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| Vol. 18, No. 1 | Sept. 3, 1998 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 1 | Sept. 3, 1998 |
On Sept. 8, the country marks National Literacy Day, a time to focus the need to improve reading and writing skills for Americans.
According to some experts, one out of every three adults in the state of Delaware has not finished high school. Statistics also show that currently 60-65 percent of the U.S. workforce read on a 5th- to 10th-grade level.
The University Reading Improvement Program was started in the spring of 1987 to give employees a chance to improve their reading skills and beat the statistics. This free program is sponsored by the Office of Employee Training and Career Development.
"Literacy programs in the workplace are unique," Cynthia Shermeyer, program coordinator, said.
"There are many adults who are functionally illiterate," she explained. "This means they are barely able to read enough to get by and to function in society. They are not reading up to their potential. Our program is important in helping them read, write and spell better. It really works."
The National Literacy Act defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write and speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one's goals, and develop one's knowledge and potential." According to Shermeyer, by the year 2000, two out of every three Americans could be considered illiterate.
With permission from their supervisors, employees are given work-release time from to attend the Reading Improvement Program. Classes are small, with only about five employees per class.
The classes meet twice a week for 90 minutes each from September to May, and employees can join ongoing classes at any time. The program is publicized within the University through benefits information materials, Shermeyer's worksite visits and, perhaps the best recommendation, word of mouth.
"An employee enters the class at his or her particular reading level, and we go from there," Shermeyer said.
The classes involve employees from all across the University, including skilled trades, salaried and custodial service employees. But, Shermeyer stressed, participants also include those working towards earning a high school diploma or GED. Others are concentrating on refining their reading and spelling, as well as learning skills that will help them assist their children with their schoolwork.
"We also have a foreign student in class who is here to learn to read and speak better English," Shermeyer said.
One employee said, "I was in the program last year. I first found out about it through a fellow worker. I have a reading disability, but I would like to further my education and be able to take college courses."
According to Shermeyer, this employee graduated from high school, yet reads on an elementary school level.
"He realized that reading was a serious problem for him. He wasn't comfortable reading, writing or spelling," she said.
"I think this employee was never diagnosed with a learning disability. The triumph for him is that, when he went to take a driver's test, they wouldn't give him an oral exam, and he decided to take the written test and passed. That's what our program did for this employee. It gave him enough confidence to try and to succeed."
Another employee in the reading program said, "This program has helped me so much in learning how to sound out and pronounce vowels."
The program uses the Spalding Method to teach reading, spelling and grammar, using phonics. Combinations of letters are taught that make up one sound. For example, Shermeyer said, "oa" is a phonogram and the students learn that this is the sound "o." They are taught to break words into syllables and to "decode" words as they read.
"This method puts structure into spelling and figuring out words with the use of rules, letters and sounds," Shermeyer said.
All employees in the program create personal notebooks that correspond to the lessons learned. After the course, they can use the notebooks as a personal reference as they read on their own.
UD students volunteer in the classes, allowing employees at several different reading levels to be taught and more than one activity to take place at the same time. This ensures the participants receive important individual attention, Shermeyer said.
Two students who volunteered this spring were seniors Liz Borkowski, an Honors English major, and Douglas de Lorenzo, the University's latest Rhodes Scholar. Borkowski taught writing and helped the employees turn their thoughts into paragraphs. De Lorenzo, using his linguistics abilities, worked with the afternoon class in the formation of language.
A student campus group called Teaching Reading Using Student Tutors (T.R.U.S.T.) also supported the program by offering tutoring to the employees in the program.
Richie Holland, employee training and development and T.R.U.S.T. adviser, said, "The interaction between an undergraduate tutor and an employee in the Reading Improvement Program has been a two-way learning experience.
"Our employees benefit from the one-on-one attention outside of Cindy's structured classes and the student-tutor gains valuable experience working with adult learners which will certainly benefit them in post-graduate employment."
This summer, Shermeyer has set up a book club for participating employees, who will chose three books to read on their own and will then meet to discuss them during after-work hours.
"These people inspire me," Shermeyer said. "They are able to overcome the embarrassment of admitting they have trouble reading, take the control of the problem and truly apply themselves to improving their reading skills. They are holding down jobs, caring for families and coming here. They are enthusiastic, and they want to learn."
For information on the Reading Improvement Program, contact Cindy Shermeyer at 831-8310 or by email at cesherm@udel.edu
The Reading Improvement Program will hold an open house on National Literacy Day, from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8, National Literacy Day, in the Reading Improvement Program classroom located at 51 East Main St.
Photo by Robert Cohen
