When Merien Cantral moved to Rapid City 15 years ago, she spoke very little English. Not being able to speak the language of her new home was a major barrier because she loves to talk to people, she said.
Cantral, whose husband is in the Air Force, moved here from an island near Guam called Chuuk, one of the smallest Micronesian island groups in the Pacific Ocean. At the time, she knew little more than "hello," "how are you?" and "thanks."
On a trip to the Rushmore Mall nine years ago, she saw a sign for the Literacy Network and dropped in. And she said she is glad she did.
Cantral has learned English through the Literacy Council of the Black Hills, a United Way agency and volunteer organization dedicated to helping people learn to read through individual, confidential and free tutoring. Cantral is one of the many success stories to come out of the Literacy Council, which will hold its 25th annual literacy breakfast at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Surbeck Center at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
Elsie Kephart of Rapid City is a retired elementary school teacher who has been involved with the Literacy Council and Literacy Network since 1994. She said she volunteers because literacy is important in life.
"If you can't read, the world is closed to you," she said. "Those that I have worked with wanted to get their GED (general education development) or they wanted to be able to read the Bible or be able to read to their grandchildren. And if you can't read print, you are just lost."
She said the office in the J.C. Penney court at the mall is a safe place for people to come to find out how they can improve their reading skills.
Kephart tutors Cantral, who calls Kephart a wonderful teacher. Cantral said the literacy volunteers love what they do.
"Sometimes my teachers have told me they really like to help all these people who come here from all over the world," she said.
Cantral plans to take the GED exam and would like to further her education to go into the medical field, either as a certified nursing assistant or by working in a medical office. She said learning English, which is not the easiest
language to learn, has opened doors for her.
She said speaking English, too, is very different than writing English.
"That was the most difficult thing to learn," she said. "Sometimes three words look the same and have different meanings and different spellings," she said.
Chris Heacock, a teacher at Stevens High School and Literacy Council volunteer, said volunteers such as Kephart enjoy reading and the excitement of helping others.
"Plus you learn so much yourself and gain new perspectives. There are a lot of fun benefits to being a tutor," she said.
Maria T. Niggemann of Rapid City said last year,
18 Literacy Council volunteers tutored 26 adult
students.
"We currently have about 40 members in the Literacy Council," she said. Niggemann, who has been on the Literacy Council board in various capacities for 10 years, said it takes a lot of dedication and
commitment for both
the volunteers and the readers.
"Adults have busy lives," she said. "And it takes great courage to admit you need help." As a volunteer herself, she said volunteers have a great passion for reading and for sharing the gift of reading.
Reading is a necessary foundation for people to improve their lives with better jobs or to even help their child with homework, she said.
She said some of the literacy students take the step to get help because they want their children to have better lives.
"Some struggled in traditional school and want to make sure they're getting all the pieces they need," she said.
Volunteer tutors assist readers of all ages. Tutors must be certified. The
next tutor workshop for certification will be Thursday evening, Oct. 15, and all day Saturday, Oct. 17, at Black Hills Workshop.
It is a 12-hour course, and
volunteers will learn how to use the Laubach Way to
Reading.
For more information, call 394-5454.
Named after Dr. Frank Charles Laubach, the Laubach Way to Reading has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in their own language. Laubach was a Christian Evangelical missionary who developed a literacy program called "Each One Teach One," the Literacy Council's motto.
Heacock said Literacy Council members usually ask that volunteers try to commit to a year with a student.
"Some volunteers may be with a student for many, many years," she said.
Typically, readers and their volunteers meet once a week, but that can vary depending on the arrangements.
First meetings are usually held in a public place, such as the Rapid City Public Library.
"They have rooms there that they can use. Some also meet at the mall, and some meet at church, at a coffee shop or a school," she said. After that, they may meet in the home.
Heacock said half of the readers are people such as Cantral, for whom English is a second language. Teaching materials are provided to the tutors, who do not have to be bilingual to teach.
Sally Palmer is an English professor at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and a Literacy Council volunteer who has helped many students whose first language is
not English.
"It's a way to understand people from another part of the world and to get involved in their culture," she said.
She has been a Literacy Council volunteer in Rapid City for nine years and was a literacy volunteer in California before that. She said being a
volunteer is very rewarding.
"You get close to some of your students," she said. "I have become quite close to mine and have become good friends with most of my students."
Cantral said she has a deep gratitude for the Literacy Council volunteers for what they have done for her and for
others.
"If they did not do this, I don't think I would be able to speak English," Cantral said.
If you go
What: Literacy Council of the Black Hills' 25th Annual Literacy Breakfast, featuring guest speaker James Van Nuys
When: 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12
Where: Surbeck Center at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Cost: Free; to attend, call the Literacy Network hotline at 394-5454.
