. I have to say that at least we didn’t play Christmas music while the shadflies covered our building. We waited to do that until snow was on the ground in November.

Fall is the traditional time to start school and it is no different here. Some students just continue their studies but we always have an influx of new students. We had another GED class scheduled, Maureen had over 20 booked for her small group, tutors and learners were booked and Deanna had our Mattawa program up and running after a summer break. Learning was happening and it was exciting to hear, “No way, that’s how you do long division without a calculator?”

November 18th was the day for the launch of Crankpot, The Underpants Elf. We had the launch at Widdifield Secondary School and we called it Elf-a-polooza. We had a lot of fun watching the kids have fun. We all dressed up like elves and it was hard to be the cranky elf when the kids were so cute. I think I heard the same joke about 20 times that day in order to make me, the cranky elf, smile. It worked every time. This was the start of the selling season for us. We are very grateful for the support of the community in purchasing the book. The funds that are raised are put to good use to offset expenses that we have. Our community has supported us greatly over the years.

As I write this, we are 13 days away from the start of a very important year. 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of The North Bay Literacy Council or Literacy Nipissing (however you know us!). We are working on plans to commemorate this important milestone. Stay tuned to our social media posts and website for how we are going to celebrate the accomplishments of over 5000 learners.

Thanks for taking an interest in us this year.

ANOTHER SUMMER IS UPON US!

Wed, 24 May 2017 19:09:49 GMT

What a great way to procrastinate…write a blog. There are a ton of things I should be doing but as every toddler has said once in his/her life, “I don’t wanna do that.”

We are one day away from a starting a new tradition here at Literacy Nipissing. For years, we have hosted a banquet for learners. This banquet was the opportunity for us to treat our learners and volunteers to a special night to highlight their accomplishments. It was always a great time to invite the community and then brag about our students. But in the last few years, we noticed that only a handful of learners and volunteers were attending. The banquet was nice but we wanted to have more attend so that we could celebrate their accomplishments. So this year, we decided to have a celebration lunch for just learners and volunteers. We want to heap pride, encouragement and just down right amazement on our learners. We don’t want any distractions. We want to celebrate the long journey many of our learners have decided to take.

I don’t know how many times a week I have put my hand over my heart because a learner has amazed me at what they have accomplished. It might not always be about the Pythagorean Theorem but sometimes it is. It could be that a learner realized that the lies they have been hearing about themselves really are lies. Someone in their past told them they were dumb and could never learn. Then we hear, “I’m not dumb, right?? I can do this.” Oh my heart.

We want to celebrate big and small accomplishments. Here is list of some of accomplishments we have heard this year.

1. “I want to learn to write not just print.” And she did.

2. “Guess what Maureen, I passed the GED.” Heard 7 times in 2017 – so far!!

3. “I did my homework.” Heard not as often as we would like, but the number is getting better.

4. “Did you realize that it is really hard to get a good job without an education?”

5. “After all these years, I find got it. I can do long division without a calculator.”

6. “If it wasn’t for my tutor, I wouldn’t have learned that.”

7. “I voted for the first time in the last election.”

8. “Guess what, I got into culinary arts at the college.”

9. “Maybe I should learn to budget. That might help.”

10. “I have an apprenticeship lined up if I can get my GED. Can you help?”

There are many more milestones that have been reached and we celebrate them all.

We are so thankful for our volunteers who help tutor, answer phones, become board members and sell books at Christmas. When I think of the number of hours that we receive from volunteers, they would total 10 more full time jobs. Volunteers really are the heart of this place and we celebrate their selflessness.

We celebrate the new chapter in the lives of our hard working students. It is a lot easier getting up in the morning to come here when we know that we are part of something that is life changing. We are very proud of the courage that our learners show each and every day.

By the way, I started this blog last week and procrastinated long enough that our celebration day is now over. What a great time we had celebrating!!!

YOU CAN CALL ME JACK!!!

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 19:08:18 GMT

Here is the latest in our series of learner stories.

Jack is the reason why I need to colour my hair!! He comes in to the office at least once a month with a fundraising idea. But he doesn’t expect me to do the fundraising idea alone, he works right along side of us. I have often told him that he could sell a Speedo to an Inuit in January. He is always looking to support our agency and our learners. If we are at the mall selling books, he is there. If we are at the arena promoting our program, he is there. AND he defends adult learners like no other. He is the reason that we started this campaign. Jack wanted to make sure that the public knew that adult learners may have an unique history and no adult learner is the same. Adult learners may not have received the education that others did and there are many different reasons as to why that happened. There is no one like Jack, he is irreplaceable!!

“You can call me Jack”

My name is Jack and this is my story.

School wasn’t a good place for me when I was young. When I first went to school, I soon realized that the kids who wanted to learn always sat in the front. I sat in the back. I was put in Special Education classes and we were bullied. I was bullied and no one stopped it. If I said something, I was told that we should go our separate ways. I really wish that there was more help back then for kids.

Things were tough at home and this hurt my school time. I would go to school with bruises and I was never asked about them. I was abused at home and I was so nervous and shaken that my father would come to school to hurt me. I felt scared all the time, even at school.

My home life wasn’t any better. I developed a nervous stutter because I was scared to speak. I could only spit out a couple of words at a time. “It’s hard to believe how you can’t spit the words out when you’re scared”. My father drank and partied and then he would come home late to abuse us. Sometimes we didn’t have any food. I would collect pop cans for money in order to go to the movies to get out of the house. If that didn’t work, I would go to the park or hide in the bush so that I wouldn’t have to go home. I was so scared to go home, that I would have stayed at school for as long as they would let me. The abuse made me not trust anyone. I thought everyone was against me. The day my dad died, was the day I started speaking more and the day the light went on for me.

