National Adult Literacy Database

March 20, 2000

This story was written by Tom Baker, from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Tom was born in Corner Brook in 1959 and left school at the age of 13 to help support their large family of 16. He worked for 24 years at a plant until it closed. He had to look for other work and found how difficult it was to find a job without any education. Tom then went to night school two evenings a week but found he wanted more help. He heard about The Learning Centre in Corner Brook and has been attending since November 1999. He is really pleased with his progress. The additional help has greatly improved his reading and writing skills, and Tom hopes to continue until he achieves his high school diploma.

New Year Resolutions

by Tom Baker

In the last few years, it has been very hard without work. It is even harder without an education. I didn't realize how important an education was until I lost my job. At the Learning Centre I have learned to read, write, and do arithmetic. I'm starting to write my own story. I hope to complete it in the year 2000. My goal is to finish my education and publish my story.

This story was taken with permission, from First-Time Readers, published by the Literacy Development Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, January 2000 edition.]