[00:00:01] Speaker A: Now back to more of the Journey Hometown Journal.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Going to the doctor, not really understanding what the doctor is telling them or not being able to say. They're in the hospital. They can't read the discharge papers, voting. They may not be able to read a ballot or know how to vote. So those are issues. They can't research a candidate.
[00:00:18] Speaker C: Welcome back to the Hometown Journal. I'm Mark Edwards. Today we're going to look at the issue of adult literacy and how a program through the Campbell County Public Library System is working to help adults become better readers. Rhonda Matthews is the program manager for literacy volunteers in the library system. Campbell county has branches in Rusburg, Brookneal, altavista, and at the Timbrook location.
Well, Rhonda, thank you so much for being with us on the Hometown Journal this week. We appreciate you spending some time with us. Tell us a little bit about your background and how that led you to working with literacy volunteers with Campbell County.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Well, I was a teacher for Appomattox county for 19 years.
And and I am a reading specialist as well as an English teacher. And so when I retired from mathematics, I took some time off and then this job became open and it just seemed like a perfect fit for me and I was really excited. When I lived in New York, I was a volunteer tutor there as well.
So this was full circle moment for me.
[00:01:22] Speaker C: Rhonda, what are the literacy rate statistics among adults right now for Campbell County?
[00:01:28] Speaker B: So in Campbell county, about 9% of adults have not completed high school. They don't have a diploma. And so there are about 13% of those people lack basic literacy skills. That means that they struggle with reading every day. Things like job applications, voting material, what their doctors prescribed. They can't read the prescriptions.
So that is a huge problem in our community.
Also with the influx of immigration, we have many that cannot speak English but want learn. And so our program is there to help them. With our program, we provide private confidential skills for those who develop essential speaking, listening, reading, writing skills that they will need for employment, civil engagement, academic success, daily life living.
And that's what we're there for. And that's how our program developed. Because of those lack of those skills.
[00:02:26] Speaker C: In the county, is that percentage has it gone down over the years or held about the same?
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Our last reporting year was 2023 and about that time about only 46% of adults even read for pleasure.
So they didn't even read a book or listen to a book on audio. And so that's almost half the population.
So there was a study done by the National University, and It says that 28% of adults in the US scored at or below the lowest level literacy rate.
So, I mean, that's just crazy, in my opinion. Who. I'm someone who reads every single day. And so those people that don't even know how to read can't read for pleasure.
So that's a big issue in our community.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: And you would think that that number would go down across the country because there are more opportunities for people to read because of the E readers, the digital access that people have. But that's not been the case.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: No. And a bigger problem is that in Campbell county schools, according to statewide testing results, our results are 10% lower than the state average of 81%.
So while the schools are working to correct the discrepancies, there are still students that are graduating into our community that are not good readers.
Right now. A lot of that is still attributed to Covid because those students missed that time in school.
But it hasn't began to really bounce back yet.
So when you think about these people that are coming into the community being 10% lower than the rest of the state, that's also a huge problem that's leading to the adult literacy problem.
[00:04:09] Speaker C: Today on the Hometown Journal, we are talking with Rhonda Matthews, the program manager for literacy volunteers with the Campbell County Public Library. We'll continue our conversation with Rhonda in a minute. To learn more about the programs available through the library, visit campbellcountylibraries.org you're listening to the Hometown Journal.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: It's good for your family. That's a big thing, too.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, I have kids.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Take us on your Journey with the MyJourney FM app. The price is right. The mobility is right. 100% free. You can download it for both iOS and Android anytime, anywhere.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: We listen to it all the time.
[00:04:44] Speaker A: Get the MyJourney FM app today.
Now back to more of the Journey Hometown Journal.
[00:04:50] Speaker C: Mark Edwards back with you along with our guest Rhonda Matthews with the adult literacy program for Campbell County Public Libraries. Rhonda, when someone's literacy level is not up to accepted or standard levels, what are some of the problems that person faces in everyday life?
[00:05:08] Speaker B: Well, job applications, for one.
