Literacy Volunteers of America, Essex & Passaic Counties, NJ Inc.

December 2021

Volume 9, Issue 12

The Insider

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The Insider, the monthly newsletter of LVA, Essex & Passaic Counties, will keep you in the loop on all of the organization’s upcoming events.

Tutors came away with practical strategies and techniques for group classes in Barbara Hathaway’s support workshop last month, “Easy Guide for Working with Small Groups.”

Literacy Volunteers of America Essex & Passaic Counties

90 Broad Street, 2nd Floor, Bloomfield, NJ 07003
(973) 566-6200, ext. 217 or 225

195 Gregory Avenue, 2nd Floor, Passaic, NJ 07055
(973) 470-0039

Cristhian Barcelos      -Executive Director
                                           [email protected]
Catherine Angus -Tutor Support Specialist
                           [email protected]
Russell Ben Ali     -Social Media & Newsletter Coordinator
[email protected]
Jorge Chavez               -Data Processing Coordinator
[email protected]
Marisol Ramirez          -Student Coordinator
[email protected]

Dear friends,

It’s been quite a year! And as it comes to a close, we at LVA Essex & Passaic Counties wish you a safe and joyous holiday season and a wonderful new year. We’re ready for you, 2022!

Is there a movement to censor libraries and propose criminal penalties against librarians who stock their shelves with books on racism, sexuality, and the LGBTQ community? EveryLibrary thinks so. The non-profit political action committee has launched a campaign against what it calls political moves in several states, including Texas, Wyoming, and Indiana, that could lead to librarians facing criminal charges as a result of their “commitment to free speech and access to library materials.”

“Librarians around the US are facing measures that mean that they may soon find themselves under attack for stocking books against racism and about the lives and experiences of LGBT Americans,” EveryLibrary said. You can read more about the committee’s Campaign Against Library Censorship here: https://bit.ly/3dARbcf

It’s a pleasure to welcome Maria Roman as the newest member of our Board of Trustees. Maria, a public-school early childhood and special education teacher, was unanimously elected to the board during our annual membership meeting this month. In addition to her education credentials, Maria brings considerable experience in marketing and photography to the board which, by the way, are also perfect qualifications for a newsletter volunteer, hint, hint.

We launched The Insider eight years ago this month to help keep tutors and students connected to one another and to the broader literacy community. Thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to email us or call with your comments, suggestions, and ideas for the publication.

In the News

To view the following stories, copy and paste the highlighted website into an internet search bar.

“Pandemic upends – and upgrades – English for Atlanta immigrants.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. https://bit.ly/3dylyAb

“ ‘How Do You Say That Again?’: The Grief & Guilt Of Language Loss For Second-Gen Immigrants.” Refinery 29. https://r29.co/3lLsiiz

“Duolingo chose 'I am mentally exhausted' as phrase of the year, and we couldn't agree more.” cnet.com. https://cnet.co/3lPmR1Y

Nydia, a student from Guatemala, studies English online with two tutors and is enrolled in a GED prep program.

Tutor Training Workshops

Online Training, by Barbara Hathaway
Platform: Zoom
Tuesdays, 6 - 8 pm
January 11, 18, 25, February 1, & 8, 2022

Tutor Support Workshops

"How Understanding Personality Can Improve Your Tutoring,"
with Stephanie Mazzeo-Caputo
Platform: Google Meet
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
11:00 am - 12:30 pm

"Teaching Reading Comprehension Skills Through Effective Questioning,"
with Catherine Mitch
Platform: Google Meet
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
12:30 am – 2:00 pm

Monthly Coffee Hour with Tutors

with Catherine Angus
Thursday, January 6, 2022 at 4 pm

http://www.lvaep.org/workshops.html

Getting to Know Us
Nydia, LVA student
by Russell Ben Ali

It’s been a long road for Nydia, one that’s passed through the hard scrabble factories of her native Guatemala City where she labored to produce casual clothing for Old Navy and Gap stores, and tuxedos for an upscale men’s clothier.

She landed in New Jersey where she now cleans the homes and offices of three doctors who sought her services. That’s also pretty physical but, as Nydia proudly puts it, “I work for myself.”

Before going it on her own, Nydia worked in hotel housekeeping for six years, then cleaned houses and offices for a private company.

Outside of work, there were classes to attend, two cats to care for, a calico named Ginger and a tuxedo called Oreo, and two U.S.-born daughters to raise. The eldest, a 12-year-old, has managed to learn Spanish; the youngest, a 9-year-old, refuses to, despite Nydia’s best efforts.

