Breaking the Shell

We first met Elizabeth on a home visit before she began her initial session with us. This is, incidentally our preferred practice for all new students. What we found was a young woman in her late twenties, who was very withdrawn, educationally handicapped and whose parents were so overprotective that they answered all our questions with statements such as "Elizabeth likes this ...." and "Elizabeth can only do that sort of thing ....". Elizabeth's opinion was never sought, nor did she volunteer anything in front of her family. We later learnt her brother was so ashamed of her that he refused to be seen walking with her in the street.

In Amity Clubs, everyone is on an equal footing, Volunteers and Students alike. Everyone has the right to express their opinions, and to test their views and experiences in the Club in a protective environment. We call it "psychological freedom in psychological safety" and it is an important element in our Social Support Policy. In addition, our Volunteers come from many walks in life and our students meet them as equals in the Clubs. This provides valuable life experience for our students, as outside the Clubs, they would not normally meet individuals like our volunteers except as people in positions of authority.

As might be imagined, this is a heady brew for an introverted student and it takes some getting used to, but it is also an exciting opportunity. Elizabeth took to it like a 'duck to water'; she found her 'voice' and began to use it. The change in Elizabeth over the next twelve months was remarkable; she became much more assertive and confident, a more rounded personality. She also recognised that these changes were related to her attendance at the Club and perhaps not surprisingly, her literacy skills improved too.

Perhaps the most remarkable event was when Elizabeth's brother asked to come to "her Club", he had seen the changes in her, and was now prepared  not only publicly to acknowledge her, but also accept the fact that he too needed help with his reading.

The Lesson

The most obvious lesson here is for the family. With the best of intentions, they so smothered Elizabeth with care and attention that they stifled her opportunities to experiment and thus develop and mature. By the time she joined us, Elizabeth was little more than the "family pet".

However, don't fall into the trap of thinking that this lesson is for the family only; we can often be in danger of stifling initiative ourselves. Remember people have the right to make their own mistakes and to learn from them: but because this is Amity, make sure you have some safety nets around. Remember also that our Constitution enshrines the principle that our students have the right of autonomy in their literacy aims.

In helping to develop the personality of your student you will often find that it can impact favourably on their literacy skills too; time spent in this way is never wasted.

Changing Volunteers

Fred was a nervous and timid soul; for him to join the Club had been a major decision, and one fraught with the risk of rejection he had found elsewhere. Happily, we were able to match him with a volunteer who quickly gained his confidence and over the next two years they made great progress. Our only concern was that the relationship of Student to Volunteer was somewhat exclusive. Then there came a point when his volunteer, Nancy, told us that in three months time she would be leaving the Club to take a job in the Midlands; she was very worried that Fred would take her departure badly and abandon the Club and his literacy tuition.

The next three months were a period of carefully planned activity: a new Volunteer was groomed, and mysteriously was available when Nancy had to be called away; Fred too was drawn into Club coffee breaks in a more structured fashion. Gradually we developed his confidence in others. When Nancy formally announced that she would not be able to return to the Club after Easter, Fred was ofcourse sad, but by now he had got to know his new Volunteer well enough to know that he was going to stay on.

The Lesson

The close relationship between volunteer and student is one of the strengths of the Club approach, but this case history illustrates one of the potential hazards. It is important to remember that there must be a relationship with the Club too, as well as with the volunteer, and it needs to be fostered. In this instance Fred also learnt a lesson; he discovered that where he could find one friend, he could also find another. This helped him mature as an individual, through the awareness the experience brought him, and enhanced his trust in us.

Writing as Fulfilment

When George was first referred to us he was in his early thirties, out of work and very frustrated. He wanted to try and improve himself, and had attended a number of courses, but had found that his lack of literacy skills meant he soon fell behind, and caused him to be ridiculed by others.

We tried a number of approaches, without a great deal of success, when suddenly we found his trigger, free writing. George has a vivid imagination and an instinctive grasp of the dramatic. His first story was a real horror (in the Stephen King style with hands coming out of graves!), we all read it on the edge of our seats. Over the next two years George wrote around two dozen stories, and as you might imagine, George's literacy skills have improved substantially too.

The Lesson

The first point is a reminder that we say "writing and reading, not reading and writing". In the development of literacy skills writing is just as important as reading perhaps even more so. It helps the kinaesthetic reinforcement of letters and word shapes and thereby develops memory and recall. Never fall into the trap of thinking, "I'll tackle the reading first, and do the writing second". Make sure you adopt a balanced approach and build both skills into each work session.

Secondly, many Students are like George, they have latent skills waiting to be revealed. If you can find the right "button" to press, you will get a great opportunity to develop their talent and their literacy. How do you find out? Well the answer is trial and error.  At each session try something new as an experiment and watch closely for the reaction.  If it doesn't work, leave it out next time and try something new.  It could be writing, drawing, the choice of subject matter, a special kind of game, something to do with the family, work related, a hobby - the list is endless. But remember you will only find what you are looking for if you are searching carefully, and are paying attention when you find it.