Excerpts from November 29, 2007 Morrisville News & Citizen editorial, written by JB McKinley, editor

Tutors Needed

Yeah, I know.  Everywhere headlines seem to beg us for something.  If it’s not more tax money, it might be a plea for a bit of volunteer time, or maybe it’s a thinly disguised tug at our guilt strings asking for some charity…. But, under the headline above I’m going to twist the issue of Tutors Needed and look at it from another direction.

A few months ago, I ran across a similar request for tutors needed (notice the spin that “needed” instead of “wanted” gives things?) and it occurred to me that I could meet interesting people with incredibly varied life stories that might fill my financially stymied urge to travel and, at the same time, I could feel better about helping folks….

And so it was. I’m here to tell you that trying to teach English to someone who wants to learn nets you, the volunteer, more than you feel you are giving. That may be selfish, but it is a great motivator. You get to feel great and it hasn’t cost you a cent….

Anyway Central Vermont Adult Basic Education can always use a few more volunteer teachers. They can probably use you. The proof is that they used me and though I have since found there’s quite a bit more to teaching English than you might think, it’s fun.

In the meantime, let me list the ways you will personally gain by being a volunteer.

You will get out of the house maybe once a week or more. You help make your [own] schedule.

You will meet new and interesting people you would otherwise never meet.

You will learn a few words of some other language (CVABE in a two or three county area is teaching folks from over 20 cultures).

You will probably make new friends.  I did….

You may groan as you leave home for the tutoring period, but you will return home on a high – invigorated and happy.

You may be amazed at how foreign workers or immigrants view Vermont and “America.”

You will have quite a few new things to talk about with family and friends.  For example, did you know that some folks are quite amazed at the respect we hold for our flag?

So, although the Morrisville office of CVABE is housed in the Demars Building that recently suffered a fire, they will be up and running soon.  Give them a call at 888-5531.  You can get something going for the new year.

From the Burlington Free Press and The Times Argus, November 2007

To the Editor,

The National Endowment for the Arts recently published a startling report calling attention to the plight of reading in our society and documenting the decline of reading among young people.

The report went on to conclude that reading is even more than just enjoying a good book. Reading and its companion literacy skill of writing are vital components of a healthy community. The ability and desire to read and write is what compels us to seek new information; to entertain ourselves and others by sharing stories, plays, poems and other written forms of artistic expression; to enrich our lives by improving our ability to do any number of jobs, acquire skills, and participate more fully in the life of this democracy, community, or home and family.

Central Vermont Adult Basic Education has been fostering a love of reading and writing among its students for better than 40 years. Helping a mother learn to read to her children, teaching a young man how to read a recipe, engaging a reading group in a discussion about the themes in a book. In each case, CVABE is helping central Vermonters expand their knowledge, their imagination and their critical thinking skills. Reading will continue its critical role in our society, and CVABE will continue to keep literacy skills viable for all our neighbors.

JANET NIELSEN
CVABE Volunteer
Marshfield

From The Times Argus, September 2007

To the Editor,

September is International Literacy Month, and as a board member of Central Vermont Adult Basic Education I am writing to acknowledge the literacy gains being made in our region.

The Vermont statistics of illiteracy are staggering:

• According to the 2000 Census 89,100 Vermonters under age 60 did not complete high school. (Vermont Economic-Demographic Profile:  Central Vermont, Vermont Dept. of Employment and Training, 2005).
• On average, a high school dropout has an annual income that is 27% lower than a high school graduate’s annual income. (The Social Well-Being of Vermonters 2005, Vermont Agency of Human Services).

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society."  The literacy demands of the 21st century are significantly different from earlier times.  We live in a world where our individual lives and the functioning of our knowledge-based society require that adults have sophisticated literacy skills.

Headquartered at the Barre Learning Center, Central Vermont Adult Basic Education serves more than 700 adults and teens annually – currently ranging in age from 16 to 93 - to provide them with free, individualized instruction in reading, writing, math, English, and basic computer applications.  CVABE advocates throughout Washington, Orange and Lamoille Counties on behalf of literacy and high school completion as a necessary ingredient for healthy communities. CVABE's work is pivotal for Vermont's urgent promotion of an educated workforce in the face of technological advances and the "aging" of available workers.  Through its learning centers, CVABE staff and volunteers reach into each town and village, every corner of the three counties, offering literacy instruction and support to students and communities.

Ben Koenig

CVABE Board of Directors

Plainfield