As Alta continues annual student registration at classes across Trinidad, we rally our readers to share the message of our anti-stigma campaign: No shame. Go brave. You can read. Alta tutors who have completed their first year teaching are sharing their experiences to encourage others to come volunteer their time to teaching adults to read. Here is one of our tutor testimonials.
Being a volunteer teacher with Alta started with my wanting to give back.
I thought that I have been reading all my life, it's like second nature for me, so why not help someone else learn to read?
I didn't know what to expect with the training so I went in with an open mind, but going through the training process is when I realised how much I didn't know or how much I had forgotten. When I was taught to read, I was young and some of the reasoning and the rules I had forgotten. Being trained not only prepared me for my first year, but helped my own understanding.
The Alta experience started for me at the Nazarene Church where I was allowed to observe the tutors and how they teach. That is before it became my job to be the teacher! When I met the students, I got an excited feeling because now I was a part of their significant change.
They all have different stories as to why they never developed the skill of reading. When I heard these stories, I felt sad but then I realised they didn't give up. Seeing that built a strong sense of contentment within myself. These heart-touching stories worked as my motivator to make a greater effort in helping these students read.
While the students' stories differ, the outcome of all their stories is the same: it brought each one of them to a willingness to learn and to the same place to learn–Alta.
To teach someone to read is one of the most fulfilling things you can do and one of the rewards you get is that feeling of self-satisfaction. In my year of being a volunteer tutor I got to take a journey in the shoes of an adult learning to read, which grounded me as an individual.
If you have the time, I would like to encourage you to volunteer at Alta. You will never regret it.
n Sasha Lakraj, Sangre Grande
MORE INFO
New student registration in over 50 communities. Call 624-2582/741-9454 for info. No shame, go brave!!
Volunteer, Donate, Sponsor-a-student. Like us on Facebook or check our YouTube Channel: Adult Literacy Tutors Association.