Teaching and Honoring

I want to talk about two things today, and I will keep it brief because I am a busy busy girl!

First I want to talk about using games in ESOL tutoring.  For my third week, I decided to try a couple of games with the students.  To shake it up a bit.  I created a bingo game using pictures and words for grocery store vocabulary.  I used a great website that has a bingo card generator on it:

 

Here is an example of one of the cards:

I gave them pennies and buttons to use as their markers.

Observation 1: Normally when you play bingo you only have to get a whole row across, down, or diagonal to win; but when the cards only use 16 pictures, the game ends too soon.  I suggest using the rule that you have to fill the entire card to win.  We played about 5 games of bingo, in about 10 minutes, too fast!

Then I played a response game with them, to try and teach them the words under, over, beside, etc.  I gave each student a piece of paper with these two pictures on it:

Then I told them to put an X on the table, put a check under the table, put a circle in the box, and put a plus sign beside the box.  Then I showed them my sheet of paper and told them it should look the same:

 Most of them understood, and those who didn't would ask their neighbor to help them, so they all got them right.  I wanted to do this game because my partner N and I noticed that they were getting confused with the words on, in, and at.  N told me that in the Spanish language they say "on top of" as in "Put the X on top of the table."  English speakers say this also, but most people say the shortened version "put the X on the table" and I want my students to understand what that means.

This brings up a good point.  There are many idiosyncrasies in the English language that can not really be translated well to other languages.  Whenever possible it is good to try to explain and teach these to ESOL students, the more they use the "real" American language, the more they will feel at home.  In my opinion anyway.

So we did those two games, which took me about 4 hours to prepare, and in class they took about 20 minutes to finish.  That left 40 minutes of open non prepared time.  I sort of panicked and looked helplessly at N when I realized I had nothing to do for the next 40 minutes.  She suggested we go over some emergency words, so we talked about the different times you would call 911 or go to the ER versus calling a doctor.  Like I have said before, the students are all so easygoing and they never missed a beat.  This is why I love teaching this class!

ESOL tutoring week two

So being an ESOL tutor is tons of work and reaps tons of benefits, it is the ultimate in satisfying deeds.  This past week, our second class, I had help, a student teacher named N who is minoring in Spanish.  We divided the class up into two small groups and worked on grocery store vocabulary and questions and phrases you might use while in the grocery store.

There were less students this week, only about 10.

First I had the students go over their introductions.  I had them first introduce themselves: "Hi my name is Carlos, I have 3 children, this is my friend Maria, she has 4 children."  I had created a chart from the information I gathered in the first class.  Name, how many children, children's ages.  I hung the chart up and pointed to each name as they went around.  

Observation 1:  I noticed that the students tend to want to say the phrase backwards which makes sense since in Spanish most sentences are reverse.  They also shortened the phrases, for instance they often said "This my friend", or "she my friend."  I am not sure if this is right, but I corrected them and had them say the phrase as a complete sentence.

Next we went over grocery store vocabulary.  I created large pictures that I found on google and put the word in English on top.

The words we started with were:
Aisle
Shelf
Cashier
Deli
Bakery
Produce
Meats
Frozen Foods


Observation 2:  Many of the pronunciations of words and phrases are completely new to the students, and some of the digraphs and blends are new also because they are not used in the Spanish language.  For instance, the sh.  The students pronounced it ch.   Or the letter j.   In the Spanish language this letter is pronounced like a y as in you, but in English it is pronounced as a g as in giraffe.  I took the time to help them try to sound the words out the right way.  Not sure if that is correct either, it just felt right.

Here is a list of sounds not found in the Spanish language that I found on a fabulous website called  ¡Colorin´, colorado!  This is "A bilingual site for families and educators of English language learners."

This is such a great website!

Next we split into small groups and worked on questions and answers they might use in the grocery store using TPR and Response Drills.  "Where is the juice?" "The juice is on aisle four."

Observation 3: I had them practicing these phrases and questions for a few minutes and then I realized they seemed to be repeating them fine, but I sensed they didn't really understand them.  I asked them if they understood what they were saying and one woman asked "What is aisle?"  So when we had gone over the vocabulary it had not clicked with her exactly what an aisle was.  So I got up, went between the desks and showed using my arms that the whole space was an aisle, then they understood.  I knew they understood because they started saying what the word was in Spanish.

Then another woman asked, "What is shelf?"  So I went to a bookshelf in the room and pointed to one of the shelves and said this is a shelf, the book is on the shelf.  They nodded and said the word to each other in Spanish.

I am starting to question the whole process of using pictures to explain things.  Especially with grocery store terms.

