"The first thing that needs to be done -- and this is one of the things that This City Reads is attempting to do -- is a recognition that there's such a huge literacy need. It astounded me that in our day and age, in Akron, 24 percent of adults function at the lowest literacy level, which means that they can't find a street name on a map, they can't read the medicine tablets, they can't go shopping and find things."
Ukraine RPCV Kolter Kiess is Family literacy coordinator in Akron
Family literacy coordinator happy to help this city read
Kolter Kiess discusses importance of words
By David Giffels
Beacon Journal staff writer
One-fourth of adults in Akron can't read well enough to follow this article.
Kolter Kiess didn't know that when he returned from teaching English with the Peace Corps two years ago. Nor did he know he'd soon be on a mission to improve it.
All he knew was he needed a job.
A chance meeting prompted by a 2004 This City Reads event at an Aeros game turned into a career move. After volunteering as a tutor, the 27-year-old Cuyahoga Falls resident is now a paid coordinator with Project: LEARN of Summit County, which focuses on improving adults' reading skills.
As This City Reads, the wide-ranging local literacy initiative, prepares for Wednesday's annual day of reading, Kiess gave a battlefield report on the war against illiteracy.
Q: Describe the kind of work you do here.
A: I am family literacy coordinator. Essentially, I focus on families learning together. Now, family doesn't just mean parents; it can be brothers, sisters, grandmothers, children -- everyone contributes to the family learning process. A lot of our (adult) students are a great role model for their children.
Q: Do you deal with families where the children have a higher reading level than the parents do?
A: I would say, yeah.
Q: What does that do to a family?
A: (One) student that I've taught, her kids didn't know she couldn't read. Now, there's many things that people do. They say, ``Oh, I forgot my glasses,'' or, ``Read this letter to me while I'm cooking dinner so I can get this stuff done.''
A lot of our students become almost ingenious in getting around the concept of reading. There have been students who, their children never knew. I asked this student, and she said, ``Well, they always knew something was wrong, they just didn't know what.''
Q: How does life change for an adult who's never known how to read properly before?
A: A student of mine, she was explaining to me something I never thought about: driving, if you can't read.
When she started coming to Project: LEARN, she couldn't read at all. She lived in Kent, and (her husband) drove her here, like, 20 times so she would memorize the turns. Because if you can't read the road signs, you don't know how to get there.
And she said to me, ``Kolter, I want you to know something -- I drove here today.... Not only did I drive here, but I drove on the highway.'' It was a moment in her life where she could finally do it. That empowered her so much. She read the signs and she got here on her own.
Q: How does somebody get to middle age without ever having learned to read?
A: One, I would say there's a level of personal responsibility. Whether at the time they didn't value education, so they didn't work so hard in school. Whether the public education system failed them in some way. I'm not blaming it on the public education system, but there are people who slip through the cracks.
Whether they were just passed on because no one wants to fail a student or there are some students who -- we don't diagnose learning disabilities, but you know there's something that's holding them back. And there are social issues.
Some of our students are, like, ``I was on a plantation. Education wasn't an opportunity for me.''
Q: What could Akron be doing better to serve people with literacy needs?
A: The first thing that needs to be done -- and this is one of the things that This City Reads is attempting to do -- is a recognition that there's such a huge literacy need.
It astounded me that in our day and age, in Akron, 24 percent of adults function at the lowest literacy level, which means that they can't find a street name on a map, they can't read the medicine tablets, they can't go shopping and find things.
I think people really want to help people. And if more people knew the actual need that people have, then a lot more people would get involved.
Q: This City Reads has a goal of making Akron the ``reading capital of the world.'' From your perspective, what would it take to claim that title?
A: A huge collaborative community effort to help people who need help to read themselves.... If everyone spent two hours a week helping someone else, how much better of a world could we be in?
To help with Project: LEARN with tutoring, fundraising or other ways, call 330-434-9461. Reach David Giffels at 330-996-3572 ordgiffels@thebeaconjournal.com.
