Damn English, Why You So Quirky?

I have had my second successful Literacy Council tutoring.  I almost half expected my student to walk out calling me a horrible teacher.

During our first tutoring session, I was extremely nervous because I felt like I had no idea what to do.  Sure they supplied me with a book, but I was not sure how well the book would fit in with my tutee's literacy level.  So I was completely open and honest about my confidence in teaching at the beginning of the first session and I told them, "This is my first time teaching anything, so I am not exactly sure on how to go about this, but I promise that I will try my best to help you reach your literacy goals."  Despite what my online persona might come across as, I really do want to and like helping people.

The Literacy Council held training sessions for new tutors, but there was a lot to cover and only so much time.  Teaching someone to read and write at any level or age is not an easy task; it also takes a lot for these adults to take on the role of student and face this challenge head on.  It is not like these adults have low intelligence, the Literacy Council trainers mentioned this over and over.  The majority of students are non-native English speakers, and a lot have received formal, higher education back in their home countries.  I can understand why people say that English is the hardest language to learn.  During our readings, my tutee asks specific questions about who and why certain phrases make sense: "for a stretch," "wind down," etc.  It is really hard to explain how or why they make sense, I've taken their understandings for granted having grown up with them.  My already profound amount of respect and gratitude for all of the teachers I have had in my life has grown exponentially these past two tutoring sessions.

I had to become a Librarian to enjoy reading again...

Shawshank Redemption Andy Dufrense - "I had to come to prison to be a crook."

When I was in grade school, I used to love reading.  I was going through Hardy Boys like nobody's business.  It all came to a halt when teachers gave us reading and forced all of the "author's" analogies down our throats.  It completely ruined the enjoyment of reading for me and it became a chore to me.  I think it's also a personal issue with me, I hate when people tell me what I should think and feel without letting me analyze it for myself.  "This is what this story is about," "This is what the author really means," "This is a symbolism for this and this only."  Damn, can't someone think on their own!??  

I'm not going to lie, all through my undergrad and grad school I didn't read any of the material unless it was directly related for a group project and/or grade.  At my last branch, my coworkers always used to call me out on it: "You're going to school to be a librarian but you don't even read!"  But that all changed when I got my first tablet.  As you can see in the sidebar of the main page of this blog, my reading has exponentially gone up.  

Even the few titles that I did read outside of school were school-related.  I was one of those snobby, non-fiction readers, "I only read non-fiction; if I'm going to read, I want to learn something."  I have come across some of the patrons in the library too, always complaining about the collection: "Why are there so many fiction books?  You guys should buy more nonfiction."  The things I did read were all books recommended by my business school professors: The World is Flat, Good to Great, etc.  But that also changed when I got my first tablet.  Now, the vast majority of my reading is fiction, and it's pretty damn good too!

So that leads me up to the present, it has been almost a full year since graduating with my MLIS (December 2011) and I have not been able to find a full time librarian job.  I have looked at other non-library related jobs, but damn it, I didn't get this degree to NOT work in a library.  I really enjoy working at my branch, I love the patrons and my coworkers, so I can ride it out for a little bit longer.  Due to all of these factors, I have decided to add "Literacy Council volunteer" to my resume.  

Honestly, I should have signed up to do this when I graduated.  I have not yet started tutoring just yet, I will in a few weeks, but I am excited.  When I filled out the application to become a literacy council volunteer tutor, I realized one of my favorite things about being a public librarian is seeing people get excited about reading.  From little kids to adults, when they see that long-awaited book sitting on the holds shelf for them the excitement is contagious .