Observation 4:  Ever wonder why in the English language we say, at the back of the store, or in the back of the store and they mean the same things.  Or, "Can you help me in produce",  and "How many packets are in this box?"  Or what about the word ON.  "The juice is on the third shelf", and "The pharmacy is on your left."  To us it makes sense, to ESOL students it is very confusing.  I had a hard time trying to make them understand, so basically I said, "The English language is tricky, one word can have many meanings."  Which is true but doesn't make it any easier for them to understand.  Unfortunately they are going to have to figure it out as they go along.

The class did such an amazing job and again they are so accomodating and open to learning.  I love that enthusiasm for understanding.  If only we all had that desire.

Next week I am going to try a bingo game and a response lesson.  Stay tuned!

"Hey ESL Teacher"

 Photo by Vanessa Jones

Yes!

That was the subject in a recent email sent to me.  The ESL teacher at my daughters school started a wonderful evening program at the school.  Family Learning Nights, you can learn English, Spanish, get help with preparing for your GED, get tutoring help for your child's homework.  D, the ESL teacher is also a master trainer for LVNJ and just a really cool person, and this idea he had is so fantastic.  When he sent the word out looking for help with tutoring I immediately signed up.

I haven't had a student to tutor for about 6 months, it has been a busy time in my personal life so I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with the tutoring.  It was so difficult for me to drive almost 30 minutes to get to the tutoring sessions before and it was so inconvenient, and then my student rarely showed up, or if she did she was always late.  It clouded my experience.

But the thought of being able to tutor a student at the school which is just around the corner from my house, in the evenings when my husband can take care of the children.  And to know I am working with parents of my kids friends.  People in my community.  This idea completely appealed to me.

The thing is I had only ever done basic literacy tutoring, and the training I had for ESL tutoring was a year ago.  I told D I would tutor a student, thinking I can handle one on one.  Then I got an email from D the day before the first FLN:

"Brenda,

Would you be interested in taking a small group of beginning ESL students?"

Umm, PANIC!  So the LVNJ training mainly focuses on one on one tutoring, but we did touch on the small group training.  But like I said that was a YEAR ago!  How could I possibly say no though?  The parents wanted to learn, and I repeated to myself that first empowering thought I learned in training "If you can speak English, you can teach someone to speak English."  So yeah!  Yes I will take that small group, and I will do the best I can, I am totally willing and able!

The day came, and I poured over my training manual, and a great manual my boss J suggested and I went online and came up with a very basic lesson plan.  I did not know the level these students were at in their English speaking skills so I had to go on the assumption that they were very beginner.

I decided to start with a grid, and use the Repetition Drills I had learned and practiced in training to have them practice saying: "Hi, my name is," "I have three children," "I have two girls and one boy."  And I would have them introduce themselves and then their neighbor using the grid to help them.

I also found pictures of different scenarios on google, Talking to your child's teacher, At the bank, At the grocery store, and At the doctor.  I would poll the students and say: "I need help speaking English when I am..." and then I would show them each picture while saying what it was and then ask them to each pick a scenario they wanted to work on.  Then we would work on things you might need to say in those scenarios, using the Repetition Drill and the Response Drill.

So I had a plan and I was scared but hopeful.

I got there and started drawing out my grid on the board and then waited.  Then the students started showing up.  And showing up.  And showing up.  I had a total of 11 students that night!  Yikes, I am sorry but that is a large group in my opinion!

 Photo by Vanessa Jones

But I never skipped a beat, and I went through my lesson plan and oh my gosh the students were so awesome!  They were eager, upbeat and totally accommodating.  LOVE teaching ESL!

As I was gathering my things at the end of the class, one of the ladies said, "Thank you teacher!"  Heart melting!

Up to?

Who me? Up to something?  Never!

No really, want to know what I have been up to lately?

1. Husband in hospital:  Yep, for four days.  He was only having testing done, but it was four days I was without another adult person around the house.  My only companions at home were small children, until bed time, then I would watch really bad television and wish I had some one to talk to.  Waah!  But really it wasn't so awful, and he is home now.  For now.  He is having surgery sometime in the next few months, and then he will be away for maybe a week or longer.

Daddy is Home!

2. Kids started school: YAY!  Seriously, I love my kids, and at the end of the school year I can't wait for them to get out of school so we can hang out and do fun stuff together.  By the end of summer I am SO ready for them to be in school so they can stop, eating all the food I buy in one day, telling me how bored they are, watching insane amounts of obnoxious tv, rolling their eyes when I tell them to turn off the tv and read or do something, just generally being around to remind me of all my shortcomings.

This year we have, Maddie in 5th grade, Katy in 1st grade, and Ally started preschool.  They were extremely precious on the first day of school, and I was extremely proud of being able to get them to school on time and with very nutritious lunches, and with their entire supply list bought.