I always had work and I was never fired. I would go into businesses to get applications and take them home to figure out what I had to do before bringing them back. I pretended to read because I didn’t want my employers to know that I couldn’t read. I felt ashamed that I couldn’t read.

The turning for me was with my kids. I would “read” a special book to my kids. I couldn’t read so I would just make up a story. One day my kids brought the book to school for the teacher to read. He came home and said to me that the story the teacher read was different from the one I had been telling them. That was the day that I decided to learn for myself. I wanted to read.

It takes a lot of courage to go back to school and ask for help. I knew I was the one who had to ask. I saw an ad for the North Bay Literacy Council (now Literacy Nipissing) and thought I would look them up. When I first went to get help, I made it half way up the stairs before I turned around and left. I got to the bottom of the stairs, took a minute and went back up. I was on my way to getting help.

I have now learned to read and write. I have had a number of tutors, who I call angels. They have helped me so much. I am so thankful for their help. They give back so much to us. It is a miracle to have a place where people can get so much help to learn to read and write. There is always an open door and you always feel welcome.

I have had a lot of achievements since I started. I now have a driver’s license, a boating license and a hunting license. I have won the Canada Post Award for literacy. I sit on the board for the Literacy Council and I run student workshops. I have run a student scavenger hunt for the past six years. I believe that you have to give back. I really love going to workshop myself and talking with other students.

It was important to me to tell my story because I want people in our city to know that Literacy Councils are very important to many. I was helping out at a fundraiser and I met someone who couldn’t believe that there were people who needed this help. Everyone needs to know that there are a lot of adults who need help. I have changed a lot in my life and coming to the Literacy Council to learn to read and write was a big change. The Literacy Council gave me a second chance in life.

THE REVOLUTION

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 20:05:49 GMT

We would like to introduce you to “Sebastien”. He sat down yesterday with one of our placement students and told his story. The one thing that stands out about Sebastien is his manners. This is one respectful young man. Our placement student Darian, says he is an outlier. I didn’t know what that meant so Darian told me. “It is like when there is a pattern and one thing doesn’t follow the same pattern.” That is Sebastien. He wants to have fun like every other teenager but he now knows that in order to reach his dreams, he needs an education. He has learned this lesson sooner than most. Enjoy!!

Sebastien moved around a lot as a kid. He lived everywhere from his birth place in western USA, to a small village in British Columbia where he had to check his bed for scorpions before he would go to sleep, but he has found a new home in North Bay.

However, moving around this much did not affect his education all that much because he was still very young when he experienced it. He didn’t start elementary school until he had a stable living environment in North Bay.

Sebastien didn’t have any problems in school until he got to high school in grade 9, when he started smoking weed, getting drunk, and skipping class. Sebastien only went to school for the first half of his first semester of high school before he decided to stop going entirely. His mom was always fighting with him to try and get him to go to his classes so that he could be successful and gain an education but he refused to listen to anything she had to say because he wanted to be a rebel.

Sebastien didn’t see any point in going to school. All he wanted to do was spend his time skateboarding and making music all day instead of being in class. “The only good thing I got out of skipping school was that I had a lot of time to work on getting better at skateboarding and working on my music.”

The main thing that sparked Sebastien and gave him the drive that he has to want to get an education was when one night he got highly intoxicated and ended up getting into a fight. Sebastien was charged with assault and had to go to court. He didn’t want to continue this lifestyle of abusing substances and getting into trouble with the law and with his mom all the time so he decided to get his act together.

Sebastien tried to get a job with the assistance of ‘Yes Employment’ but he found that it was incredibly difficult to find any sort of work with the level of education that he had achieved at this point so he decided the best thing to do would be to finish high school.

Sebastien didn’t want to go to a regular high school because, “The teachers just throw work at you and expect you to do it, they barely even help you learn anything”

He had also thought that he would not fit in as a 17 year old whose age would normally fit in grade 12 classes, in a classroom filled with grade 9 students.

Sebastien was referred to Literacy Nipissing by his mother, who to this day continues to be very supportive of him. He has been a very good student since he has arrived here.

“At one point I couldn’t even do simple multiplication, now I can easily solve all of these long math equations”

Sebastien has been completely sober from drugs and alcohol for 7 months now and is still very passionate about skateboarding, music, and has even started his own local clothing business with a few of his friends called ‘Slums’

Sebastien has been thinking about his future and he is still undecided but he thinks that he wants to move back to the USA (after Trump is out of office!) because of the big skateboarding scene in California. He also plans on going to college once he finishes his high school courses. He would like to take video arts because of his love for filming skateboarding videos, and Polaroid photography.

HI FROM COWBOY

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 20:01:53 GMT

One of the students at Literacy Nipissing has kindly offered to share his story to help in our efforts of getting people to understand the importance of adult upgrading. This student has been coming to our centre for a few months now, and is very dedicated as a student. He comes to school every week, even when his tutor is not there. This student is a thoughtful and friendly man, always sharing a warm smile and never forgetting to thank you for helping him. Our hope is that when you read his story, you empathize with him and truly feel the emotion that is radiating from his words. We want you to understand the complex nature of why he struggled in school, and the factors that affected his actions. This story shows how truly important it is to give people another opportunity to be given that education. This student once told me, “It’s not just the employable aspect, it’s the therapeutic value of reading and writing,” and he speaks to that in the poem he wrote at the end of his story. We appreciate you taking the time to read this. Please remember that this is his personal writing. We have edited this if certain parts were unclear but for the most part, these are his words. It will be the only time you hear us say, “Don’t worry about the grammar and spelling".

