The T-Shirt Story

Last issue we asked for learner material to display on Literacy Action Day. Here is a special example of an exciting learner project. It was created by students / learners in Houston, British Columbia. This is not just a story of a T-shirt, it’s a T-shirt that tells a story!

The T-shirt design team from left to right: Sheila Spitzl, Lou Faulk,
Geraldine Wale, Lawrence Halfe Missing: Kelly Davidson and Michael Robotham

EARLY IN SEPTEMBER, when we returned to school at Northwest Community College, we were looking for different things to work on. Our teacher asked us if we wanted to do something for International Literacy Day / Learners’ Week. She showed us the materials from Movement for Canadian Literacy.We decided to send in surveys, write for the Book of Changes, make buttons, have a B.B.Q., class celebration, cakes and run a T-shirt contest. Since we were planning so many things, Houston Link to Learning, our community literacy group, worked with us on the activities.

Our English class came up with the idea to make the T-shirt.We all bounced ideas off each other until we came up with one idea that we liked. The wall showing the barriers to adult learners was the first big idea we worked with. Then we thought of a hammer and chisel breaking through the barriers, and coming out the front of the T-shirt to all the good things about being an adult student.We made rough drafts to see what it would look like. Once we decided on one we liked, we started making plans to get the pictures on a T-shirt. Then, we needed to know what it would cost to put the design on the T-shirt.

Lou told us about a person in Smithers who did custom T-shirts.We asked Lou to talk to them and she came back with the estimate of the cost to have the shirts made up.We then decided what we had to charge the people who wanted one.We made a list of the people who paid for a T-shirt and took orders for colour and size. We then had them made.

Now most of the people in the school have an “I’m Proud to be an Adult Student” T-shirt to show to other people.

NOTE: The students decided to change the wording from learner to student. This was in order to include all the students at the college. It was seen as a more inclusive term.We have since had many discussions about this and many of us now like “I’m proud to be a learner” which would include family literacy learners of all ages.
— Sheila Spitzl and Lou Faulk