“All the time, my youngest daughter says ‘I don’t need to speak in Spanish. I don’t want to learn,’ ” Nydia said. “But if I speak just English with them they won’t learn Spanish. My point is if they have the opportunity to speak two languages it will be better for them.”

The third-born of 10 children, Nydia was mainly raised by her grandfathers and dropped out of school in the sixth grade when her family could not meet the new school fees. “They didn’t have a lot of money to give me for school,” she explained.

But she’s not finished with her education. In the states, she’s taken several ESL classes and is now enrolled in a GED prep program. She joined LVA three ago and studies with two tutors via Zoom or Google Meet video platforms.

“She’s persistent,” said Katherine Andersen, one of Nydia’s tutors. “I would say that she’s very engaged, she comprehends very well, and has good reading comprehension skills.”

Nydia likes to walk, bike, practice typing, and watch English language movies and language instruction videos on YouTube in her spare time.

Literacy opens a wide door to life. Help us keep that door open with your donation!

Thanks in large part to you, we are able to aid hundreds of students each year. Please continue your efforts to improve the lives of others by giving the gift of literacy. You can contribute by mailing us a check or through our website @:

http://www.lvaep.org/donate.html

Lifelong journey to a high school diploma

Elko Daily
November 15, 2021

It’s never too late to finish your education. Just ask Marla Julianto, who, at 66 years old, obtained her high school equivalency certificate in September.

The Owyhee resident celebrates her accomplishment that included many ups and downs as she studied for her exams. It’s the conclusion of a journey to finish her education that started many years ago.

“Growing up and attending public school in Mountain Home, Idaho, as a Native American, I felt invisible, like no one saw me as a person,” Julianto recalled. “As a result, I fell through the cracks and dropped out of school my sophomore year.”

Julianto went on to start a family, working minimum wage jobs and “struggling to get by.” At 30, she decided to go back to school and started taking evening classes for her GED.

But she said she became discouraged by the program’s “lack of support or encouragement” and eventually dropped out.

About 20 years went by. Julianto moved to Owyhee to be closer to family, and she “continued to struggle, working for minimum wage.”

In 2019, Julianto decided to try again and signed up for Great Basin College’s ABE/ESL program through the Owyhee Adult Learning Center to start working on the HiSet high school equivalency. (cont.)

Reprinted from Elko Daily. For full story, paste the following link into your favorite web browser address bar:
https://bit.ly/3xAJBrm

Student Resources

Learning a new culture is more than studying a language. Tutoring is more than learning techniques. Our “Resources” webpage covers everything from legal matters, health care, & scholarships for immigrants, to professional development for tutors. Give us a look @: http://www.lvaep.org/students.html

Getting to Know Us
Jenine Beer, LVA tutor
by Russell Ben Ali

In her years as a public defender, it was sometimes the accused’s lack of schooling that caught the attention of attorney Janine Beer, among other matters. For some, literacy was simply a struggle.

“Many clients didn’t read and write well,” said Janine, a recently retired attorney from the Office of the Public Defender in Essex County. “A lot of them dropped out of school by age 16, so they didn’t have the education that they should have had.”

Janine spent half her career as a trial attorney, in cases where clients faced possible prison terms. The other half was spent in the county’s drug court, in an innovative program where non-violent offenders with substance abuse problems were offered probation and treatment as an alternative to incarceration.

Beyond her career, Janine has always been passionate about literature, particularly historical fiction, and has long-harbored an interest in adult education.

“I actually wanted to teach people reading because I’m an avid reader,” explained Janine, who has tutored for one year. “And I always wanted to teach adults.”

She and her intermediate level students, three women from Brazil and Colombia who have worked as a nurse, a teacher, and a computer engineer, have bonded while discussing issues relevant to their lives.

She began by using the “All Things Topics” and “All Things Grammar” websites for material but has gone on to use other sites. She also takes note of the website and lesson plan sharing offered during the “Monthly Coffee Hour with Tutors” sessions hosted by tutor support specialist Catherine Angus.

“I enjoy being a tutor because I feel I’ve developed a connection with my students and I like learning about their countries and cultures,” Janine wrote in an email. “I get satisfaction from seeing a student improve their language skills.”

Janine holds degrees from Rutgers University and American University Washington College of Law. She loves to travel, she leads hikes, and she plays pickleball, a fast-growing paddleball sport. She’s also a competitive card player in the American Contract Bridge League.