Twenty-three per cent of the population of T&T struggles with everyday reading and writing, according to surveys done by the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA) and UWI in 1995 and 1996, respectively. ALTA founder and CEO Paula Lucie-Smith formed the association 20 years ago and continues to work to raise literacy levels in T&T.
Fear keeps many adults who cannot read or write from facing their problem head-on, usually because of the stigma associated with not being able to read. Many believe they would be viewed as stupid or dumb, therefore seeking help can be a challenge.
ALTA understands this, which is why to bring that fear under submission, the programme uses material adults are familiar with and come across on a daily basis, simplified to their reading level, to encourage them to get started.
"Making them comfortable is important. It is difficult for an adult to admit that they have literacy problems, therefore whatever we do has to be encouraging and engaging," says Paula Lucie-Smith, ALTA?founder and CEO.
"Students have said to me, 'Plenty people try with me already you know ... and my head real hard.' This first hurdle stops many from even starting," she added.
She said the students are engaged by topics ranging from relationships and handling anger to budgeting and health, with some fun lessons on jokes and excerpts from books written by Trinidadian author Samuel Selvon.
"There are many factors that prevent adults from becoming literate in their childhood and these factors seldom go away. The obstacles to literacy are often compounded by age, the responsibilities of adulthood and experience of school failure. To beat these odds and create readers and writers of those who have long left their school days behind, an adult literacy programme must tackle the hurdles to literacy one by one," said Lucie-Smith.
Time and commitment are mainly the pre-requisites for becoming an ALTA tutor. A CXC grade in English or at tertiary level is also needed, but commitment is key. Filling out an application form will not automatically make you a tutor, though-you have to prove you're committed.
ALTA has now taken a much more professional and strict approach at recruiting volunteer tutors. Lucie-Smith told the T&T Guardian, in the past many would come to the institute claiming they would like to become ALTA tutors, but when the time came for teaching to begin, they were nowhere to be found.
"They often took the training which is free and then never returned," she said.
To avoid this, tutors now have to enter into a legally binding agreement with ALTA.
The association's tutors are intensively trained, according to Lucie-Smith. The training course gives volunteers special training in teaching adults to read and write in a six-day training course followed by a nine-month in-service classroom practicum. Lystra Hazarie, an ALTA tutor for 15 years, said teaching an adult to read and write is similar to, but a very different experience from teaching a young child.
"Adults have a wealth of practical experiences to facilitate the teaching-learning process," she said.
ALTA provides individual support in two ways-first through an 8:1 student-tutor ratio (eight students to one tutor), to allow the tutor to work directly with individuals or pairs of students, so no one is left struggling.
"The tutor spends 80 per cent or more of class time moving around the room to give help where needed, vigilant to avert brain freeze and offering help to those who would not venture to ask for it," said Lucie-Smith.
She added, students' progress are evaluated by how much help they needed to complete the tasks given. She said the small student-teacher ratio makes it possible to get everyone to complete tasks, but only when they can do them fairly independently are they ready for the next level.
"ALTA has no tests, therefore no fails. Students do not need more scar tissue."
She said the tutor is one arm of support, but just as important is support from other students.
"ALTA fosters a co-operative rather than a competitive classroom, with respect for all being enshrined as the number one rule of the ALTA classroom.
Students also learn through some other activities designed by ALTA like card games, walk-around activities in the classroom and trips, to name a few. Lucie-Smith said these help to bring the groups together which is healthy for their individual growth.
"Creating the right learning environment is essential, but will only lead to literacy if your teaching approach develops the skills of reading and writing," said Lucie-Smith.
ALTA is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is commemorating it with its first full-coloured magazine-20 Years of ALTA. According to Lucie-Smith, it has taken quite some time and a lot of hard work before they could have even thought about putting out a magazine on ALTA.
"If we were not at our current stage, which is a satisfactory one, a magazine was never going to be made. It took a lot of people, labour, time and commitment to get to this point. We still have a far...very far way to go and we do need those who can help to come aboard. Literacy problems are overlooked here in T&T and we have begun on our part, to capture some attention on this serious issue, but it is something the education system needs to pay closer attention to," she said.
ALTA magazine gives the complete and incredible journey of the association- from inception to its current stage and its plans for the future. Former students of ALTA can be seen and their amazing stories can be read.
It highlights the many awards and accolades the association has received over the years, including the Hummingbird Medal (Gold), of which Lucie-Smith was a recipient for her work with adult literacy.
ALTA has also found its way into the prisons, workplaces, schools and libraries, with the 2008 launch of ALTA and NALIS' Youth Lit Programme in public libraries. ALTA'S work is becoming more recognised and a trusted way to go to break the cycle of non-literacy in T&T. The programme has even been endorsed and supported by the executive director of the Barbara Bush (former First Lady) Foundation for Family Literacy, Bonita Somerfield, and High Commissioner for Canada to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Karen McDonald.
"ALTA's joy really is to see the changes in the lives of our students. It is a fascinating journey watching them go through the challenges and triumphs-sticking it out to the very end," said Lucie-Smith.
For more information on ALTA or to become a volunteer,
call 624-2582/653-4656/664-2582
or e-mailthem at altapos@alta-tt.org