3. ME starting school: Go me!  I am going back to school, on-line, through University of Phoenix, to get my BA in Elementary Education.  I start October 1st.  I am SO psyched!

4. I am going to start reading: The Book Thief.  I love historical fiction and saw this book recommended on a Better World Books post on FB.  I will keep you posted.

5. I need a new iPhone case: mine looks like it was gnawed on by badgers.  I downloaded a couple of iPhone games for my kids the last week of summer (see number 2 if you are wondering why).  They are actually really cool learning games that they enjoy playing, but while they were playing, the decided to also fiddle with my already delicate iPhone case.  I tried gluing the top layer back onto the hard case part, but it was all stretched out and the corners wouldn't stay and I only succeeded in getting glue all over me.  So now I need a new one.

My friend at My Life With Pie just posted about this same thing and found a really cool one with Beaker on it.  Not sure I can pull that off, but I do want something that reflects me.  Any suggestions?

6. I have been watching a few shows in Netflix and Hulu: Parks and Recreation, Glee.  Parks and Rec is so hysterical.  I love Glee also because I am a band nerd from the old school!

What are you guys up to?

Good News!

I wanted to share some excellent news about two new websites I have been following.

First, Better World Books, a non profit on-line bookstore that I am literally infatuated with, has made a big move. For every book they sell, they donate a book to someone in need! If you are familiar with TOMS Shoes, this is the same concept, except with books. Which let me just say is the coolest thing EVER!

BWB is so much more than the book for book thing though, they support so many awesome literacy programs around the world, and if I haven't said it already, I LOVE THEM! Please support them, and please spread the word!

Second, Wonderopolis, which has a blog, Wonders, that I started following and wrote about last week, has made the Time.com list of 50 best websites of 2011! Yay Wonderopolis I am so proud of you! Please check this awesome website out, you will not be sorry!

I am working on a big Back to School post, to be posted soon, so stay tuned! Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Share the Wonder!

Just started following this blog I found through the National Center for Family Literacy, Wonderopolis. The blog is called "Wonders" and they share a new wonder every day. All to promote together time between kids and their parents! Love it!

Also, I am totally excited about my upcoming guest post at Life With Pie. Should be this Thursday, I will let you know.

Check out the Wonders, and share them with your kids!

Tips for Visiting the Doctor

So I was browsing through the current issue of Parenting magazine (early years), and came across an article called How to Talk to a Doc. This article offers tips, given by doctors, about how to prepare for your next Dr. visit. The article is geared toward parents and offers advice about well visits, but what I found was that the tips actually apply to anyone preparing to visit a doctor.

Presumably when you are an adult you are visiting for some sort of health problem. It isn't like when you take a baby to the doctor every month in the first year, and then every year after that for check ups. But regardless of the reason, visiting a doctor is a lesson in time management. Generally you get about 15 minutes with a doctor. Sometimes less. Their schedules are usually back to back, and your schedule is probably pretty tight too. It is important to not waste each others time. So we need to be prepared, and sometimes we need lessons on how to do that.

I know that any time I visit a doctor, whether it is for my daughters' check ups or my husbands medical problems, I have to write down questions before I go. Here are some more tips offered in the magazine about how to arrive prepared.

Number 1: "Find a go-to health care provider." So the magazine says you should create a "medical home" for your child. A place where they have records about everything to do with their health care since you started going to them. I have been taking my kids to the same practice for over 10 years now. While I don't really know them all by name and do not really have a close relationship with them, they always have my kids charts, and when we go for a visit, the chart is right there for them to look through and check on things. When my daughter was about 8 she started suffering from ear infections quite often, and the doctor warned me that because she had taken antibiotics quite a few times for them she might build a resistance to them if we kept giving them for every instance. If I had taken her to a clinic or ER, they might not have known she had been on meds so many times. They would not have had her history, and I might have forgotten to mention it in my worried state.

My youngest after getting blood taken at the doctor.

Number 2: "Know your child's medical history." The magazine suggests keeping a folder or even a smartphone app with all your child's immunizations, etc. This would be a great way for me to keep track of the number of times my daughter has been on antibiotics for something, and so if we ever do need to visit an ER you have all that information stored and don't need to remember it all. With three kids, and multiple Doctor visits it can become very confusing for me to try to remember everything. I would suggest going one step further and maybe even keeping a journal, writing down each visit and what the Dr. said each time. I am going to start doing that, it will be nice to look back even for nostalgia's sake and see how they have changed over the years.

This tip could also of course apply to adults. I know I keep a folder with all of my husbands medical information, and I keep a list of all his meds. I never know when we will need it, so I am also going to start using a smartphone app. The one that I am trying is called "My Medical". This is through iPhone and is only $1.99. The thing I like about it most is that I can keep track of the medical info for everyone in my family. This app takes down all the information, from height, weight, blood type, to allergies and medications you are currently on, and even medications you have taken in the past. I will keep you up to date on how well it does.

