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:
Clarence Plains 26Ten Community
The Clarence Plains 26Ten Community works to support parents and carers to improve their reading, writing, spelling and maths skills. This gives parents and carers the confidence to support their children’s learning.
Peter's award for adult literacy work
"Every step, that's a step forward. Even if it's two steps forward and one step back, every bit of progress goes toward building that person, and that's just a huge reward to see that."
