Ann's Story - Adult Literacy Fredericton

“I was seven years old when I started school. I don't ever remember learning the sounds of my letters. That is probably why I had such a hard time learning to read. When I look back on those days, I feel sick that I never learned all those things. When my children started school, I thought maybe I would be able to learn with them. I would hear my husband helping them while I was doing dishes. I learned some things, but I didn’t learn how to read. When I used to take a friend to the library to get books I would say to myself, “I wonder what it would be like to sit down and read a book.” That was always the worst part about going to the library, not being able to read a book.

Sometimes my husband would be reading the newspaper and he would say “Listen to this,” and we would laugh about how some things were worded. Even though I couldn’t read those letters to the editor, I could tell there were mistakes.

After my husband passed away I thought “What am I going to do?” I didn’t know how to read very well. One day I made a phone call to a lady by the name of Deborah who looks after the Adult Literacy program in Fredericton. And a while later I met my tutor. It wasn’t easy for me to do this but I’m glad I did. I have a good tutor and she has helped me to understand many things. My reading is getting better every day. I get quite excited when I read a paragraph and get every word right, even the big words. It makes me feel great to read a story from beginning to end. I look at the newspaper every day for articles that interest me. I bought a book about the McAdam Train Station and liked it so much that I asked the library to order the other two books in the series! I have also learned some math.

My children gave me an iPad and at Adult Literacy Fredericton I learned how to use it. I got better at email and I use the online dictionary for difficult words so I can hear how to say them. I even showed my grandson how to use it. Now, I can search for more information about what I have read.

I have learned so much since I have been going to Adult Literacy. Every day my tutor helps me feel a little better about myself.”

Adult Literacy Fredericton was the recipient of a $1,000 - 2021 Community Grant from the Fredericton Community Foundation to assist in funding their Adult Literacy Tutoring program.

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