Many people have come and gone in the literacy field over the years. There are even a surprising number of people who were interviewed for Opening Doors who are no longer in the same position they were at the time of our interview. What happens to people when they leave the literacy field? Why did they choose to leave?Where do they go from here?
To compile the information for this Reflection I went through some old mailing lists and sent letters out to a number of people I knew had left the field within the past few years. Their responses confirmed my suspicion that we do not "lose" people once they leave literacy, we as a society continue to benefit from (hem. The knowledge they gained in their literacy work stays with them, continuing to enrich their lives and the lives of others. I was going to title this chapter "Life After Literacy" but changed it to "Life And Literacy" after listening to the stories of the people who responded to my letter.
While KATHY PICKETT was working part-time as the literacy coordinator in Athabasca she was also working part-time for the Town Office as the accounting clerk. When Administration offered her a full-time accounting job she made the difficult decision to give up her literacy job. She has however managed to stay closely involved with the literacy program by serving on the program advisory board and by tutoring a student.
"I never really left literacy. I'm still involved in lots of areas and I still have a lot of knowledge that I continue to share with the new coordinator. Most of my training goes back to R2P2 and I'm still using that training. It's important to me to help the new coordinator and give her support with her efforts in whatever way I can. I'm still hooked on the whole thing and I don't think that will ever change."
I worked with LORNA ALLEN when she was hired as a Resource Person for the LCA R2P2 Project 3 years ago. She decided to go back to school to complete a certificate at the University of Alberta to teach English as a Second Language. "I don't really feel that I have left literacy," she told me on the telephone, "but I'm certainly finding that the job opportunities in the area are minimal. It's hard to stay in the field even if you are wanting to." Loma is now teaching ESL classes for English Language Professionals.
It was a great disappointment to JOANNE ROWLAND when she was told that the position she held in Cold Lake as coordinator of the LEARN Program was to be part of an administrative shuffle which would result in her position being moved to the Lloydminster Campus of Lakeland College. Relocation was not an option for her at that time.
Joanne is now working with Social Services in Bonnyville. She had been involved in social work before but "now I'm very aware of the forms that need to be filled out and how difficult they are to read for most people. I offer to help people instead of just giving them the forms to fill out on their own. I have a lot more understanding and awareness now."