Screenshots from my iPhone of the My Medical app.

Number 3: "Arrive prepared." Basically, don't forget the folder with your child's (or spouse's) medical information. Be sure to bring the questions you have been thinking of with you also.

Number 4: "Take notes." Yeah, I always forget what the doctor said. I take notes all the time at the doctor, especially regarding medications. Sometimes I even have the doctor write it down, if they will, because they know the names and dosages more readily. I always write down what the doctor said about medications because the pharmacy can make mistakes. This is where the journal would come in handy. The iPhone app has a notes section for each patient you are keeping track of.

Number 5: "Don't be afraid to second-guess." This is seriously not a problem for me because I already don't completely trust doctors. Especially in Er's. But some people really find it hard to go against what a doctor tells them, even if their gut feeling is really telling them it is wrong. Trust your gut. And if you are still concerned, get a second opinion, or even a third opinion. Remember that you are your own best advocate, and when it comes to your children or your spouse, you are their best advocate also. A nurse friend of mine told me recently about my husband "you are his best nurse." That is so true, who better to provide the most personal care possible than your own mother or spouse.

Anyway I thought these tips were important, and that tutors could easily make a health literacy lesson out of these. Let me know what you think!

From A to Z: Literacy Treasures

We posted about this story on our Facebook wall, but I wanted to share this with all my followers as well. First let me say that I am totally guilty of not always reading to my kids at night. Lets face it, sometimes we parents are so tired we can barely keep standing. Even before reading this story I had made a secret promise to myself that I would fight the urge to just put my kids to bed and I will read them at least one story every night. No matter what.

After reading this story I am more committed to that than ever. I should never ever take for granted the fact that I can read, and therefore can read to my children.
Please read the story and get inspired yourself!

A new learning center is opening in Massachusetts. A one stop shop for all adult learning needs. We need more of these all over the US.

"Lives will change as a result of this building," said Robert Pura, president of Greenfield Community College. "Lives will change for the better."

Read the story on gazettenet.com

This print for sale on Etsy:

Introducing HONEY! Bringing awareness about adult literacy. Oh and she is a dog!


W stands for WOW. Please read this blog post, written by an MD, on the NY Times website. I literally said OMG when I read it.



My husband and I recently decided he needs to be wearing some sort of medic alert jewelry. He told me he would be the least annoyed with a dog tag necklace. Here is the one I found on Etsy. I think anyone who suffers from a medical issue like seizures, or diabetes or such should wear something like this. But how much more important for someone who can't speak the language. If they are taken to an ER, they show their bracelet, the team automatically knows they suffer from seizures and are on this medicine for them.


Understanding prescriptions and medicine labels is a huge part of health literacy. It became very clear how big an issue, after the tornadoes in Joplin.


Good News! NJ Health Literacy Coalition now has a website! I will be adding it to my "My Favorites Internet Trips" page. Check it out!

I'm Too Busy to Slow Down

Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story using only 6 words: "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn."

If you had to write your life story in 6 words, what would it say?

Here are some examples written by adult literacy students in Canada.

Summer Brain!

This is where I wish I was RIGHT NOW!

Anyone else out there suffer from "Summer Brain"?

This is an affliction that hits me every summer. I get so excited and jazzed that I don't have to get three kids dressed and out the door every single day that I completely lose my mind.

I think, hey, it is summer, kids are out of school, who cares about going to bed on time, or making sure there are groceries in the house or making sure the kids hair is brushed.

Problem is, I am not on break. I still have a job, and I am never done being a parent, so the kids still have to be dressed and be fed, and occasionally brush their hair, which I am in charge of.

I was placed with a new student. He is a basic literacy student who had to quit high school and now wants to get his G.E.D. He needs help preparing for the test this fall. Right now however I am feeling so lethargic from the "Summer Brain", that I haven't even called him. I am fearing the onset of another responsibility that will remind me that I am not on a break.

Does "Summer Brain" happen to anyone else? Do you start to feel lazy and wish you were on vacation all the time? It is really embarrassing actually, I am an adult with three kids and bills and stuff, I shouldn't feel like going to the beach every day. Right?

A sunset at the beach, pure joy.

Anyway, I am admitting this to the world so that I don't hide from my "Summer Brain" any longer. Time for me to face the facts, life will pass me by if I just sit around with laziness. So here is to my recovery. Hopefully someone else will admit to their affliction as well and we can recover together!

Adventures with Kidney Stones

Or "Tales from the ER!"

