Feature TheReview Wednesday, June 20,1990 — B2 YA Under an 1832 law, anyone who taught reading to a free Negro in Virginia was punished with 20 lashes. Teaching a slave to read was punished with a $10 to $100 fine. Similar laws existed throughout the southern United States in the early 19th Century. In Alabama, teaching a Negro to read, write or spell incurred a $250 to $500 fine. An 1819 Missouri law forbade holding classes to teach slaves and free Negroes how to read. “Reading is power — communication is power. The best way to keep people down is not to allow them a sense of power,” says Victoria Project Literacy chairman Donna Oswald-Miller. John is a modem example of exploitation. Hearing-impaired and functionally illiterate, he was induced by an unscrupulous uncle to sign for a loan; to sign the registration papers for a car and to sign his disability cheques over to the uncle. John never received any money through the loan but has repaid the entire amount. He never physically owned or drove the car but is facing a lawsuit for an accident caused by his uncle. He never saw any of the money from his disability cheques either. Staff at the Heal-Hi literacy program for hearing impaired adults are now trying to help John untangle the mess, Oswald-Miller said. Teaching life-skills is often part of teaching literacy, Oswald-Miller added. Literacy is more than learning to write and read — it is also the ability to use information to create a better life. Literacy is a highly political issue, keynote speaker Peter Gzowski told the founding meeting of Literacy B.C. in March. “Literacy empowers people,” he said. Words— Dealing with daily literacy by Valorie Lennox The Review THE DAILY DEMAND for literacy is illustrated by Farzaneh Rahmatian of North Saanich, who came to Canada six years ago. Already fluent and literate in Farsi (Persian) and Italian, she attended the PALS literacy program fo improve her written English. Parking tickets, recipes, operating man- uals and maps are some of the demands on her reading skills. The 1987 Southam Literacy report revealed 22 per cent of Canada’s functional illiterates are immigrants learning English as a second (or third) language. However the | Children of immigrants scored above the national average on the liferacy test. Building a better future with words Word by word, Clyde Williams is building a better future. Daily from Monday to Thursday he leaves his night janitor’s job at 10 a.m. and takes an hour-long bus tide to the PALS literacy program at Stelly’s Secondary School, where he studies until 1:30 p.m. “IT want an education. I want to be able to read well enough so I can get another job,” Williams said. Williams works hard at his jobs but they don’t pay wages like tradespeople earn. To supplement income from his nine-hour early- moming janitorial shift in a Victoria hotel Williams took on a part-time job as a dishwasher in a Testaurant two weeks ago. Ideally, he would like to work as a carpenter, a welder or a house painter. But first he must be able to read. “You need an education. If you can’t read or write .. . your chances of getting a job like that. . . well, it’s not going to happen.” He took the janitor’s job because it did not require reading or writing. He works hard, partly because he doesn’t know if he could ever find another job. “Tl try harder because I feel this is the only job I’ve got.” He fears another employer might expect better reading and writing skills. In the past family members read the classified advertisements to help him find apartments or jobs. He gets friends and co-workers to read signs and notices for him. Once he tried to get a driver’s licence but could not pass the written test. He did not ask for an oral test. “I don’t like people to know. It’s my business. I just don’t read anything,” he says.- Williams is now 40 years old. He attended special education classes when he was young, then graduated to a sheltered workshop. No one suggested he learn to read until he was 25 years old. “T realized it was really important to read and write. There’s so much to read,” he said. When he first attended classes at Camosun College, he was working in a sheltered workshop repairing toys for resale. : “That was my future back then, painting toys. I wanted to get something better. I got tired of sitting there with a paintbrush in my hand.” A teacher at Camosun referred Williams to the Principles of the Alphabet Literacy System (PALS) program being piloted by the Ron Kubek, President and Bill Robson, Sales Manager of NRS Peninsula Properties Lid. are pleased to announce their top performers for ee WALTERS #1 Sales Contact Our top penwrmers to handle all of your personal or professional real estate business on the Saanich Peninsula or the Greater Victoria areas. - MAY 1990 #2 Sales #1 Lister VAUGHAN #3 Sales Saanich School District. Williams was interested but did not know how to find the program or contact the school district. A year later he went back to the teacher and asked for help. “1 didn’t know where to go and there was a year’s waiting list,” he said. In September he started attending PALS. Initially he was very frustrating.” In standard classes he was hampered by a hearing impairment, which was only recently diagnosed. Now he can read the newspaper, type and has improved his spelling. “It helps your speech, to talk a little better. It makes you a more interesting person. “T feel like I have more of a future now,” he said. Next reading at a Grade 2 level but it has improved over the past nine months. “Tt took a long time to get where Iam now. There used to be a time when I couldn’t read and it was September he plans to return to PALS. “T still feel I have an awful long ways to go: But the more I go, V'll get to be a better reader. I'll get a better job.” (M SUNTANNING ALSO AVAILABLE! 6793 KIRKPATRICK (OFF KEATING X RD.) MONTHS [109 - STUDENTS 89 = UST SHOW STUDENT CARD) FULL MEMBERSHIP * STAIRMASTER x Kifecycle *x AEROBICS *HYDRA-GYM *WEIGHTS * PERSONAL INSTRUCTION 692-0444 BR