Drew County Literacy Council

Aaron Jiang
Aaron Jiang was born and raised in China, where he received an 8^th grade education. He learned very little English while growing up in a rural area of China.

In his early twenties, he came to the United States, spending most of his time working in different Chinese restaurants. He is a hard-working man and he also realizes the importance of learning English. Therefore, he came with his fellow workers to the Drew County Literacy Council a few years ago. He was very shy at that time and it was hard to communicate in English. With a few years of study in our Council, his English has gradually improved. He feels more confident in communicating with us as well as with his customers.

Ginger Sutton

A year ago, he brought his girlfriend, Susan Lian, to our Council to learn English. Susan’s English is better than his. To impress Susan, Aaron is putting more effort on his studies. After 60 hours of English study, his English level has improved from level 0 to level III in Oral Best. He looked so happy when he realized that his English had improved. This will encourage him to continue pursuing his goal of learning to speak better English

Ginger Sutton is a young lady who has been coming to the Drew County Literacy Council for several years now. She came to the literacy council looking for ways to improve her reading, writing, and math skills. She also wanted to obtain her driver’s license so she and her son could have adequate transportation. Despite a few learning difficulties she came to us with a wide array of skills that some of our students have yet to develop. So, naturally we set goals for Ginger that is totally accessible and in full confidence we have no doubt she will accomplish these goals.

Ginger comes from a family atmosphere with multi-generational disabilities, but we hope to lessen that problem with her son. We have given her reading materials that she can read to her son or herself for enjoyment. We feel that she can set an example for the rest of her family members that reading is the key to knowledge. Another thing that has influenced Ginger positively is the way we make learning fun and accessible. She is given many accommodations, which are common with the adults we work with. The one she likes the most is the talking calculator. This devise makes it possible for her to practice her math skills, learn, and have fun all at the same time.

In conclusion, Ginger is fully aware of the up hill battles she has yet to face. However, she has met one of her major goals, she has passed her drivers test. She is now a proud owner of an Arkansas State driver’s license. This major accomplishment shows Ginger that hard work and dedication pays off. All these great things show how the Drew County Literacy Council is striving to help our students and their families take their rightful place in our/their community.    

Danny Miller 

Danny Miller is a 37-year-old gentleman who first came to Drew County Literacy Council three years ago. He comes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and rarely misses. Like most of our students, Danny came to us not knowing how to read or spell. The last grade he completed in school was the ninth. Margaret and Mary immediately started Danny on the Laubach series in order to teach him the basics. He has progressed quite well in the series, as most students do. We taught him to use the calculator and talking dictionary, which makes his life simpler because he no longer has to struggle with the day-to-day tasks that we all take for granted. 

He has achieved a great deal of his goals. For example, one of the major goals that Danny wanted to achieve was to learn how to type and use a computer. We have several donated computers and we were so excited to hear that he wanted to learn. After teaching Danny to turn the computer on and off, we started him on Microsoft Word and had him copy out of the books. He then discovered an educational series we had on the computer, which consists of spelling words, math flash cards and fill-in-the-blank games. He absolutely loves this series of educational games. 

In conclusion, due to the Laubach series and the computer experience, Danny has gone up many grade levels in math and reading. He started with a 217 in math and has nearly doubled that score to a 415. He is also reading remarkably well. In 2005 his score was 160 and now it is 410. These scores show great improvement for Danny and his life has become much easier due to our program.

James and Susan 

James and Susan are a young couple who moved to America from China. They started coming to Drew County Literacy Council several years ago after they constructed a restaurant in Monticello called The Fortune Cookie. When they came to us, they didn’t speak English very well and were having trouble communicating with their customers. Margaret and James welcomed the students with open arms. They taught them by using a lot of materials, such as Rosetta Stone and Arkansas state driving manuals. They also helped them with their citizenship studies. 

For example, one of the major goals that James and Susan wanted to achieve was to learn how to hold a normal conversation with customers. They also wanted to get their citizenship and driver’s licenses. They had very specific goals, as most of our Chinese students do. This, of course, made the tutors very excited. To help them communicate properly we used the Rosetta Stone program. The program contains a lot of interesting ways for the student to learn. We also used a series of materials that replicate the driver’s and citizenship tests. The couple has shown great improvements over the last couple of years with these materials. 

In conclusion, due to the hours of tutoring and practice, James and Susan are now citizens of the United States of America. They are both licensed to drive. They can also communicate with their customers daily. They have accomplished a lot of things due to their hard work and that of their tutor. James, Susan and their children have become a big part of the community because they are so intertwined in the culture of Monticello. They have recently constructed a new house called Q and Y House, and they have bought a new home near the restaurant. This restaurant is one of the finest places in south Arkansas. They should be proud of all of their accomplishments because they really started with nothing.