George Fulk's Fundraiser
Literacy Impacts Everyone!
Join me and help make a difference, please give today.
Steve Crabtree
"Good Man, George, you old rat catcher."
$100
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Michael Whalen
I donated in support of this campaign.
$50
A supporter of George Fulk
"George, you continue to inspire! "
$100
Dallas Moore
I donated in support of this campaign.
$50
I was a biology teacher and after retirement I really missed helping people learn. I am also a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who struggled to learn a new language as an adult. It is not easy. I know the embarrassment and frustration that comes with not being able to communicate easily because of a language barrier.
A friend in Florida told me about Washtenaw Literacy. He used to live in Ann Arbor and was able to keep tutoring his learners when he moved away by using Zoom. I figured I could also tutor a Washtenaw learner through Zoom from Oklahoma where I settled. I took the training (it was LONG) to learn how to use Zoom and how to teach English as a Second Language. Then I was assigned a learner.
My learner is highly motivated but she works 12 hours a day six days a week. She has two children who want to be with her for the few hours she is at home in the afternoon. She has a 6-year old daughter and a 9-year old son, beautiful kids. However, they often distract their mother during our language lessons. She is wonderfully patient.
It was great seeing my learner progress and learn how to read simple stories, some of which gave us a big laugh. One day we were reading a story about an old lady with a cat who adopted a dog. When the dog arrived the cat ran away, was gone for 10 years until the dog died. Then the cat returned home. It was a true story and a funny one.
The 6-year old girl kept interrupting our lesson, I think because she saw that her mother and I were having so much fun with this story. An idea hit me of how to engage the little girl and still keep our lesson going. I had my learner read this story to her daughter. To my surprise the little girl was quiet and really absorbed in her mother’s reading of this story. Reading this story to her child is something my learner could never have done when we first started our lessons together.
Magic happens when a mother reads to her child. I am happy to help make magic happen. I have never met my learner face-to-face and I don’t have a picture of her. However, I painted this picture to give you an idea of the magic that happens when a mother reads to her child.
