Instead of having gift and card lists to check off this season, many adults are on waiting lists to learn to read and calculate their bills.
In 2009, 21,300 adults were on waiting lists for programs funded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, because there weren’t adequate resources needed to fund needed programs in the state.
Given the budget strains that Massachusetts is still experiencing, is it necessary to wonder whether this number went up, or down, in 2010? Consider tutoring as an alternative to shopping this season.
Imagine trying to obtain correct treatment for a child’s illness, dispute an incorrect charge, or even apply for a job without these basic skills. In a time of year whose bite in Massachusetts is often tempered only by the warmth of generosity, these adults and their families’ first need is knowledge.
The educational cause is doing all right on its own in the state. Governor Patrick has made efforts to preserve educational funding amid dramatic state budget cuts. Massachusetts also recently received coveted funding from the Obama Administration’s “Race to the Top” education reform program, and was the top performer on standardized tests among the 10 states chosen for funding.
Yet for adults with families to support, education is about more than money and standardized testing.
Along with the squeeze in education funding has come a rekindling of the debate about teacher performance and salary. Teachers whose students do not score well or improve their test scores are under increased pressure to make a change or lose their jobs.
Luckily, volunteer tutors do not have to think about pay cuts, losing their jobs, or whether their students will ever need what they are teaching.
All adults without reading and math skills need partners who can share these basic lessons with them. Your presence as a tutor opens a door into fuller participation in community life for them and their children. Immigrants, who in 2005 made up 16.4% of state income tax filers, higher than their 14.1% share of the population, will be able to contribute much more when can they use English effectively.
To be a tutor, you don’t have to “change the system,” nor give up your commitment to spending quality time with loved ones. Deepen the communities you love, and help sustain Massachusetts’ passion for educational equity, by volunteering as a tutor with these adult education groups:
Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts
www.lvm.org
SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Services)
http://sabes.org/hotline/volunteer.htm
Higher Education Resource Center
http://www.bostonherc.org/how-to-help/volunteer
You local library:
www.bpl.org
http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/
For an online warmup before beginning in tutoring and community learning, go to:
http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/
http://diplomaguide.com/articles/15_Free_Online_Learning_Communities.html
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