___________________________________________________________________________________

Today is September 15,2016 I am in school which means I am having a great day at this time in my life school is not just the most important thing for me to do its my very favourite thing I never imagined this would be possible me being able to learn the very basics of reading writing the fundamentals of the understanding of all the things this in encompass I had been put into such a very small boxes as a child as far as being able to learn. And I believed that this was true about myself because As a child i never had anyone tell me anything different or take the time to show me anything different so I had expected this analogy of myself as such the possibility to be able to achieve the goals most people take for granted were always going to just be a dream for someone like myself a impossibility. So when the impossible become reality to me the dream became tangible myself a esteem went through the roof my self drive increased to levels of determination that I can’t believe I know now that all things are possible for me I know every day I learn a little bit more so every day I become a little bit smarter if I had my way I would attend some form of schooling for the rest of my days I have to live.in short I live to learn, and learn to live. .wow what a great way to spend the rest of my life Just learning their are so meany great philosophers, poets, authors, and one day I will be able to say I have read and understood Them all.. Cowboy.”

What you just read was written about six months after first starting the Adult learning program in Toronto. Today is January 31, 2017 I now am living in North Bay, Ontario and continue to attend adult learning. A big part of why I do this is because I had never in my past experiences in schooling had the support I do now in this program from the people that work here to the people that volunteer their personal time do this for no other reasons but because they’re caring heartfelt good people who are in the business of helping people like myself who have slipped through the cracks of traditional ways of learning in school. There are many reasons this had happened to me, it’s not as simple as saying if we just fixed one thing this wouldn’t of happened such as learning disabilities, the need for glasses, the many different times I changed schools and many problems at home and challenges I faced a child. I have been asked to write about my past experiences about what school was like for me growing up as a child. This is my story.

My first memory of attending school was about almost five years old and my mother had taken me to sick kids hospital in Toronto for reasons I still am not sure about. For a few weeks I had many different tests done, EKG, and there was one test in particular that to this day upsets me. I don’t know what it’s called, but they lay you down and stick, I can only describe as sharp tacks attached wires, everywhere in your head you are told to look up at the ceiling and stare at a kaleidoscope of lights, it was a very painful experience. After all my tests were done I was brought up to a wing of the hospital where I was given a room, there were many kids there. I didn’t understand what was happening, where my mother was and why she had not come back for me. The next day I was brought by a staff member that worked there to a room and told this is where I would be going to school, I was so confused and so scared. I remember the people working there being very nice to me, so kind and at times that when I would cry, they would cry with me and tell me everything will be ok, Joel, they’re going to find you a new home to live in with nice people to take care of you. In that instance I knew I would not be going back to my house, and no one I loved and knew was coming for me. I have an older sister and a younger brother, they are still at home with mommy so I must be bad that’s why my mommy doesn’t love me anymore. I became very shy and withdrawn, I hardly spoke and would spend all my time in my room by myself. They also had Cub scouts and swimming there, but it was a struggle for the ladies working there to get me to participate because I only wanted to stay in my room looking out the window.

I am not sure how long I was at sick kids hospital, but it seemed like very long time to me. Eventually I was sent to a group home in Toronto which is different then a foster home, there were many older teenagers there and no parents just staff members. I remember how the staff would do random drug searches, and how the teenagers there became my friends, as bad as the staff would treat them they would often give it right back to them without hesitation and without fear. I remember they would always take me out to the park to play. I remember feeling so protected with them, that nobody would mess with me or hurt me when I was with them, they would tell me, “Joel it’s not fair you’re here but you are. Life is not fair you will have to grow up fast you need to stop crying all the time because nobody cares you need to get tough. Being here will not last forever, one day you will be free okay?” I also learned a great deal about swering, and how when we went into stores stealing, it was okay. The only way to get what you want is to take it, no one is going to give you anything, and the older boys would wrestle with me and show me how to fight and tell me, “never fight fair, Joel. Fighting fair is stupid and its how you lose, always fight to win and never cry be tough. Never ever rat on anyone, especially us ever for any reason we can’t be friends with rats we can only trust each other, Joel. The staff here will lie to you and try to trick you because they don’t care about you or us.” My room became a great place for my friends to hide their drugs because my room was never searched. I would never rat on my friends, in my young mind they were heroes to me and I knew I wanted to be just like them. The time I spent in this group home was about one year, I remember everything my friends said and taught me, but I can’t remember one thing I learned that year from my home schooling I received from the staff there. Then came the day it was time for me to leave to go to a foster home. I remember the guys there that became my friends being just as sad as I was leaving. I remember the girls there hugging me crying saying how much they loved me and would miss me. I don’t remember one single staff member caring at all or showing it. I remember my friends going over again and again my last night there, “Joel, remember don’t trust anyone, be tough don’t ever let anyone see you cry, be strong and don’t be afraid. One day, Joel, you will be free okay.” I was so sad the day I left but I didn’t cry, not one tear, the things and lessons my friends taught me stayed with me through the many foster homes I was in and many schools I attended. In fact, the many horrible foster parents and horrible things they did to me and put me through just reinforced what my friends had said and thought. My anger became my very best friend.