Going to the doctor, not really understanding what they're, what the doctor's telling them, or not being able to say they're in the hospital, they can't read the discharge papers, so they don't know, oh, should I be taking my medication at this time? When do I have to come back Those types of problems voting, they may not be able to read a ballot or know how to vote. So those are issues. They can't research a candidate to know what's going on in that candidate's platform. So therefore they are just listening to what they hear.
And we know with fake news and AI, a lot of those things are just not accurate.
And so we're getting people that are going to the voting booths and not being educated consumers for the most part. Some people can go to the grocery store and not know how to read a label to know what's healthy and what's not healthy. They can't help their kids with homework because they don't understand the homework. There are just so many obstacles in their way for being successful citizens when they can't read.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Rhonda, do you find that people are embarrassed to seek help in improving their reading skills and take advantage of the programs through the library?
[00:06:20] Speaker B: That's a lot of it. They don't want to reach out. They didn't like school in the first place, so now they think, well, I'm not going back and getting any help for that. Now.
Learning disabilities, we have a lot of students that may have had ADHD in school. They couldn't sit still. So as an adult, they're like, I'm not doing that. And so that becomes a problem.
We have a lot of our influx of non native English speakers that will come in but don't want to be in the system.
So we have that as a barrier as well. And right now, with all the stuff going on with ice, we have a lot of people that are not reaching out for help because they're afraid that they're going to be turned away or because they're going to be turned in.
So those are also obstacles.
Also childcare and jobs as an adult you have to worry about, you know, I have a job. How am I going to fit this into my schedule? I have children. How am I going to fit this into my schedule? So we have ways that we can help out in those situations as far as like adjusting. We do tutoring over the Internet. So we have certain tutors that are just there to do virtual learning. We have classes in the daytime. We have one on one tutoring that will work around their schedule. So those are some other areas in which they can get help and not have to worry about all those other obstacles.
[00:07:42] Speaker C: So if somebody realizes that they do need some help, how do they get started with the reading programs for adults through the Campbell County Library system?
[00:07:52] Speaker B: Okay. So they can always Go to our website, which is the Campbell County Libraries.
And if they go, if they scroll down the page just a little bit, it says adult literacy and they can click on that and it will take them to a link that they can sign up for our or they can come in and meet with me or my co worker Kathy and get assessed and see if they where they are to start with. And then we can match them up with a private tutor. If they would like to be with a tutor or if they want to come to our classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, they can come to our classes. If they would like to volunteer, they can do the same thing. They just go where it says looking for volunteer opportunities. They can come in and sign up for that.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: And where are you now regarding volunteers? What's the current need?
[00:08:38] Speaker B: We always need more. If you look at, you know, ebbs and flows in volunteerism, some months were flush with a lot of volunteers and others, you know, we have people that are stepping back because they're moving. They have different job requirements. Their family life is not allowing them to volunteer anymore. So we always need more. We have a training coming up on March 18, I believe it is, which is to train new tutors and that is an all day class. We do it in the spring and we do it in the fall and then during the other parts of the month I do individual trainings. But we supply everything that a tutor will need. We train them, we give them all the materials that they need. We just need their time.
[00:09:21] Speaker C: And if someone can't maybe volunteer right now, there are other ways of supporting the work that you're doing.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: We are a nonprofit. We are partially funded by Campbell County. They pay for my salary and my coworker's salary and they provide us office space and some materials. But everything else is grant driven or donation driven. So if anybody is interested in just helping us out that way, there's also a donation tab on our adult literacy website that they can donate to help us keep the program running.
We go through a lot of materials every year and we pay our instructors for the classes. So that's always a need for more funds in that way.
[00:10:05] Speaker C: Today on the Hometown Journal, we have been talking with Rhonda Matthews, the program manager for literacy volunteers with the Campbell County Public Libraries. To learn more about the programs Rhonda mentioned or volunteer opportunities, visit the library's website. That's Campbell countylibraries.com I'm Mark Edwards. Thank you for joining us on the Hometown Journal.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: You've been listening to the Journey Hometown Journal. If you're a part of an organization or know of one in the communities we serve and would like to be considered as a guest, please make your
[email protected] email officeyjourneyfm.com or call 800-424-9594. The Hometown Journal is a presentation of the Journey. Opinions and views expressed on this program are not necessarily those of the Journey or Liberty University.
