Barb and I talked about self-esteem and how difficult it is to give proper credit to the importance of self-esteem in a learning situation. "You can measure how many students in your program complete a literacy level but how can you measure the number of students who have made lifetime friends in the program and who have gone on to better things? How can you measure that someone no longer feels like an outcast? How do we tell the government about our field trips and our hot dog sales and the fun we have together? I've seen so many students who have gotten out of a rut and out of a negative way of thinking. That comes from better self-esteem. There are just so many things that go on in the classroom that can't be measured."

"I had one student who had a terrible temper. He had been continually beaten as a child and he was an alcoholic. After 2 years in our program he stopped drinking and joined AA and found a good job as a security guard which he loves. He never reached a full literacy level but he has made some really positive changes in his life and he feels good about who he is. And he has his temper under control; he's not angry with the world anymore."

"The other students in the class were a little afraid of him at first but then he started to make some friends and they helped him too. The students really support each other. They work hard but they also have fun. We've even had two marriages result from friendships in the classroom!"

When I first met Barb a number of years ago she told me that she had been working on her Bachelor of Education Degree. She had a teaching certificate and had taught for a number of years in the public school system but she was determined to gain the appropriate recognition and job security from Red Deer College by having a degree. She completed her coursework over the last four summers, working around the summer plans and holidays of her husband and three children. It was a long haul but Barb is pleased to finally have the degree and is now working on an Adult Education Certificate.

"Someone said to me, 'Now that you have your degree, are you going to go out and get a real job?' The funny thing is, I can't think of any job that is more real than the job I already have. I'm really proud of what I do. I'm more proud of telling people about this job than if I were to say I'm an elementary school teacher. Being a literacy instructor is a good job."

"There are still lots of days where I go home exhausted. But I try to imagine what it would be like to have 30 little Grade one-ers in a class and then I decide it's not so bad. Heck, I don't even have to do recess or lunch duty!"

Mary Norton, then the literacy consultant with the Department of Advanced Education, gave initial direction to Lynn Surgeoner who was the first coordinator of the Red Deer College Literacy Program. Joanne Snyder, first a tutor monitor, was hired as the coordinator when Lynn left to move back to Ontario. Joanne worked for 5 years with the program before taking a position with the John Howard Society in Calgary. Sylvia Brown filled in until a new coordinator, David Thompson, was hired. David later decided to go back to University to further his education and for the past 3 years, the program has been run by Donna Grutter.

Now called the Red Deer College ESL and Literacy Tutor Bank, the program is currently housed at South School, an old elementary school located in the heart of Red Deer and no longer needed by the public school system. The ESL and ABE classes are also located at South School.