Tutor Stories

Katrina's Story

Once I established respect, a connection and trust...the rest took care of itself.

Judy's story

I feel like I'm launching my students in many ways.

"I see myself as the Sherpa and the learner as the climber. They have set their goal and my job is to provide what I can to get them there" ~ RJ

Diane: "The rewards cannot be measured"

I was drawn to the Literacy Group and tutoring after an experience in a grocery store. I was shopping and noticed a young boy maybe seven or eight reading the labels and prices off grocery items for his Mom. I suddenly realized she couldn't read. It was an eye opener for me to see this young Mom struggling to buy groceries. Right then, I decided I needed to give back and help others learn to read. As a passionate reader, I wanted to inspire my learners with the joy of reading and writing. I have also tutored math, science and computer basics. When you see your learner conquer milestones they never dreamed of achieving, you realize the trust they place in you as a Tutor is very humbling. The rewards cannot be measured!

Tutoring every Monday night for 25 years, and counting!

April Shares her gift

My grandparents were immigrants to Canada. My Grandmother never learned to read or write English and depended on my Grandfather for all that help. She never got a driver’s license, never had a job while she was here and I thought how much fuller her life would have been if she had been able to read and write in English. So that’s what piqued my interest in literacy.

When an adult comes to The Literacy Group and says “I want to learn how to read”, they REALLY want to learn how to read. They are so motivated that it’s very rewarding to teach them because they are here because they really want to be here. I’ve had various students who have all been rewarding for me in one way or another. I feel like I have changed those people’s lives a little bit…Some have gone on to get college diplomas, some have gone on to get their GED, their high school equivalency, some have upgraded in the jobs that they had. However I contributed to that, it’s been very rewarding for me.

For anyone that’s thinking about becoming a tutor, I would encourage them to do so. For people that can read and write well, this is a gift that you can give to someone else …and it’s free for you to give because you have the education that you’ve got and maybe someone else didn’t have that opportunity in their life. And now you can give that opportunity back to them.

"Literacy is the Key"

Veteran tutor John, has worked with many students and currently sits on our Board of Directors.

Literacy really is key to participating fully in any community. Most of the people we serve are alienated from that community in some way, either because they didn’t succeed in their education, or because they come from a different culture. You’re really giving them a hand, which is valuable.

One of my students grew up in a camel-herding camp and never went to school which is remarkable- a kind of existence that we find almost impossible to conceive of. You come into contact with lots of other people with very different interests so you do actually learn different things.

There’s a great variety of students at TLG. That’s what I like, every student is different. Some want to go to university, some want much more humble things. They are all very motivated and you really feel you are helping people.

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