Heather came to Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC) because she wanted to be able to help her son Tyler prepare for school. She herself struggled in school, but it wasn’t until 12th grade that she was diagnosed with a learning disability. “It was hard going through life with that disability,” she says. “I knew I had to do something about it.” She began working with a tutor from GPLC on her reading skills.
She has made significant progress in reading and literacy skills. A special moment came when she took her son to the zoo. For the first time in her life, she could read the exhibit signs for her son instead of making up names for the animals as she had done before. She felt that she was no longer “faking it,” and that was a very good feeling. Heather continues to study hard as she prepares for a certification in child care.
Heather is one of 6,000 individuals who benefit from the programs of GPLC each year. As you can see, literacy is about far more than reading. It touches on people’s self-esteem, their parenting skills, their employment status, their ability to interact with their children’s school, their ability to maintain their health, and many other aspects of life. If you know someone who could benefit from GPLC’s programs of adult education, please call 412-661-7323 or visit www.gplc.org.
our children needs us, and if we don’t go there with them in times when they are down, it is just like we are putting ourselves down too. The key is to help our children and be there for them always.
That is so true. It’s great that there are organizations that can help us and help out children.