Reading

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• Reading
• Council
• For Literacy
• Advance
• In
• Montreal

RECLAIM Tutor training October 2007 Not to be
used without permission
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Vision

• The vision of the Reading Council for Literacy
  Advance in Montreal (RECLAIM) is to continue
  building a strong, literate community by bringing
  adults together as partners to achieve individual
  and collective goals through life-long learning.

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Mission

• As a leader in the literacy community, the
  Reading Council for Literacy Advance in Montreal
  (RECLAIM), a not-for-profit organization provides
  free, confidential, English literacy services in
  reading, writing, and numeracy. RECLAIM is
  committed to
• Life-long learning of motivated adults
• Raising literacy awareness in the community
• Fostering strong student-tutor partnerships
• Through its delivery of services, RECLAIM
  respects the dignity and self-esteem of its
  students and volunteers.

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History

• RECLAIM was started in 1980 to accommodate adult
  literacy students who could not attend literacy
  classes due to ill-health, child-care
  considerations, work schedule conflicts, or other
  problems.
• When RECLAIM began 20 tutors worked with 20
  students. Currently, 65 tutors are actively
  working on a one on one basis with students.
  Since its inception more than twenty-seven years
  ago, RECLAIM has supported the literacy
  development of more than one thousand motivated
  adult learners.
• In the fall of 1991, RECLAIM opened its Learning
  Centre. The objective of the Centre is to foster
  literacy in the broadest sense, by encouraging
  students to upgrade their reading, writing and
  basic math skills -- while using the computer as
  a learning tool. The adult learners who
  regularly attend the Learning Centre work on
  individual or group projects (using specialized
  software), supported by the Centre's coordinator
  and a team of volunteers.

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Network of Literacy Councils
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RECLAIMs one on one tutoring

• Student and tutors will set their own study
  schedule and place of study
• Tutors are provided with materials to work with
  their student at the students own pace and with
  the students goals in mind
• Tutors are supported by the staff at RECLAIM

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RECLAIMs Learning Centre

• Small group learning
• Computer assisted learning
• Emphasis on independent learning
• Aided by a team of volunteer learning centre
  aides
• Open daily 900am 1230pm (summer months Monday
  Thursday)

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• One-to-One vs. Small Group Literacy
• There are many advantages to one-to-one literacy
  instruction. It offers an excellent opportunity
  for learner-centredness, as the program is
  completely individualized. It also permits the
  learner and tutor to develop a good relationship
  based on mutual respect, and a possibility to
  bridge some class stereotypes as the two working
  together are likely to be from different social
  classes. It may also give the learner privacy in
  terms of publicly declaring his literacy needs.
• There are also felt to be some limitations to
  one-to-one tutoring. To begin with, people with
  literacy needs often have feelings of shame,
  embarrassment and isolation from society. A
  one-to-one tutoring situation may improve their
  technical and functional literacy skills, but it
  may also reinforce their feelings of isolation.
  Because literacy involves not only reading and
  writing, but also developing critical thinking,
  social skills and communication skills, problem-
  solving, self-esteem, self-confidence, and
  breaking the isolation of low literacy, a group
  learning context is felt by many to be better for
  the whole learning experience.

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• Making decisions or learning as a group enhances
  communication. Information, opinions and
  resources are exchanged during discussion, and an
  issue is viewed from a variety of perspectives,
  offering new insights. The process builds
  thinking and problem-solving skills, and is both
  creative and dynamic. Some effective group
  learning activities include group discussions,
  brainstorming, role- playing, problem-solving,
  interviews, and active listening. These may take
  place in the large group, or in smaller groups of
  two, three, four or five.
• Group learning also recognizes that the
  tutor/instructor is not the only source of
  knowledge, but that each group member has
  knowledge, capability and a right to share ideas
  and information with others. This encourages
  group members to provide support and
  encouragement to one another, and builds
  self-confidence and self-esteem.
• (GNWT Literacy Office Fretz and Paul, 199
  Horsman, 1984)

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RECLAIMs organization structure

• Not for profit (subsidized by MELS under as a
  community program Also subsidized by the EMSB)
• Charity
• Governed by a board of directors consisting of 9
  members (tutors and volunteers)
• Staff includes
• A full time Executive
  Director
• A part time Program Coordinator
• A part time Assistant Program Coordinator
• over 85 volunteers!

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Benefits of being a literacy volunteer

• Helping Others - A Priceless Benefit! Of all the
  benefits that literacy volunteers gain, nothing
  is more valued than the reward of helping others.
  
• The single most important reason that volunteers
  become involved in literacy programs is to help
  others help themselves.

To help (the students) become more independent at
work and daily living is exciting and personally
rewarding for me. I have learned to celebrate
even the small accomplishments of life thanks to
my students.      A.M., Windsor
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Skills to gain

• New Learning, New Skills
• Sixty-one percent of literacy volunteers recently
  reported that obtaining new skills was important
  to them. In the same survey, 68 of literacy
  volunteers indicated that they had acquired new
  skills in the course of volunteering!
• Some of the specific skills that they can develop
  while volunteering include
• Teaching
• Board development
• Financial management
• Computer applications
• Administrative skills
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Assessment skills.

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What will make you a good tutor..

• Patience
• Tact
• Commitment
• Interest in others
• Ability to relate to people of different
  backgrounds
• A sense of humour

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RECLAIM welcomes you to our team of