YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN TO READ

The YELL foundation provides funds for various schools to receive the Southeast Missourian to help with learning. Sean Lynch studies in the Adult Basic Education class room.

HOW TO HELP:

Contact the Adult Basic Education Center at 334-3669 if you would like to volunteer as an ABE or GED tutor.

Imagine being lost in an unfamiliar city and not being able to read a map. Where would you go? How would you find your way back home?

Being lost evokes a sense of panic. Now imagine that feeling every day of your life ... because you can't read.

How would you function?

Nearly 44 million people in the United States are functionally illiterate, according to a World Socialist Web Site report. That means they can't read a newspaper or fill out a job application.

Oftentimes, the people who can't read or didn't complete their education are also the poorest in a community, statistics show.

Locally, 13 percent of the residents in Cape Girardeau County didn't complete a ninth-grade education, as compared to 28.5 percent of those in Bollinger County. Nearly 20 percent of the Stoddard County residents didn't finish 12th grade.

But for those who aren't able to read or possibly write their names, there is help. Volunteers at the Adult Basic Education Center are more than willing to teach people to read. The center also offers Graduate Equivalency Degree courses.

The center receives partial funding from Youth Education Literacy Learning.

"We who read don't realize that there are adults out there who do not," said Nancy Branson, coordinator of the ABE program at the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School.

Literacy classes are available in a five-county area, and schedules are arranged to meet individual needs. "We try to place anybody that enrolls," Branson said.

Enrollment for literacy and GED courses opens Sept. 20 at most sites, including the learning center in Advance, Marble Hill, Jackson, Chaffee and Perryville.

Finding enough volunteers to fill the need sometimes creates the greatest problem. There are 25 volunteers now.

"That sounds like we have a good number, but as the year progresses we will need new volunteers," Branson said.

Volunteer tutors typically meet with students for an hour each week. The meeting time is set based upon student and tutor schedules.

After the first introductions, students are "anxious to get started," Branson said.

When a new literacy student first comes to the ABE center, they are tested for reading ability. "Sometimes we have to help fill out the enrollment," Branson said.

Most of the students know "they've been able to function, but they do need to learn to read."

They take a Slossan test, which helps judge their reading level. Once they've been tested, the students begin working toward a GED.

Most of the students who complete the literacy program know that they also need to complete their education, Branson said. "Most need the GED for employment."

Because students often take new jobs after finishing the literacy and GED programs, the program has opted to hold two graduation ceremonies per year. The next graduation is set for Oct. 14.