National Adult Literacy Database

December 28, 2009

This week, we have a story written by Ramsay Blair, from Montreal, Quebec. Ramsay has been coming to the Reading Council for Literacy Advance in Montreal (RECLAIM) for over 5 years now. He likes to write stories and draw cartoons with the help of the computer.

My Struggle to Read and Write

by Ramsay Blair

In our society, there are a lot of people who have trouble reading and writing. Some of them have a learning disability and others may not have had an opportunity to learn. The people who have a learning disability have a medical problem which can slow down their learning process. This is my problem.

When I was young, I didn’t know what was wrong. Every time I tried to read, I became frustrated and angry. Even with help, there was an unknown barrier which stopped me from advancing, so I gave up. When growing up, I was good at hiding my problem. When I started to work, the learning disability did not affect me getting jobs. Reading wasn’t that important at this point for a job. During this time, I tried to learn to read but my barrier was still there. As technology increased, it became harder to find a job without being able to read. One time when I got laid off from a job, a coworker told me of a program in the adult education system that helps people learn to read. I joined the program at Montreal High School for adults. After a while I started to read better and the barrier was lessened. Then I found Reclaim Literacy Council, which helped me more, so I switched over.

Learning to read, at the best of times is difficult to do, but in my case it’s been more difficult because of my problem. I have to work much harder and the process takes longer. When i pick up a book and enjoy what I have read, it gives me a great feeling of success. For me it was going well until I broke my arm and had to go under the knife. After this trauma, it seemed to reverse my progress and it was harder to read. In time I started to get better, which demonstrated, to me, that even with a set back I can recover with hard work.

I don’t know if I will become a great reader, but I never stop trying to improve myself. I am grateful to the people who help me. So, in turn, I try to help other people read better. While going to Reclaim Literacy Council I notice that other students have similar problems and I can help them. Some people have trouble with sounding out words; other people have trouble with computers. Since I have struggled through these problems, I am able to pass on knowledge to other people. It improves my ability to read and write. Helping other people gives me a good feeling. One thing I have learned, over the years, is that you should never stop learning and if possible continue your schooling. Pass on what you have learned in life to other people.

Reading can put you in another world for short time and help you unwind. It can bring you into a world of adventure and discovery, which can create thrills in your life without the danger. From my experiences, reading can help teach you about the past so you can learn from it. If you have a reading problem, seek help and you will find out that you can learn to read better.

[This story was taken with permission, from 2008 Recognition Awards for Adult Literacy - Submissions, published by the Centre for Literacy of Quebec.]