Thursday, February 10, 1983
Editorials ? Columns ? Features ? Classified ads
Clockwise, L-R: tutor Juanita Holland, Melton, tutor Ethelynde Ballance, Soon Torn Davidson . and Ruth Anslev.
It's a
one-on-one tutoring
program, with six to
seven volunteers
serving 26 students.
Literacy Group
j by Bill Lindau
7 The Hoke Reading/Literacy
1 Council since the winter of 1979
1 has been teaching people to read
and write, and given them also the
basics of arithmetic.
It's a one-on-one tutoring pro
gram, with six to seven volunteers
L currently serving the 26 students.
Barbara Buie, the fulltime director
^)f the Council, who also serves as
a tutor at times, said Monday that
four of the students include Hoke
school children enrolled on recom
mendations of their school prin
cipals to help bring their reading
and/or math skills up to the levels
they should have for the school
grades they are in.
Miss Buie said, however, that
-enrollment of school children is
not an "ongoing" practice and is
for general tutoring.
Of the 26 also, she said, one is
an Iranian - Mohamed Shodja --
and the other, a young Thailand
woman, Soon Torn Davidson,
wife of National Guard SFC Willie
Davidson.
^ Both are in the courses to learn
to read and write English and im
prove their speaking knowledge of
it.
The other students are adults
who feel the need to learn to read
and write, for practical purposes.
One student, 56-year-old Howard
Melton, said his primary purpose
was to learn to read so he could
?read the Bible.
Melton is a textile weaver who
became inspired to become a lay
preacher in Manuel Holiness
Churchy He enrolled in the pro
gram in 1981. Last year he made so
much progress and become so pro
ficient, he was named "Student of
the Year."
Melton particularly has an ex
cellent aptitude for mathematics,
Miss Buie said. Melton said that
now he can read the Bible fairly
well.
A student needs at least two
years to learn enough to function,
but this statement of the time
could be misleading. The reason is
a student is allowed to set his or
her own pace, since the student
learns better when he or she is free
of the pressure of time, of a
"deadline," Miss Buie explained.
The classes are not group af
fairs, Miss Buie said, but sessions
for individual students, two a
week, an hour and a half each.
She said the students also set
their own goals and go as far as
they want. Some go as far as quali
fying for study in the Sandhills
Community College's Adult Basic
Education classes.
The student is given mathema
tics instruction after getting the
basis for reading.
Mrs. Juanita Holland, one of
the volunteers who also is Miss
Buie's mother, said of her work:
"It gives you a very pleasant feel
ing once you've got it into
somebody's head that they know
what they're doing."
Needs Help
T o Keep Helping
Other tutors include Ethylinde
Ballance, who volunteered in 1980
soon after retiring as secretary of
the Raeford United Methodist
Church. She also was named Tutor
of the Year for 1981 and is a
former member of the Council
Board of Directors. She said of her
work with students, "I find it very
satisfying."
Another tutor is Mrs. Ruth
Ansley, current chairman of the
board and Tutor of the Year for
1982.
Miss Buie said the program
operates on a budget of about
$20,000 a year. The county com
missioners provide $5,000, the
Raeford City Council $5,000, and
private donations, from churches,
industries, businesses, and other
organizations, and from in
dividuals, the rest.
The contributions for this year
came from 30 such groups. Miss
Buie said most of the contribution
amount to $100 and $200 each.
But Miss Buie said it takes
members of the staff and board
time to raise the donations, time
which could be spent on tutoring
and recruiting tutors. After a
volunteer comes, he or she is train
ed in the Laubach system of
literacy tutoring.
But, she said, it is hard to find
volunteers in Hoke County.
Hoke County has one of the
state's highest rates of illiteracy,
and this is what the people
associated with the Reading
St. Andrews Sponsors Youth Program
St. Andrews Presbyterian Col
lege will sponsor a Family Child
Studies Center for exceptional
youngsters from ages 3-17, beginn
ing February 14 and continuing
through the end of April.
> Conducted through the Health
and Physical Education Program
at St. Andrews, the center is
designed to contribute to the
psychomotor or physical develop
ment of pre-school and school -age
exceptional children. These include
the orthopedically impaired, hear
ing impaired, visually impaired,
mentally retarded, special educa
tion and other health/motor im
paired individuals.
The program is directed by Dr.
Jerry Acanfora, associate pro
fessor and director of adapted
physical education at St. Andrews.
St. Andrews health, physical
education, and education students
will serve as activitiy instructors.
The activity sessions will be held
in the St. Andrews gymnasium two
days per week on a MONDAY
WEDNESDAY or TUESDAY
THURSDAY schedule. Par
ticipants will be involved in
selected activities such as move
ment and aquatics, based on their
needs, for one hour.
Further information may be ob
tained and application made by
calling Dr. Acanfora, St. Andrews
Physical Education Center,
919-276-3652. ext. 209.
Feb. 18 Deadline Set For Youth Legislative Assembly Program
If you are a high school student
and would like to be a legislator,
^here's your opportunity.
i Hoke County High School
students and young people from
throughout the state are invited to
participate in the annual Youth
I Legislative Assembly in Raleigh at
[the Marriott Hotel, March 11-13.
I The purpose of the mock
legislature is to give young people,
%tany of whom are not old enough
)to vote, an opportunity to voice
I their opinions and recommenda
tions on important current issues.
Topics scheduled to be addressed
are constitutional amendments,
discrimination, education, en
vironment, health and nutrition,
human sexuality, juvenile justice,
substance abuse, violence and
youth rights.
Participants will draw up bills,
vote on them, and report the
results to state leaders.
Registration will be on a first -
come, first-served basis. The cost
per student is SSI which includes
lodging for two nights (four
students per room), three meals
and conference materials. Cost for
adult chaperones is S51 (two per
room) and $72 (single).
Registration deadline is Friday,
Feb. 18. For information, contact
the Youth Involvement Office,
N.C. Department of Administra
tion, Elks Building, 121 W. Jones
St., Raleigh 27611, or telephone
919/733-5966.
The Youth Legislative Assembly
and other activities throughout the
year are sponsored by the State
Youth Council, a component of
the Youth Involvement Office.
The Raleigh Youth Council is
cosponsoring the event.
/
/Literacy Council program are try
ing to remedy in its classes in the
Old County Office Building on
West Elvvood Avenue across from
the Post Office.
The effectiveness of the program
shows in Howard Melton's ex
perience, but there are others
reflecting the success.
For example, one woman lost
good jobs in spite of the fact she
was a good worker and got pro
moted because of her efficiency.
But when she reached the point
where she. couldn't handle the
paper work, because she could
neither read nor write, she was
fired. So she turned to the literacy
IT
program and, after going through
the classes, she got another job and
went up. That was 2Vi years ago,
and she's still there.
Another woman had what ap
peared to be a simple need: to be
able to let her husband know, by
writing him a note, that she would
be away from home for a while.
But she couldn't leave home,
because she couldn't leave her hus
band a note, Miss Buie said. Now
she can, after learning to read and
write in the program.
The new week started off on a
bright note: someone gave the
Council $100, Miss Buie said.
Ella Mae Ransom, literary aide,
works part lime at the council of
fice and also does tutoring.
Outside the office, the others
associated with the administration
are J.D. McAllister, chairman of
the personnel committee; Mina
Townsend, chairman of the budget
and the ways and means commit
tee; and Eloise Campbell,
treasurer.
McAllister and Mrs. Townsend
are active in public education in
Hoke: McAllister is associate
superintendent of the school
system, and Mrs. Trwnsend is vice
chairman of the Board of Educa
tion.
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