Eventually I was placed in a foster home in Cambridge Ontario. I was just over eight years old, it was by far the best home I had been in even though I didn’t feel much love from them. I liked that I was fed, had nice clothes, went to church and was allowed to wander as much of the country side as I wanted. When I started school I was placed into a special education class. I had attended so many different schools from moving around so much I had become so far behind in my education. In these classes I was identified as having both forms of dyslexia with letters and numbers and found it very difficult to concentrate I remember getting in trouble for that a lot, not sitting still, being told to stop misbehaveing and to just pay attention for once because if I didn’t I wouldn’t learn what I needed to catch up and would never get to go to a normal class with the other kids. “Do you want to grow up stupid Joel ?” The teacher would say. But what the teacher didn’t know was I had been trying and doing my best and I felt stupid already because I didn’t understand a lot of the lessons that were being taught to me and the teacher couldn’t spend all her class room time just on helping me and because my foster parents didn’t help me ether I just kept falling more and more behind. I got to the point where I just gave up. I would go to class and just do what I wanted and the teachers were okay with that as long as I was not bugging anyone or them. I was left alone, I was kicked out of two of the grade schools close to where I lived for fighting if other kids made fun of me because of the class I was in the class for you know dummies. My anger had no bounds, if I seen someone picking on someone else from my special ed class my anger was extreme. I dreaded going to school but at the age of ten years old that changed a lot for me. My gym teacher discovered I was a natural athlete. Being worked on farms a lot had made very strong that combined with a stubbornness to never give up or to never back down gave me incredible drive to win at any cost. I had absolutely no fear of being hurt I had already experienced every kind of pain that people were capable of doing to me and I had took it and kept my mouth shut. I refused to let them or anyone else know that I had been hurt in any way so I excelled in sports I lived sports I practiced every day. I was hooked for the very first time in my life I was told I was not just good at something I was great and when we would win a game on the merits of how I performed on the court or field the look on my gym teacher face and my teammates and our opponents was incredible to me for the very first time in my life I fit in somewhere. The team was my version of what a real family was I was treated good praised I had equal opportunities to excel. I didn’t even mind that no one from my home life came to see me games. I remember how the other kids parents would say, “great game Joel you were awesome out there,” and to me that was more than enough I would often skip classes and go to the gymnasium and help the gym teachers with other classes or just practice by myself. We had to huge gymnasiums that could be split into four gyms so there was always room for me and the two gym teacher were so incredible and supportive never was I told I could not be there or was turned away. I was so grateful they treated me like that but when I look back on that time in my life now I am even more grateful then words can express because I know now that they clearly understood me my home life and the secrets I thought I was keeping to just myself. I now understand that they knew me being there was not just because of sports it was much much more than that for me.

At the age of sixteen I was released from foster care I was a hundred and ninety five pounds solid muscle with no education, no real family, and no fears of hurting anyone I felt was going to try to hurt me or in my mind that deserved it like bullies people that lied or couldn’t keep their word. My resolve was simple, if you crossed me I was going to traumatize you in some horrific way and anyone else around you at the time. Because of this I was looked at and treated differently I easily moved through different gangs or clicks or circles of people that normally didn’t associate with each other I was known and excepted selling drugs to make money and support my drug habit became my way of life. The people I associated with became my family from the time I turned 18 years old till I was 35 years old. There’s very few years I was not incarcerated for fighting or something related to drugs. Jail was not a deterrent for me or from what I seen any of the other men I had come to know over the years of going in and out jail in fact most of us were very hard drug addicts, so a lot times we would be very physically unhealthy sometimes close to even dying. Jail was a place to get healthy again work out eat properly. Guys would come in to jail half dead we would often say we were not arrested we were rescued. Many of the men I met had very little education and were only able to express themselves through anger and violence. At the end of 2012 sitting in a jail cell once again for myself I had truly reached my breaking point I was so very tired of being angry all the time. I had got to the point where I knew there just was not enough drugs in the world to stop the hurting and anger that I been carrying for so very long. I was done, I didn’t want to live one more day and really felt I had no reason to. I had been sick before coming off drugs in jail, but this time was the worst I had been mainlining to the point of insanity for last five years and I was certain I had Hepatitis C or HIV. I remember praying to God to understand and to please forgive me for what I was going to do when I got out jail telling God, “I am suffering and things are only going to get worse if you want to send me to Hell for killing myself, fine, I don’t care anymore I am already in Hell anyways.” Shortly after I had made this decision one of the jail guards took me to medical to get my blood result. I had been in just over two months and was still pretty sick. The doctor looked over my results and said, “ok Joel, everything seems fine you can go.” I reacted angrily, “are you crazy?” I proceeded to call him a veterinarian and told him that someone scared up my blood work this just was not possible. I had to get more blood tests done, and both came back clean I was in shock. I knew God sent me a miracle and a message. That night laying in my bed in jail I said to God, “okay I hear you when I get out jail I will got to stupid rehab and I will do every single thing those people ask of me so when I stand before you I have no excuses that I did try everything else’s before taking my life but I know rehab isn’t going to help me. They’re not going to tech me anything about drugs I don’t already know.” After serving a 9 month jail sentence, I got referred to a treatment place in North Bay. I remember thinking just 21 days more to go and I can finally be truly free for the first time in my life and I made no bones about telling my rehab counsellor about this. I told her if when I leave here in 21 days and I am still a drug addict I am absolutely killing myself, “I refuse to live one more day like this anymore I am just not doing it anymore.” It was at this point God granted me my second miracle, my counsellor miss Cheryl. I truly believe this because if I had been sitting across from any other counsellor they would of said, “what I now know to be true now there’s no cure for addiction. We can’t cure you in 21 days,” and that’s all I would of needed to hear at the time to turn around and walk out of there and say, “see God I knew I was right,” but that’s not what she said. I remember her looking at me put her hand on my arm and just saying, “ok ok Joel.” The next few weeks became the most life changing weeks I had ever experienced I had always thought drugs were the problem but they weren’t. They had become my solution to the anger and hurting I didn’t even understand about myself. Miss Cheryl worked tirelessly with me to help me understand the why , by guiding me to my most serious problems, by walking me through my anger and pain, by helping me learn the tools I needed know to help myself find the answers to hard questions so I could clearly understand the why of it all. With every break through I gained understanding with understanding I gained solutions and answers with those answers came my willingness to live again.