So by the title of this post your first thought is, okay, since she has stopped tutoring she has REALLY lost her vision for the purpose of this blog. But stick with me, I have a purpose.

My husband was recently in the hospital for 3 days, intermittently, for kidney stones. I have never had them personally, but every time I told someone he had kidney stones, the person's face would get all squinchy (it's a word) and they would say "OH, I/My Spouse/My Aunt/My Grandma/My Hairdresser's Sister's Cousin, had those and that was the worst pain I/They ever experienced.

So I tried to understand the pain and be supportive while with Tom in the ER.

I really dislike hospitals. The smells, the sounds, the sick and sad people every where. And then there is the staff.

Now before you start in on me about how You or Someone You Love or Know works in a hospital and they are the nicest most caring person you know, I am totally aware that there are exceptions to the rule. I also have a mom and sister in law who are nurses, and many friends who are nurses, and my Aunt and Uncle are doctors. It doesn't mean I don't love THEM, it means I generally dislike the people in hospitals OTHER than them.

Anyway, the first time he was in the emergency room of our local hospital, Sunday evening, he had a really sweet nurse, who actually took the time to explain everything to us. But the doctor was the opposite of this. Dr. Mean Face (her face was scary) was about as warm and caring as a metal chair.

After Tom had been there for about 500 hours (I realize that is an exaggeration, sue me), had thrown up all over the bed from the pain, had a CAT scan, been given 3 different pain meds. that did not work, here comes Dr. Mean Face. She came in and said "I am sending you home and I am giving you prescriptions for these meds., drink lots of water and see a urologist."

My husband is on many many meds. already. He has seizures and needs meds. for that, and then he also has these weird hives and joint pain that we are working with an allergist for, so he is on 3 more meds. for that. So I said to the doctor "Can you please write down instructions for when and how he should take these." I figured this was a reasonable request, and wouldn't take much time, and wouldn't she want to make sure we knew all the information we needed?


Tom after brain surgery in 2005.

She looked at me like my face was on upside down, and had spoken in Klingon language, and said "The information will be on the prescription bottles." And she promptly walked away. Thanks, for that Dr. Mean Face. Luckily Nurse Sweety was nice enough to take the ONE minute it took to write it out for us.

Next time in the ER, Monday afternoon. The urologist, after hearing that Tom had been vomiting all night, totally writhing in pain, and incapable of keeping any of the pain meds., or any other meds. down, told us to go straight back to the ER. The Dr. said he would call ahead and make sure they knew he sent them. I felt a little better about this, and figured, hey maybe they will actually treat him this time. WRONG!

We get there, tell the NURSE, NURSE'S ASSISTANT, DOCTOR, NURSE PRACTITIONER, JANITOR, LADY IN THE HALL, everything that has been going on for the past 24 hours.

In comes Dr. Speedy (he talked about a mile a minute and saw Tom for about 2 minutes and then left for about 3 hours, so I am assuming he was on Speed). He asks what has been going on, feels Tom's stomach and back for one second and says, "It's a Kidney Stone."

I wanted to scream. Instead I said, "Yes we know this, we were here LAST NIGHT for this, but the Urologist sent us back because he has been vomiting and is still in great pain." Dr. Speedy looks at me like my face is on upside down when I also tell him that the Urologist wants this test done (KUB) and he would like you (Dr. Speedy) to call him (Urologist) and speak to him about it.

Dr Speedy says, with obvious contempt, "I don't know why he wants THAT test done, all it is is an X-Ray."

"Please call him (Urologist)." I say.

"Let me go call him." Dr. Speedy says as if he just came up with that idea.

After sitting in the ER for another 3 hours, which included being moved from an actual room in the ER, into the hallway, then back into another actual room, here comes Dr. Speedy again.

This is my favorite part of the whole day.

Dr Speedy says, "Did you have your CAT scan done here yesterday?"

"Yes, we were here in the ER why would we go somewhere else?" (I was obviously losing my patience with Dr. Speedy by this point.)

"Well I can't find the report in the system, would it be under another name?"

"Um no, he only has one name." (I look at Dr. Speedy like his face is on upside down this time.)

"Can you check again?" I say

"I can't pull up a report that isn't there." says Dr. Speedy

At this point I want to punch Dr. Speedy in the face but he walked away. He came back about 2 minutes later and hands the report to the Nurse Practitioner who is now taking Tom's entire life history back to when he fell off his bike in the third grade.

Dr. Speedy looks at ME and says, "The report was under just his name without the Jr."

Then he says with serious annoyance in his voice, "That is why I ASKED you if it would be under any other name."

What I said back to him at the time was, "Oh good."

What I wanted to say back to him was, "You flipping idiot, how many years of education does it take to have the common sense to know that if you can't find the report under the person's name and they have a Jr. at the end, MAYBE I should try looking it up WITHOUT the Jr."


