SALT LAKE CITY — The tale of a rambunctious pig, a wise spider and a jocular rat has made its way into many of our childhoods.
For Gloria Eholor, the classic title “Charlotte’s Web” is the start of a reading journey that she’s taking one letter at a time.
“In America, everything is reading and reading. You have to read the map, you have to go to the store to read the item you want to buy, getting to know the name,” says Gloria. “Reading was really a problem to me, so I have to find a way to learn. I was reading, but not really good.”
Gloria is from Nigeria, an English-speaking country, but moving to America with her family eight years ago showed her that there was more to the language than meets the ear.
It has to meet the eye as well.
“What I’ve come to understand is that America takes reading very seriously. You must know how to read. When you are able to read, you can work your way around,” she says.
After looking for reading tutors who seemed over-priced, Gloria found Project Read, a free adult literacy program.
They teach basic reading, writing, math and digital skills using one-on-one tutors and small group instruction.
FOX 13 asked Project Read’s executive director Shauna Brown why there doesn’t seem to be much conversation around adult illiteracy.
“I don’t think we talk about it because people are embarrassed and the adults aren’t advocating for themselves because they don’t want anyone to know that they can’t read,” says Brown. “The expectation is that once you get out of school you know how to read and you’re working on other skills and so if they don’t have it, it’s not talked about and unfortunately that’s a huge detriment. It’s going to continue to cause problems for our children.”
Those problems are more widespread than you may know.
According to Project Read, which tracks data from year to year, there are 90,000 functionally illiterate adults in Salt Lake county, 45,000 in Utah county.
While the program works with a wide range of adults with varying goals and reading levels, Brown recognizes that a literate adult has an impact on the entire household.
“Illiteracy is generational, right? The odds of if you have a parent who is illiterate you being illiterate yourself is really, really high unless an adult gets access to a program where they can break that cycle, show that value to the kid and then have them break the cycle,” says Brown.
As a mother of three, Gloria is happy to start a new cycle.
“Because I’m able to read or able to read to some extent, I can pick up a book and read a story to my kids,” says Gloria. “If I’m not able to read, how am I going to do that? Not knowing how to read, I don’t know what I would’ve done when my daughter needed me to read to her. So when she brings assignments from school, I should be able to help her.”
Brown says though the students they serve are diverse, what they all gain is the same.
“One of the biggest things they gain is just confidence. ‘I can do this’ and I can learn and develop the skills that feels like all of the other adults around me. I can learn and develop those and I can participate in a society. I can get a job, I can support my family, I can vote, I can go to the grocery store and read food labels.”
Books can change a child's story.
If you’d like to donate to the Scripps Howard “If You Give a Child a Book” campaign, text FOX13READS to 50155 or click HERE, and if you want to volunteer with Project Read, CLICK HERE.
You can also donate in person at any Cyprus Credit Union branch.
