Megan Dulcie Dill, new coordinator at Community Adult Literacy and Learning (CALL), wants to spread the word about the need for adult literacy tutors.
Dulcie Dill took over from Deb Calderon two months ago as coordinator at CALL, an organization providing literacy training for volunteer tutors. With a background in fine arts, she has an understandably creative approach to her new job.
“I am essentially a matchmaker,” said Dulcie Dill. “My job is to match the right tutor with the right learner.”
Ahead of a training session for new tutors starting on November 7, she said she is hoping to raise awareness about the need for volunteer tutors.
“All anyone needs to be a good tutor is to be an interested, community-minded learner,” she said. “We take care of the rest with training and tutor support.”
To meet demand for tutors CALL typically needs between 30 to 50 tutors a year on average, she said. However, as the need for adult literacy training has gone up, the number of tutors available each year has been declining.
According to recent reports from Decoda Literacy Solutions, formerly Literacy BC, British Columbia saw one of the steepest declines in average reading scores over the past decade. With almost 18 per cent of British Columbians on average having low literary proficiency.
Sitting down for tea with long-time tutor Steve Drosdovech, Dulcie Dill discussed the issue of declining volunteerism and the need to develop and respect long-time literacy tutors.
“Volunteer tutors need to be appreciated because they are needed,” she said. “Doctors are respected in the community for that reason and volunteers should be seen the same way.”
Drosdovech, a retired forestry engineer, said he started tutoring off and on 30 years ago just as a way to help people out when they came to him with questions.
“There is a satisfaction in helping someone learn,” he said. “Don’t worry about making a mistake because you learn the most from those mistakes.”
A tutor with CALL for the last year, he said, sociability and trustworthiness are the strongest qualities needed in a good tutor.
“A tutor is someone who holds your hand as you build confidence,” he said. “A tutor is someone you can trust as you learn.”
According to Drosdovech, tutoring is about helping someone learn and gain confidence with knowledge and their own abilities. The first step, he said, is to break information down into digestible pieces and not be afraid to have fun.
“It’s about inspiration,” he said. “You work from what they know and once they have that spark you can have fun and build confidence.”
Tutors often have their expectations and fears about what tutoring is all about, said Dulcie Dill, and tutor training is about giving would be tutors the skills they need.
“We have a tremendous network of tutors here,” said Dulcie Dill.
CALL’s next tutor training session starts at 9 am, Saturday, November 7, at Vancouver Island University Powell River campus. Interested readers can call 604.485.2878 for more information or to register.
