Literacy and love

Tutors in county library program bring words to life for those with poor literacy skills.To understand the words printed on this page is a skill not all of us have been fortunate enough to acquire. For more than seven years, the Orange County Library’s READ OC program has been matching tutors with those who want to improve their reading and writing skills.

According to the program’s administrator, Marcia Tungate, there are now more than 500 volunteers working with more than 800 students.

But, said Tungate, “We have a hard time finding tutors.”

Tungate sees a similar imbalance between the number of tutors and learners across the county and noted an imbalance specific to the county.

“There are more tutors in south Orange County, and more learners in north Orange County,” he said, citing the larger retirement population that tends to volunteer in the southern part of the county.

At the Laguna Beach Library, branch manager Mariana Hof is always looking to bring learners and tutors together.

“There is a class of readers that is semiliterate,” she said. “They get through life with a struggle. This program will help them.”

According to Hof, the READ OC program is relatively small in Laguna Beach but has had a lot of success.

A learner-tutor team for five years, Tommy Harris and Joan Harrison have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship.

Harris, a 65-year-old parks worker for the city of Laguna Beach, decided one day that he had lived long enough without improving his reading and writing, so he called the library.

“As far as I’m concerned, lots of people are the same as me, but they’re not looking to get help,” Harris said.

Harris has struggled all his life with reading and writing. When trying to enlist in the Army, he was denied after leaving a portion of the application blank. And to land his job with the city, he had to get someone to fill out his application.

“When I started writing, it just looked like a pile of wood thrown together,” Harris said.

The primary motivating factor to seek help, Harris said, was his inability to read letters from his brother and children. “I’d open the mail and try. I said ‘There’s got to be a better way.’”

When Harrison, a retired Laguna Beach resident, began tutoring Harris, the first thing she did was put Harris’ own stories into words.

“Tommy has wonderful stories, he’s a great observer and I end up learning from him as much as he learns from me,” Harrison said.

Louise Napoli, a former executive director for the Family and Juvenile Court of California, said READ OC provided an attractive volunteer opportunity.

“I wanted to work one-on-one with individuals,” Napoli said.

After spending three hours a week over a two-month period as a tutor, she said her first learner has already made progress.

“You want to be able to approach a level of reading that will interest them,” she said. “It’s important to appreciate the individual’s intellectual capabilities.”

For information on becoming a tutor, call (714) 566-3070 or visit www.readoc.org.

20060120itbbwqncDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Joan Harrison, left, watches Tommy Harris as he writes down one of his favorite quotes at the Laguna Beach Library.