Tom wearing a portable EEG machine in 2008.

Sigh...

So after spending the night in the hospital and not being able to eat, and possibly getting exposed to about 5 million other illnesses, Tom came home in pretty much the same condition. He is not in as much pain, and is able to keep food down, but honestly it was not because of anything the doctors did. From what I hear from Tom, he was pretty much left alone in the room the entire time with intermittent visits from Dr.'s and nurses saying "Everything looks fine you should be able to go home soon." Obviously the definition of soon means something entirely different to them.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well first because it is making me feel better to share this experience. But mostly because it made me think about the health literacy epidemic.

I call it an epidemic because it really is everywhere, and while there are few people working to make it better, the health care professionals and systems in general are pretty much ignorant.

When I asked our Dr. Mean Face if she could write down instructions for us about the meds., why did she treat us like that? Isn't the goal of doctoring to make people feel better, and doesn't that include making sure they understand their medications? What if my husband and I could not speak English. When I think about the implications of that, I literally get knots in my stomach.

When Dr. Speedy was "helping" us, was it really that difficult for him to treat us with just a little compassion? Was it necessary for him to have speak to us with annoyance and contempt?

The main thing I kept thinking while we were there is "what is that smell?" But also, "where is the disconnect?"

When did it become THE DOCTOR on this huge pedestal, and the patient, down here in this little hole? Or was it always that way and now there are some of us who are saying, "this is not acceptable."

Just because we did not go to med school, we have every right to know what is going on with our bodies and to expect that our questions about that will get answered with the same respect we show them.

Maybe I am generalizing too much, but I don't think I am, the statistics prove that most people do not know what their Dr. is saying to them, and even if they ask, what are the chances that the Dr. is going to answer them with any kind of respectful thoughtful answer. My fear is that those chances are slim.

Now like I said before, I know that not all Doctors and Nurses are like this. And I will say that most Nurses seem to really care and be concerned for their patients. Also most of us have health insurance and are lucky enough to pick and choose who we go to for help. But when you are suddenly hurt, and sick and afraid and you visit an ER, you don't have that luxury.

The CDC released a study in 2010 showing that about 46.3 million Americans do not have health insurance, that is about 15.4%. In my mind these people are at the greater disadvantage because they are sometimes forced to use only the Er's or Urgent Care Facilities. They are faced with over worked, over tired, doctors and nurses. And it is abundantly clear to me that they are severely understaffed.

I think more than ever we need to put an emphasis on the need for health literacy for anyone working in the health care arena. It should be a requirement.

Even more importantly we as patients need to stand our ground and not allow ourselves to be bullied. That never means it is ok to be mean, but maybe it means we can get a little bit angry, and a little bit loud, and make ourselves heard.

My husband and I are coming away from his experience with knowledge and understanding. We understand that doctors and nurses have a really hard job. We now know that in order to break through that barrier we have to be much more assertive.


Tom with a little home health aid.
(He obviously decided against the ER that day.)

Do you have any stories like this? Any thoughts on how to handle them? We all need to be our own best advocates!

The Power of Shame

Watch this video from the Children of the Code website video series.

From A to Z: Literacy Treasures

First up, we have a list of the TOP TEN teaching requirements, for GOOD teaching. From the U of Hawaii website, written by Richard LeBlanc. Check them out, I love lists!

This next story is about a really cool program started at the Adult Literacy League in Florida. "Read to Me" is the name of their project and it is all about family literacy. It really hits home because my kids go to a charter school in an urban area and so many of their classmates come from homes with NO books. The first time I learned that, I almost cried. I really wish we could start something like this program here in NJ. Click the pic to see the story.

D.C. Learns a literacy coalition in Washington DC has this very smart blog that I just recently started following. Check out this post about the difference between advocacy and lobbying.

Check out this study posted on the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal website. In short, a study was done determining the link between childhood literacy or language ability and several components of home and family situations, including education levels of their parents. Interesting, but really nothing we didn't already know.

In this article on Nurse.com there is a useful list of ideas for nurses working with low literate patients. Here is the list:

"Once literacy is assessed, nurses should tailor their oral and written communications to match the patient’s level of understanding. For patients with low literacy, Mullen suggests:

• Developing written materials below fifth grade reading levels.

• Keeping content and format simple, with shorter words and sentences.

• Using larger, boldface or underlined fonts, increasing space between lines and black ink.

• Having a magnifying glass and good lighting available for older adults.

• Ensuring patients have assistive devices, such as reading glasses and hearing aids.

• Involving a significant other or caregiver.

She also notes that nurses can refer patients to online resources for medical information and community programs that help improve health literacy levels."

and here is a link to the entire article.