I will always be so grateful to miss Cheryl and the many other counsellors that helped me find my way to the right path and be able to move forward in the right direction. I am so thankful to God for all the miracles and Earth bound angels he placed in my path when I needed them the most. As I sit here today in the adult learning centre reflecting on my past with and a good clear understanding of how my great future will be I can smile I can smile big because I know I am always welcome here as long as I am willing to do the work. The great people that work and volunteer here at the adult learning centre are more than happy and willing to help me and work with me. The sense of pride and accomplishment I get attending school here is beyond measurement because I have experienced miracles and I have met angels. I can clearly see God now in all the little details of my life, so I know all good things are possible for me and that this is not the end of my story but just the beginning of the very best part.

- Cowboy

Tears

My heart was empty, But that’s okay

I fill it with my tears, each and every day.

I fill my heart with tears, because I must do what I can to carry on

In spite of my past And all it’s wrongs,

I will carry my tears well, I will carry them on through, because this is today,

and it’s a new,

Today I can show all of the world all great things that I can do,

Today I can show all of the word all the love that’s inside me too

it doesn’t matter if I am carrying the parts of a past broken heart,

it doesn’t matter if my tears are slowly dripping out,

into my life’s new start,

It doesn’t matter if I am wishing my sadness away,

On all my feelings of yesterday

People will see, I choose to carry myself well,

in spite of my past, when I stumbled and fell,

My heart was empty, but that’s ok I fill it with tears of joy each and every day.

I do this So that every person can plainly see, my tears of joy straighten me,

Those tears I cry, show how I really am inside, those tears of joy that have set me free. to say to the world yes please look at me, I do matter, please look and you will clearly see, all the great things that are inside of me,

Resourcefulness, courage ,strength, and above all love

it takes a strong creative person to accomplish all they set out to achieve

so when you see someone trying, to the point of crying, to stay on the right path

Look deeply into your own heart for compassion, for that person that you see,

Because you never know that person , just might be me.

Written by Cowboy …. inspired by Miss Cheryl,

A NEW YEAR – A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 19:57:39 GMT

It is January 26th already. Why do I always think that time will slow down? It is hard to believe that the last time a blog was written here was in July. July – the sun was shining, the leaves were green and the water was blue. January – the sun is not shining, the leaves, what leaves and the water is white. Oh well, at least there are no shadflies! But I digress from my original reason for writing this blog.

This past November and December, we sold a children’s book written by Dennis Chippa and illustrated by the Widdifield Secondary School art students. We became “peddlers of picture books” for over a month to raise money for our agency. During one of our excursions to the local mall, we met someone who couldn’t quite understand the need to have a literacy agency for adults. She couldn’t understand why an adult would need to upgrade his/her skills. “They should have done that in school when they were young.”

There are many reasons why an adult learner needs to upgrade. Sometimes when I hear the stories of what a learner went through before getting to this point, to be truthful, it is more then my heart and mind can absorb. Think back to when you were in elementary and/or high school. Think of where you were living, think of the people who were tasked to look after your basic needs, think of what you did after school, think of how you spent your evenings and weekends. When I think of these times, I have so many wonderful memories. A warm house, a meal made by my mom (I enjoyed everything except the peas), playing with my cousins after school and on the weekends, jumping in puddles (not when I was in high school, mind you), walking home from school with my friends and talking about boys, and thinking about my mom and dad telling me to get to my homework and to turn the radio off. I probably thought that things were tough then. I think all children do at one time or another, believe that no kid in the history of the world, has had it as bad as they do. But over the 24 years of working in literacy, I now know that there are many people who, as children, have had unimaginable experiences – they really did have it tough.

I would like to give you a list of some the reasons why the adults we see now, weren’t successful in school when they are young. I won’t give specific examples, just a list. Hang on!

“I was in 15 foster homes between the ages of 5-17”
“I was locked in a cupboard every night.”
“I had to protect my little sister from the men that my mom brought into our house.”
“My family became homeless and my mom and I lived on the streets of Toronto.”
“In grade 6 my dad died and I felt I needed to go to work to help my mom. I worked on a fishing boat out east.”
“I got pregnant at age 13”
“I looked after my little brother as my mom was working. This started when I was in grade 2.”
“I would fall asleep in school because I knew that I could safely sleep there.”
“My parents had 5 boys and they gave me to a foster home because they couldn’t deal with all of us.”
“I had leukemia when I was young and missed a lot of school because I was so sick.”
“I was in an accident and missed a lot of school while I was healing. It was hard to catch up after that.”
“If I talked I would be beaten.”

