Richardson Allen

Fighting to Finish: Personal Storytelling in a Public Library Adult Literacy Program Richardson Allen

The pressure to drop out of adult literacy programs can be extreme for many learners, especially minority learners, trying to cope with personal, family, financial, and health problems. When learners drop out, their volunteer tutors-upon whom many programs depend-may suffer a drop in morale, or worse, may resign. These problems can be a major challenge for many programs. Fighting to Finish presents an innovative, effective, theory based, but tutor friendly method devised to encourage learners' persistence and perseverance, and to strengthen the training, preparation, and retention of tutors. The method employs learners' personal stories or oral histories to develop learners' literacy abilities, to problem solve, and to manage conflict. It enhances learners' determination to achieve their literacy and educational goals. Learners' efforts help tutors become more inspired and motivated, and thus more committed to the program. Fighting to Finish explains and illustrates how this method can be easily adapted by adult literacy programs and used by their volunteer tutors for the benefit of their learners and themselves.