"Punxsutawney Phil's Early Spring"
Courtesy of Sarah Lillesve

NOTES FROM THE CHAIR

Dear Volunteers and Friends,

HAPPY New Year!  I know, we're already two months into it, but it's still fun to say.

Last year ended with a small fund raiser at Walmart in Eagle Point, more to raise awareness about our program than to raise money.  It was cold out there, but at least it wasn't raining.

Although the Literacy Council keeps a low profile, people still keep finding us.  Welcome new students Anthony, Todd, and Nicholas.  We are always pleased to have new tutors and students, so keep an eye out for prospects and send them our way.

Remember, if you were or are a volunteer or student of the Literacy Council, our newsletter editor Nancy would love to receive an article from you for the next issue of TUTORS (see Editor comments).  So, If you have an anecdotal experience you would like to share with our readers, please email it to us.

Thank you again, dear volunteers, for your service to our community.  I hope you are all looking forward to sharing your reading skills with our many students who need your help.

Bob Burger
Chairman

DONATIONS

The Literacy Council's sole support is through donations. As our funds are dwindling, we are in need of your help. We are a non-profit organization, and all donations are tax deductible. We appreciate your support!

Literacy Council of Jackson County
P.O. Box 615
Medford, OR 97501
(541) 531-0166

Website: www.literacyjc.org
E-mail: literacy@juno.com

COUNCIL INFORMATION

LITERACY COUNCIL OF JACKSON COUNTY
BOARD MEMBERS

   Chair ------------------------------------------- Bob Burger
   Placement ------------------------------------- Liz Koester
   Treasurer ------------------------------- Nancy Calcagno
   Newsletter Editor ----------------------Nancy Calcagno

A WORD FROM OUR TUTORS

Cat got your tongue?

We would love to hear how you are doing with your students and what helps you succeed. Please send your articles to: literacy@juno.com.

VARK METHOD

VARK is an acronym for the Visual (V), Auditory (A), Read/Write (R) and the Kinaesthetic (K) sensory modalities.

1. The visual learners process the information best if they can see it.
2. The auditory learners like to hear information.
3. The read-write learners prefer to see the written words.
4. The kinaesthetic learners like to acquire information through experience and practice.

Recognizing your student's learning style is essential for teaching, and their lesson should be tailored to the characteristic way in which the student learns.

YOU CAN HELP US

We are currently in need of more tutors. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, we would love to hear from you.

A tutor will typically spend one or two sessions per week with an adult learner. These sessions usually run 60 to 90 minutes long. A tutor and an adult learner often work together for 6 months to 2 years.

There are no credentials required. Simply attend free training sessions and learn how to be an effective tutor!

"When one teaches, two learn."

50TH ANNIVERSARY

Affiliated with Laubach Literacy Action and Oregon Literacy, Inc., the Literacy Council of Jackson County was founded in 1968 as The Medford Council of Oregon Literacy. We are currently celebrating our 50th year offering individualized tutoring for Basic Reading, GED, ESL, Workforce Development Classes, and Citizenship.

It started with a man named Frank Laubach (1884-1971). Frank and his wife Effa Seely, a nurse, sailed to the Philippines in 1915 as missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. After 14 years of a missionary career of church planting and theological education in the Christian regions of the Philippines, Laubach arrived at the Lake Lanao area in 1929 to work among the Muslim Filipino (Moro) population.

Convinced that the usual evangelistic and educational programs would be counterproductive, Laubach determined almost immediately that literacy teaching was potentially the more fruitful approach. In the course of a dozen years of literacy work among the Moros, his principles ("Each one teach one") and techniques caught the interest of government, missionary, and private organizations around the world.

While on furlough in southern Asia and the Middle East, he and interested friends formed the World Literacy Committee in New Jersey which later merged with the Committee for Christian Literature of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America to form the Committee on World Literacy. After he retired in 1945, he formed Laubach Literacy Inc. to work worldwide, and in 1968 launched Laubach Literacy Action in the United States. Laubach's religious faith was the inspiration of his great vision for the literacy of "the Silent Billion."

By the time Frank Laubach died in 1970, at the age of eighty-five, his work touched 103 countries and involved 313 languages. He was properly hailed as "Mr. Literacy." His "Each one teach one" program has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in their own language.

The Literacy Council of Jackson County continues to reach out to adults in our community who are struggling with English skills or reading. We help adults learn reading, writing, English, as well as earning a GED, becoming a citizen, improving job skills, pass a driver's test, computer skills, and more.

It is through our wonderful volunteers and students that allows Frank Laubach's vision for the literacy of "the silent billion" to continue.
        Credits: BU School of Theology & Peter G. Gowing

Frank Laubach authored many books and charts for core reading. Laubach Way to Reading is a highly-structured, phonics-based approach that utilizes controlled vocabulary to help the lowest-level learner achieve reading success. Check out our library or you can go Online and purchase his books at: https://www.newreaderspress.com/core-reading