If you want more, I could give you more. But my main point is that many of the adults we see now, had no choice in the circumstances of their childhood. At times, schooling became a safe place to escape or school wasn’t on the radar of things that “must be done”. I must admit, that I have heard stories of adults getting involved with the “wrong crowd” and this caused a delay in their education. But many people assume that this is the only reason – “they were just fooling around and didn’t take advantage of the opportunity that was given to them.” It is hard to take advantage of the opportunity given to you when you, as a 5 year old, are fearing for your safety or you are too tired to stay awake because you haven’t eaten all day.

Adult literacy programs are available now to give some adults that first chance of success and pride.

It is time that we start looking at adult learners through a difference lens.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM A 3RD GRADER

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:55:49 GMT

This weekend I had the privilege of attending my niece’s wedding. It was such a wonderful weekend. We laughed, we cried and of course, we ate lots of great food. I enjoy so many things at a wedding. I love seeing friends and family that I don’t see every day. I love wedding cake (those who know me, know I am not lying). I love watching the groom as he watches his bride walk down the aisle toward him. But there is something at weddings that I do not enjoy. Speeches! It’s not that I don’t like to listen to what everyone has to say but some people tend to talk longer then they normally would. Some tell stories that are only funny to themselves but mostly most speeches make me cry. But I have to say that this wedding had a speech that I can’t stop thinking about, even 3 days later. The parents of the groom got up and read to us parts of the groom’s grade 3 journal. The words were written by an 8 year old and they were so cute. I did laugh and I cried just a little. Then they read a journal entry that made me stop in my tracks.

The groom, at the tender age of 8, asked a question in his journal that took my breath away. He asked,”What would it be like if I couldn’t read?” WOW!! As I sat and listened to what he had written down, I heard some chuckles and some “ahhhhhs” but I sat in stunned silence. This little boy (at the time) realized what we in literacy see every day. What would it be like if we couldn’t read?? He asked himself if he couldn’t read, would he be able to drive a car? He thought that if he couldn’t read, he couldn’t read the signs and then he would have a car crash and die. Truth!!!!! We need to read the word “Stop” and then stop so that another car doesn’t run into us. Out of the mouth of babes…….

What boggled my mind while hearing this speech, was that a big part of our society isn’t as perceptive as this 8 year old. Have you ever tried to imagine what your life would be like if you couldn’t read?? You couldn’t order off of a menu, get a driver’s license, use Facebook, read the directions for a medical procedure, read your medicine bottle, read a best seller, read a recipe and so many more. We had a student who learned to read in the past few years. Recently she was able to replace her stove with a newer model. She had never had a self-cleaning oven so we were telling her that she couldn’t use a spray oven cleaner, that the oven cleans itself if you follow the directions. I mentioned to her that you could put tinfoil on the bottom of the oven to catch some of the “drips”. She proudly proclaimed, “no you can’t do that. It is written on the oven door not to put tinfoil on the bottom of the oven.” Then she smiled a grin of a lottery winner. She was able to read the directions and hopefully she could take good care of the oven so it would last longer. Oh my heart.

If you would like to see what it is like to not be able to read, just take off your glasses, or try to read another language. You can see marks on the page but you can’t understand the message that is written down. That message could be directions to a family member’s home, it could be a touching story about long lost relatives, it could be praise of how wonderful you are or it could be telling you that if you can read this, you are eligible for free season tickets to see the Toronto Maple Leafs. What we would miss if we couldn’t read. Now think of those in your community or your family who may not be able to read. Think about how different their lives could be if they could read. If you know someone who can’t read, make sure you tell them gently that if they would like to learn, we can help.

By the way, that little boy, (who is now married to my beautiful niece) finished his journal entry by saying that if he couldn’t read, he wouldn’t be able to get married. I am so glad he learned to read.

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!!!

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 18:54:20 GMT

Recently, my husband and I were heading back to North Bay after a weekend down south. We were taking the back roads to avoid the “Southern Ontario traffic nightmare”. We came over a hill and I yelled, “Stop!!!!!” My husband slammed on the brakes expecting to see a moose or bag of money that fell off a tractor. But I had spotted something amazing and I needed a picture. It is the picture that you see here – a tree growing out of the back of an old truck. I was captivated by this. How did a full grown tree start growing out of the back of that truck?? How long had it been there? Why had no one damaged it or tried to move it?

As I was snapping pictures, I started thinking of some smart remark to make. The first one that came to mind was, “now that is what they mean when they say ‘someone wrapped their car around a tree’.” I giggled to myself because I thought I was so clever. Then I started to think of some of our learners whose first language is not English. Boy would they ever be confused about that phrase. “He wrapped his car around that tree.” You really would have to see a picture like this to understand that phrase and the mental image doesn’t match what I am trying to say. I really mean that the driver must have had an accident but it sounds like a complicated gift wrapping idea.

We use so many phrases to express how we feel, how we see things or to get a point across. We often don’t even think of the phrase and how it sounds to people whose first language is not English. No wonder newcomers to our language get confused. How do you “wrap a car around a tree?” Really think about it. Or “he was as happy as a pig in poop.” I myself, have never seen a smiling pig but maybe you have. Here’s one I often say to describe our students, “he’s smart as a whip.” Can a whip be smart?? I was just talking to our teacher Maureen and she told me that one of our students was “really thinking outside the box.” I can see our student sitting on the floor with a box by his side, his finger resting on his cheek, looking to the sky for inspiration. AND on the box is written in bold letters, “no thinking allowed”.

