John's story
John was inspired to learn to read and write by a grandson who wanted to know his life story.
“When I was in England, I don’t remember going to school.
I immigrated to Tasmania when I was 12 years old and was taken in by Boys Town. At Boys Town, I worked on the farm which I loved. As an adult, I worked as a butcher and a cleaner. I still didn’t know how to read and write, but I was good at lots of other things.
A couple of years ago, my grandson showed interest in hearing about my life story. This inspired me to learn to read and write. So I went to the library and was matched with a volunteer tutor who helped me start learning from a very basic level.
Now, I can read any book fluently. I can now read Agatha Christie novels and books over 600 pages long. I have written some letters to the editor that have been published in the Mercury newspaper. I can now communicate by text message with my tutor and I have also written my life story for my grandson to read! I am now booked into some computing classes so I can use my phone and a computer better.
I am still coming to the library and working on my writing and spelling, but I have improved so much. My tutor has been fantastic and I love being able to read!”
More success stories:
Bluegum Grounds Maintenance - improving safety at work
"I think that the guys have actually bonded a lot better because of their understanding. [They've] not only learned to understand the policies and procedures more, but because of that, they've helped each other, and so the whole atmosphere in the last six months has changed in a very positive way."
TasWater - Get it Written Project
TasWater's 26Ten Workplace Grant project, Get it Written, raised awareness of the need for literacy skills across all levels of the workforce, raised the confidence and lifted the aspirations of workers with low literacy, and built team support amongst people working with those individuals.
