Meet Tommy and Victoria
What is something that you have learned in your work as a volunteer tutor?
I think very few people who were given the opportunity to achieve full, functional literacy as children realize the level of intelligence and strength it requires to both (1) navigate the world without those skills and (2) decide as an adult that you'd like to gain them.
Witnessing Tommy's commitment and exponential growth week after week - and seeing how brilliantly he picks up what we're learning - has taught me the courageousness of pursuing dreams we know will lead us to a fuller life regardless of others' stigmas, expectations, or timelines.
Tommy has inspired me to pursue goals of mine I had previously shelved because I thought I was "too old" or "too busy." His bravery - like his smile - is contagious.
What do you like most about NALC?
I love being part of such a dynamic and supportive organization. The ample resources NALC provides for both learners and tutors and the ongoing optional development mean that volunteers and learners of all levels have everything we need to continue growing.
I think what I love most about NALC is how learner-driven its mission and every member I've interacted with is. NALC centers its work around goals that learners have determined for themselves, and I believe people deserve (and learn better with) that level of autonomy.
What advice do you have for other volunteer tutors and potential volunteers?
As a former full-time educator, I think it's wildly important to help learners "unlearn" some of the myths explicitly or subconsciously communicated to our learners in previous learning environments.
I don't think Tommy would mind me sharing that he initially voiced a great deal of self-doubt and self-deprecation related to his prior experiences as a student in a formal school system when, in many ways, that system didn't provide Tommy the tools or support he needed and should've received.
Meeting with him each week, I try to remind him that he's the kind of student I would've adored having in my classroom - inquisitive, driven, compassionate, joyful... I think it's so important to regularly celebrate and mirror back to learners the gifts they possess and growth they've made because we humans can often be our own loudest critics.