This has been a good lesson for me, that I need to WATCH MY LANGUAGE. I need to start thinking in terms of what others hear from me when I speak. Do people understand what I am saying? Do my words or expressions make sense to everyone? Am I using a term that is only understood to me or is it a universal term? I can still hear my mom clearly say to me, “your room is a jackpot.” I knew exactly what she meant – my room was a mess. When I said that to my husband when we were first married, he looked at me and asked “isn’t a jackpot a good thing??” To him it meant that he won a prize. If he thought a messy room was a prize then he won!!! We all use words and phrases that make sense to us but can be so confusing for others.

We really make our language difficult. Here is a test for you. Count the number of times you say a common expression that really doesn’t make any sense. And try to think of it in terms of how a new English speaker interprets what you have just said. It could lead to a lot of funny imagery.

As the makeup of our country changes, we must all remember to watch our language. Make sure your message comes across clearly so that you are understood and so that others aren’t confused. I hope you can wrap your head around this blog…just kidding.

THE FIRST OFFICIAL WEEKEND OF SUMMER

Fri, 20 May 2016 18:52:50 GMT

I find that Canadians are addicted to summer. The more winters I live through, the more I can’t wait for summer. I love this time of year when the sun is shining and it is warm, the gardens are blooming and everyone seems happier. So it’s no wonder, that as I sit in my office this Friday morning (the Friday before the long weekend in May) it is very, and I mean hauntingly, quiet. People are gearing up for the first official long weekend of summer. (We Canadians try to borrow from spring to make our summer longer!!!)

I actually started my journey working in adult literacy 24 years ago, around the long weekend in May. I was so excited to start this new job and learn as much as I could about literacy. I remember walking into the office in downtown Elliot Lake, all ready to teach everyone I came into contact with to read. The first thing I learned that May was that many adult learners liked to take time off in the summer to enjoy the season. So I had to put my aspirations to “change the world”, on hold. That summer gave me time to learn more about adult learners…and believe me, there was A LOT to learn. 24 years later, I am still learning.

The first thing I had to learn was the meaning of the word literacy. I remember an overwhelming feeling of panic that first day when it hit me that I wasn’t sure if I even knew what the word literacy meant. I remember diving into a dictionary (yes an actual book) looking for the definition of literacy. How could I work with adults with literacy problems if I didn’t know what their problem was? I soon learned that there is a wide range of needs for an adult who needs “literacy help”. Many adults who want to improve their literacy skills are able to read and write. But where they need help is with using their reading and writing skills to function confidently in society. They want to be able to communicate with their children’s teachers and not feel inadequate. They want to be able to read the literature given to them by the doctor so they can understand the new condition that they may have been diagnosed with. They want to help their children with math homework.

The biggest misconception about adults who look for literacy help is that they are lazy. If one more person says that to me I might have to pull a “Tie Domi” on them. Literacy issues stem from a plethora of reasons. Just when I think that I have heard every story possible about why an adult struggles with reading, writing and math, a new learner comes in and tells me something I have never heard before. I don’t want to re-tell all the stories so what I will say instead is never assume that you know the “simple” reason some struggles with literacy. There is not a simple reason why someone struggles with reading, writing and math. If you are privileged to meet someone who will share his/her struggle with literacy, listen to the story and then tell about us and how we may be able to help…if they are willing.

So I started this blog post by talking about the first weekend of summer. You may have been asking yourself, “what does this post have to do with a long weekend?” Nothing really except that I used a really good “hook” to get you reading about literacy. Well, maybe there is a small connection. Summer is a time to relax and have fun. Many adult literacy learners need the summer to relax and it gives program coordinators time to reflect on what we offer and how we can do a better job. Right now our offices are quieter except for the sound of flip flops in the hallway.

Have a wonderful and SAFE first official weekend of summer.

INSPIRATION FOR VOLUNTEERS

Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:37:02 GMT

Did you know that April is Volunteer Appreciation month?? Until I started working at Literacy Nipissing, I knew no such thing. I have volunteered at many places over the years but I really didn’t know when Volunteer Appreciation was…you just do your thing and someone will eventually say “Thanks”. But there is actually an entire month set aside to make sure that we acknowledge the selfless gift our volunteers give our organization but especially give to our learners.

I have noticed over the past few years that our volunteers just want to give. They don’t give to get recognition, they give to make the life of someone better. As I ordered the cake for this year’s Thank You Tea, I wondered to myself how many volunteers would come out to our event. I said to myself, “probably not too many but you never know, maybe this year it will be all 50 of them.” So I ordered a big cake and we had left overs. Once again volunteers gave to our learners through left-overs!!! It doesn’t hurt our feelings if volunteers can’t come to a tea and enjoy a piece of cake in the middle of a Friday afternoon. There is a lot happening in our worlds and cake may not be on the top of “What should I do today?” list. (it is always on mine though – lol) What is important to us is that all of our volunteers know that they are appreciated and are held in high-regard. That is the main reason we host a tea in April.

I am sure that every volunteer would surely take a gift of one million dollars but sorry that is not in the cards around here!! But what we can give you are stories of learners that you have helped. You will be able to see their success, their pride and their excitement about this new aspect of their life that was given to them in part by the work of a volunteer. On Friday, Jane (our former Executive Director) forwarded this precious message she received. I thought I would share it here so that all volunteers could see the result of the work of a volunteer.