Have you heard of this website: Patients like me? It seems like an easy tool for people to use to find information about their health and also to connect with people who have the same problems. Very simple questions are asked on the main page in order to join. It is only in English though.

This really funny clip from one of my favorite shows "The Big Bang Theory." A funny look at what happens when you don't get the pronunciation right.

And this really cool video of one women saying the same sentence in 21 different accents!

Blogging is (not) Easy!

A friend of mine, C, that I have know since HS is thinking about starting a BLOG.

C and I were in a writing class in HS together. I loved that class. I loved taking it with her, she was and is so smart and she taught me just as much as the teacher did. She went on to become a fabulous lawyer and now mother, we were able to reconnect through Facebook (Love It) and I love seeing her posts about her cute little daughter.

C asked me for some advice so I wrote up this really long reply which basically listed everything I have learned since I started blogging. They are things I wish someone had shared with me when I first started.

While I was writing I thought, "this would make a great post." So I am adapting it a bit to make it less personal, and am sharing it with all of you!

So anyway about blogging, there are a few blogs I follow that I get inspiration from for my blog, particularly with design, I will list them below.

Here are some things I have learned about the blogging world, these are just my perceptions based on my experience.

First, pick a name that is short and catchy and fun and totally relates to the topic!

When I first started blogging it was mostly one giant paragraph with no pictures. The more blogs I read, the more I realize how important it is to always have some visual eye candy in every post, i.e. pictures, drawings, links. Also it is so important to break up the post with lots of paragraph breaks and such.

Huge pet peeves of mine, and most serious bloggers, use spell check! Even the most seasoned writers out there make the worst mistakes with spelling and grammar usage. It is so annoying to readers because they will be really enjoying the post and then BAM! All they see is the mistake blaring at them.

Set a clear goal and objective for your blog. I have a really hard time with this because my blog is so specific, but it relates to so many areas of my life, because anything that takes time away from my family is personal time to me. But I try really hard to stay relevant to what my main goal is for writing the blog, which makes it easier to keep my posts from wandering.

Be warm and personal in your posts. Readers want you to be real and they will pick up on fluff really quickly, and not want to come back. You should decide before you start whether you want to remain anonymous in your blog or not. I personally prefer to not be anonymous because I feel I have nothing to hide, and I never say anything on my blog I wouldn’t say in person to someone. I use my kids’ full names, but I know some people who change their kids’ names in blog posts. I do keep other people anonymous, so when I mention my student or boss I use only their first initial. That way I don’t need to really get permission to use their name, although I never say anything bad about them. Here is a link to a post from one of my favorite bloggers (Four Eyes Rella) about this subject: Should your blog be anonymous or not.

Don’t get discouraged. I have been blogging for about 5 or 6 months now and I only have 10 followers and rarely get comments. When I first started I would check for comments like every 5 minutes (SHAME), but then I started to talk to myself about how that is so not why I started blogging. I really wanted to create an honest blog about what it is like to be an adult literacy tutor, and to share those feelings with the world. I had to remind myself that I did not do it to be accepted or validated. Don’t get me wrong, it feels great when people do comment, and I love to check the stats and see how many times it has been read, but I don’t allow the lack of comments to keep me from posting again and again.

Use pages. I don’t know what blogging tool you are using (I use blogger with google) but they all have a function where you can create “pages”. It makes it fun for the readers, and basically people love to click on things. I have a “blogroll” page, a “My favorite internet trips” page, a “My tutor bag” page and an “Adult Literacy Book list” page. You can look at other blogs to get some inspiration for that.

Post often. Especially in the beginning, because when people find you and start following you they want to see something new every time they come back.

Have fun! If you are enjoying yourself it will come through in your writing.

Okay here is a list of my favorite blogs and why:

Four Eyes Rella: - I stumbled on her blog from I don’t even know where. She lives in Canada and works at a tattoo parlor and has tattoos all over her body and has a really cool bull dog named Tank. She takes fabulous pictures and she does a post every Thursday called “Things I Love Thursday” that is so cool. She scours the internet and brings back all of the coolest things you could find and lists them for you. She is insightful and funny, and very real. I also love her blog design. I discovered great ways to share things from her posts, and I have also learned about blogging etiquette which is important.

Angelina La Dawn Tomato: - I don’t know where I found this blog either. She is a teacher with two cats that are hysterical, and she takes funny pictures, and she also creates the coolest crafts and artwork and such. She is also very real and funny.

Blogging is for Dorks: - I found this blog from Four Eyes Rella’s blog roll. She is a seriously great writer, very touching stuff. She has 5 kids and she writes about them in her posts and it is so funny and heartfelt and relatable. She also crochets which I love and has funny pictures and videos.

