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It is never too late to learn to read and write. 

You are never too old to learn.

I left school in 1969 when I was 16 years old.  I got a job in construction and helped out on the family farm. As time passed, I always felt that because of my lack of education, I didn’t have a lot of job choices. It was always my intention to go back to school and get my Grade 12 but as everyone knows, time tends to slip by quickly.

It’s funny how life works out. 

My son had been working with a tutor from READ Saskatoon and I thought maybe they could help me.  My learning began on February 24, 2009.  That is the day that I was matched with my tutor, Joan.  It all began because of READ Saskatoon.

When we started working together, I couldn’t read or write very well.  Joan began to help me put the pieces together. We worked on several job application forms. I thought maybe I could apply for another job after improving my skills. 

Joan and I looked for books in the library for me to read.  They were mostly about horses and motorcycles since those are things I like.  I would read the books out loud to her and she would help me with pronunciation. 

Joan and I kept track of the words that I had trouble with.  We spent quite a bit of time on phonics.  I had forgotten about vowels and Joan helped me with that. Joan would break up words that I couldn’t say into syllables and then I would take them home and practice saying them. We worked on punctuation and sentence structure. 

I also started writing.  Joan said; just write even if it is only a few words.  Now I can write complete sentences.

After a while, I decided that I wanted to get my GED.  We started with the Language Arts and Reading Unit.  From that we moved onto Math.  I am still working towards my GED, but I never would have had a chance to even try if it wasn’t for Joan, and READ Saskatoon.

READ Saskatoon was the only place that could help me.

Every day I am thankful to READ Saskatoon for giving me a chance to learn.