I received this message on Facebook this morning from a former student and a good friend.

Underneath this message was a picture of a book cover. On the book cover it said, “I have 20 unread books at home, but I really, really need to buy this one. – The story of a book lover.”

Because of the efforts of a volunteer tutor, this precious learner has developed a love of reading and doesn’t want to stop. Can you imagine a life without books?? I can’t. Thanks to our volunteers some of our learners are discovering a world that they never knew existed because they now can read.

So this is not a gift of a million dollars but it is a gift that says,”you are making a difference.” It is not a piece of cake but a nugget of truth to tuck away when you need reassurance that what you are doing is worthwhile and of value. Remember the learner who can’t get enough books.

Thanks “a million”.

A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 18:33:14 GMT

I love to decorate. I am no Martha Stewart, I could never be on HGTV, but I love to decorate. And I love to decorate especially when I am spending someone else’s money (lol)

During the month of March we did an overhaul of our offices. We actually took possession of the office across the hall, renovated it to accommodate our classroom, and then moved half of the office. On the classroom side, we have a big, bright classroom, a very welcoming reception area, and a kitchen. I think that all of the staff were most excited to have a real kitchen. Now we don’t have to use the men’s bathroom to get the water for the coffee. Maureen also has a nice big office on that side too. On the original side,(which we are now calling the tutoring side) we painted the entire office space. We also made 3 rooms out of the back room so we have 2 new tutor rooms and a reading nook. The library stayed in the same place but we removed the reception desk so it feels open and welcoming. Now, 2 staff can walk together in that one space. The paint colour is bright and it feels like we won the lottery. We even took the calendar that we created along with the photography class in 2008 and framed the pictures to put up on the wall. Better late then never.

I also felt what some of our learners feel every time they come in here. A fear of math. I had to figure out square footage for paint…that’s math. I had to determine if we had enough money in our budget to make the changes…that’s math. I had to make sure that we had enough space to make the move worthwhile…that’s math. The worse one for me was to measure if a desk could make it through a door in order to move it…THAT IS MATH. I finally believe the teachers that I had back in the day…math is everywhere. The other area that I now sympathize with our learners is in reading directions. Sometimes they are hard and I just want to put something together without looking at the directions first. Reading ahead of time can save you a lot of time in long run. Reading is good.

You can check our some pictures of the renos on our Facebook page. If you are down near Sherbrooke Street and want to drop in to see our updates, please do. We love to show off and we usually have a big smile on our face while we tell/show you everything we accomplished with a little help from our friends.

THINKING OUT LOUD

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 18:30:03 GMT

Did you know that you can do an internet search for help with naming a Blog post? I do…now.

Two staff and an intern crowded into my office one blustery day in March and brainstormed a title for our Blog. Very quickly I realized that the response I was hearing the most to my suggestions was either “Ewwww” or “Only old people will get that.” Tell me, what is wrong with naming your literacy blog “Vowel Movement”?“No internal body functions should be used in a title”, is what I heard. (The old people appreciate it) The next suggestion was “Booyah – Celebrating the adult learner” but I didn’t know how to spell Booyah. That was cut. I also suggested creating literacy acronyms out of math formulas. For example, “I=PRT which stands for “Interest equals Practicing Writing Today”. This didn’t fly either. Good thing I have thick skin.

Writing a blog sounds like such an easy thing to do and it would make sense that literacy practitioners would be able to write creatively. We teach writing, we critique writing, it only goes to reason that we should be able to write. I guess I am finally starting to understand what our adult learners feel like when Maureen tells them that they have to write a creative essay in 30 minutes. Terrified and lost. We will persevere.

Our hope in creating this blog is that everyone will start to understand the amazing people that we see every day. We want to introduce these warriors and celebrate their triumphs. We want to share little bits of wisdom that we come across in our yellow brick literacy journey. Who knows, maybe some of the things that we have learned will help someone else in their own journey. We’re going to start an educational conversation, and answer the literacy questions that we hear every day to the best of our abilities. Your passion is your success, and those words span a million miles reaching everyone who has dreams, goals and ambitions, and a will to learn.

So stay tuned to our ramblings, our reasoning and our raucous exclamations. Who said Literacy can’t be fun? ��

Until next time.

WE FINALLY MADE IT!

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:25:41 GMT

“Welcome to 2016!” I recently heard this comment and it wasn’t even January 1st. Someone was congratulating me on updating our agency presence on social media. I guess that those in the know, know that every good social service agency has a social media presence to attract new learners, increase awareness of our cause, or to brag about our accomplishments. Literacy Nipissing has been using Facebook and Twitter for 2 years but we have decided to go boldly where no agency has gone before…well maybe a few.. and now us!

So, welcome to our blog, “The Literacy Lantern: Shining A Light For Literacy”

This blog will be a place where students can share their journeys, where staff will share their wisdom and where I will ask for money. Honesty is the best policy and we will hold true with this blog. So enjoy our ramblings, our insights and our grammar mistakes *cough* Mondays *cough*. We’re not perfect but we are a work in progress, but with a fantastic team and a dash of inspiration we have a splendid recipe for our first blog. Our values place us on a path where we’re working towards a world where everyone can read, write and understand fractions and basic numeracy.

Sit back and enjoy our humor, wit and wisdom as we launch our blog in hopes of making a big splash in a little lake.

Stay tuned!