A(n) (Un)common Family: - I found this blog from the Studio30+ website which I will tell you about in a minute. She and her husband adopted two kids, their son from Vietnam and their daughter from Ethiopia. She is so funny, like when she talks about how her daughter loves Yo Gabba Gabba I laughed so hard because I could of course relate. She is very open and real in her posts which I also love. Good stuff especially for parents who adopted.

Hyperbole and a Half:- This is the first blog I started following. When I first found it I was so addicted I spent like a whole day looking at all the archived posts. She does mostly comic posts now which I think take a really long time so there are long periods in between her posts. SO, so funny! I have never laughed as hard as I have when reading her posts. She doesn’t take herself or life too seriously. She has funny animals which she posts about and is very smart with her writing.

Last but not least,

Cake Wrecks: - Found this one from the Hyperbole and a Half blog roll. Seriously, funniest blog ever! They post every day which is great because there is always something new to read.

Studio Thirty Plus: - This site is like a gathering place for bloggers over 30. You have to sign up, then you create a home page and you can list your blog on there. It is sort of like a social network for bloggers. They have a featured blogger each week, and they also have great writing prompts every week, which is a cool way to come up with ideas when you can’t think of something.

I really hope this all helps, and I can’t wait to read your blog, I know it will be great!

Brenda

Uncertainty is unconfortable...

Hey blogger world, it's me again!

I have noticed as the weather gets warmer and the days are sunny longer I have had less desire to blog. I also noticed many of the blogs I read have had fewer posts as well.

I have had less and less things to write about also because my student has bailed out of every session we have scheduled for the past month and a half. She was in the hospital with pneumonia, then she was away. Then she just stopped calling.

I keep thinking I have done something wrong. Maybe I haven't been encouraging enough, why else would she stop coming. I know she gets discouraged because she wants to finish that masseuse course and get a certificate, but as much as I want her to get to her goal, it is never going to happen as quickly as she wants it to.

That is the frustrating thing about volunteer tutoring. Generally it is only one hour a week, a very slow timeline when you are working with a low level reader. And if the student is not seeing results fast enough, it can be so discouraging for them.

I understand that and try so hard to make it worth her while, but my enthusiasm is just that, mine. I can't force someone to be excited to learn, or dedicated to the process just because I am. I struggle with this in almost every aspect of my life, my kids: why can't they see that with every fall from the bike with no training wheels there is another opportunity to get back on and try again, with my colleagues on the board: why can't they see that there is value in helping out every chance they get, with my friends: why can't they see that helping others is so much more rewarding than complaining about what they don't have in life.

I lament because I no longer have the answers, and I am feeling disheartened and it is affecting my life. I feel my level of patience has been exhausted with my student and that worries me.

But saying it "out loud" helps. I know I will get over this disappointment quickly, rally myself up toward a new goal and seek to make it work.

I did make a big decision recently. I am going back to college. I have always known I would go back some day, but with three small kids I felt there was always an excuse, and I felt afraid of the amount of work that would be involved. After this year I am confident I can handle it.

I went to a year of college at a national technical university and really learned so much there, more than just computers and code. I had an excellent writing teacher who taught me to let go of my inhibitions about writing. I enjoyed going to school and learning, but I put enormous amounts of pressure on myself and when I felt myself slipping (below and A), I started to lose my confidence and dropped out. I am so sure that will not happen this time. I know it will be hard, but I have learned that nothing worth having in life comes easy. I have also learned I don't have to be perfect.

I still plan to tutor, whether it is with D or a new student I don't know right now. But I love tutoring and would never dream of giving it up.

Stay tuned...

P.S. The photo above is a picture I took of my girls on a bridge at a local park. I love when I find bridges now because when I see them I am reminded of my journey.

Fun Finds For Funky Tutors

One thing I have learned since officially becoming a "blogger" is that bloggers read many many blogs. I have a blog roll on my page that lists my favorites, but I read so many more than that. I get ideas, both for content and for style from my fellow bloggers.

One thing I have picked up while strolling across the 'net is this obsession most bloggers have with Etsy.

Etsy is awesome. It is a website where crafters and artists and sculptors and thrift shop junkies can sell their wares.

I recently purchased that really cool necklace above from Etsy. I wear this thing every day. I have a thing for bumble bees and have decided this necklace is just a first for my collection. To add to the variety of my posts I have decided to post some cool things, all literary, that I come across on Etsy.

SO... This week we have:

This really cool print, I want it!

Wouldn't these be cool to teach an ESOL student the alphabet

Yes Please!

Yes Yes Please!

Ok, the description for these says "for your child" (which actually is cool too) but I could see using these for a student also. They are super cute!

And last but not least, I so need one of these!!

Have fun shopping ya'll!