National Adult Literacy Database

May 21, 2007

The following story was written by Gary Porter, from Barrie, Ontario. Gary is enrolled in literacy classes at the Barrie Literacy Council. The following story helped Gary win the Canada Post Literacy Award in 2003, in the Individual Achievement category. Since then, he has achieved his GED.

Story (Part 3 of 3)

by Gary Porter

Life After Literacy

Learning to read and write has changed my life in so many different ways that I find it hard to grasp sometimes. I can now read to my grandchildren. I can read a novel with ease. I have learned to pronounce words correctly - I no longer "alphabeticalize" words in a list. I have become more descriptive in my speaking and my writing. I am no longer embarrassed to ask for help.

Work has also become much more fulfilling. Now that I am more confident with writing invoices, dealing with customers, ordering materials, problem-solving and using the computer on a daily basis, I have earned the respect of my family. They have given me a voice in company decisions and I have become an equal partner with my brother and my father.

Before I started with the literacy program, my self-confidence was low and my shyness prevented me from speaking my mind, not to mention, speaking in public. I now have the confidence to speak at tutor training workshops, to help tutors understand what it feels like to be a student, and to advise how they can best help us. Last year I was valedictorian at our Annual General Meeting and awards dinner, and this year I thanked the guest speaker and emceed the draw for door prizes. We had a Road to Reading Festival in Barrie in September of last year, and over 5500 people attended. I was one of the students interviewed on stage at the festival and by CBC Radio prior to the event. In October, I had the opportunity to join other students and literacy advocates to speak to politicians on Parliament Hill for Literacy Action Day. This spring, I was interviewed by our local Cable TV station on the topic of workplace literacy. I have learned to swallow my fear and speak candidly about what has become so important to me.

Literacy has been a big part of my life for the last four years and I see how important it is to all adult learners. We have a very successful student group at the Barrie Literacy Council that meets once a month. Anywhere from fourteen to eighteen students attend. This is a great opportunity for the students to communicate with each other, but as student representative, I have been able to communicate their voice back to the Board. I find it rewarding working with the needs and demands of the student group, and I am no longer intimidated by professionals and highly-educated people who serve on Boards.

I have become the Ontario representative on our national student committee. This has given me the opportunity to meet and help other students beyond Barrie. I have spoken and led workshops at other councils in our area, and have traveled to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island twice to meet students there. I have created my own workshop entitled "Returning to Learning" and had an opportunity to pilot it on our last trip to PEI. This year I will become the national student representative for Laubach Literacy of Canada and the Chair of the national student group.

For the past two years, I have been part of the national Strategic Planning Committee and am now serving on the Blueprint Committee which is restructuring Laubach Literacy of Canada as a whole. It was my role to protect the interests of the students of Canada in this process.

Together with the help of one staff member and one other student, I was able to help organize and plan the first regional student-only conference in the fall of 2001 for the students from Barrie, Newmarket, Alliston, Midland, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville. It was a highly successful event with approximately sixty students attending. We are currently planning our third annual student conference for June of 2003, are involving students from other councils in the planning, and for the first time will be asking students to actually lead some of the workshops.

Conclusion

I had always wondered why my father was so supportive of me at work and throughout my literacy endeavours. He had always allowed me extra time off work to complete my studies when I was under pressure. I was elated when he surprised me by attending my valedictory speech one year ago. It was only recently that I learned that many of his literacy skills were self-taught, and yet he managed to start and successfully run his own business. I think my dad sees a lot of himself in me. I could see how proud he was by the expression on his face. It was more than words can say.

Although I am near completion of my literacy studies, I will continue to learn. The gift of learning has enriched my life beyond what I could have ever imagined. I would like to share this gift that I have received with others and I am dedicated to helping other students on their journey to learning in any possible way that I can.

Part 1 | Part 2

[This story was taken with permission, from the Barrie Literacy Council website, in the Student Writings section. It is an excerpt of Gary's story.]