Celebrating Earth Day
April 24, 2015 at 9:31 AM | Posted in Family Learning, Student Stories | 3 Comments
On Wednesday, learners and their children at Crestwood Elementary celebrated Earth Day with a Parent and Child Together Time (PACT). They read Handa’s Surprise, a culturally diverse children’s book, as well as planted tomato seeds in small containers to take home and observe. They also sang a song about the Earth, our planet. Happy Earth Day!
– Thanks to LCNV instructor Elizabeth Magee for sharing photos and news from Crestwood throughout the semester
“The Urge to Teach Does Not Go Away”
April 22, 2015 at 1:48 PM | Posted in Destination Workforce, Student Stories | Leave a comment
Coach Fred and student Larbi
Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads and the Literacy Council have a partnership in which Goodwin House staff may take English classes at their workplace. Each participant is matched with a resident coach. Timing and choice of reading material is worked out between staff member and coach. I have the pleasure of volunteering as a coach to a Goodwin House cook, father of three, from Morocco. I call him, “my friend.” He is enthusiastic and very grateful to have this on-site opportunity to improve his reading and writing.
Fred’s LCNV student Larbi
Our reading time is 11am to 12pm on Tuesdays. I wear a watch so that my friend will not be late for work. Recently I noticed that it was about 11:58am so I said we needed to wrap up the session. My friend replied that it was his day off but he came to read. That’s dedication!
I was a public school history teacher from 1966 to 1999 and I loved it. I retired essentially because my school system began classes at 7:20 am, making it necessary for me to get up at 5:30. Following retirement, I tutored first and second graders in reading for six years. I retired from that volunteer work in order to travel more. Teaching is somewhat like a chronic ailment. The urge to teach does not go away. This program has enabled me to become a teacher again and I love it.
– story written by LCNV volunteer and Goodwin House resident Fred
National Volunteer Week 2015: Merged Tutor Training
April 16, 2015 at 2:05 PM | Posted in Training, Volunteers | Leave a commentTags: training, volunteers
In honor of National Volunteer Week (April 12-18), we’d like to thank all of you, LCNV volunteers, for the incredible 34,000 hours of service you provide every year to help advance LCNV’s mission!
This March, LCNV held our first merged Tutor Training. We want to give a shout out to our volunteer training team for their hard work, as always, and for helping make this happen. Merging what were once two distinct tutor trainings into one makes it easier for LCNV to deliver the training our new volunteers need to tutor any student on our wait list. This was a huge effort that we could not have accomplished without the dedication and hard work of our volunteer trainers.
A Good Match
April 6, 2015 at 10:29 AM | Posted in Student Stories, Tutoring, Volunteers | 1 CommentTags: student stories, students, tutoring
Student Laura and tutor Paula
The first thing I notice about Laura every week is her sparkling eyes and infectious smile. No matter what challenges she has faced since our last meeting, Laura never misses a tutoring lesson. I think of our time together – mostly in the small meeting room at Westover Library in Arlington – as her “clean, well-lighted place,” a place where Laura can sit down, open up her Laubach book and focus on the week’s lesson.
Since we began meeting in 2012, first at a Falls Church library that is temporarily closed for renovation, I have seen Laura gain confidence in herself and an improvement in her reading level. She is currently looking for a second part-time job. The main challenges in finding one are her current job schedule at a major grocery chain and the time she spends caring for her aging father. However, no matter what trials come her way, Laura never gives up. It is a joy to know her and see her every week. Not only is she an eager student, Laura has become my friend.
Written by Paula Cruickshank, LCNV Tutor
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