LitPals by Trish Harrison, ABE Fundamental Instructor and Project Literacy West Kootenay Coordinator LitPals was a partnership with Selkirk College Fundamental ABE students at the Trail Campus, BC Project Literacy West Kootenay tutors, and Kiro Manor, a long term care facility in Trail that is within walking distance of our college. At first, I planned to use only trained tutors as scribes, but I then decided to see if some of the fundamental ABE students in the class I teach would be interested in becoming scribes. A small group of four students were keen to try. We’d been meeting as a group in a weekly writing group, so had developed a good sense of group and had a groundwork of basic writing skills. We did some preparatory talking about questioning techniques and recording stories. We came up with an initial question sheet to provide a guide for the first meeting and to keep the sessions “on track”. 
Our first session at Kiro was an orientation to the facility and a tour. Students were given some important information about working with seniors and the philosophy of the residence. Students were asked to sign an agreement as volunteers. This aspect of volunteerism was new for some students - and provided an additional plus aside from literacy gains, to the program. Two students thought they might like to work with seniors (as a paid job) and the volunteer experience has been especially valuable for them. Some sessions flowed better than others for the students. Some seniors were challenging and drawing out their stories was not easy. Others stories flowed, but following them presented a challenge! However, as Zlata , a scribe said “I liked doing these stories. I worked very hard to make a nice story. It was better than always writing about myself.” At first, the scribes seemed ill at ease. But, after several sessions their comfort level increased and so did their enjoyment. One day, Jacqueline, a scribe, worked with two seniors together. Later she agreed that if she’d been told that she’d ever work with two seniors at a time she wouldn’t have believed she could do it! But later she said, “We should do group things!” Between sessions, students worked hard revising and editing their notes, and then doing the stories on the computer. This supported all the skills being worked on in the classroom. A collection of stories has been gathered. The recreation therapist would like residents to sign a release form before any of their stories are published. The stories turned out well, but more value has resulted from the process of writing, than from the product. Not only have my students’ literacy skills benefited, but also we have provided a wonderful opportunity for seniors to share their stories and have visits with people. We hope to continue this project next fall. Note: LitPals did continue in the fall, and it continued to be an enjoyable and educational way to involve seniors and students as co-learners. Our ABE class has been fortunate in an application to receive funding to host a learner event “A Celebration of Stories”. With this funding, we plan to publish the stories, and to host an event at the senior’s facility to celebrate the partnership between the college and Kiro Manor. I’d recommend that other groups consider embarking on such a project. It is wonderful to involve different generations - and to develop partnerships in the community. To contact Trish Harrison, Email : trishharrison@hotmail.com |
