We were so proud to receive this letter of endorsement from Jeffry W. Ferguson. He is chairman of the GED Subgroup of the Maryland Governor’s P-20 Leadership Council. It shows support for our important work.
“I am pleased to report that Pernell Matthews passed the military ASVAB test today with a 34% improvement on his prior score! He now can enlist in his choice of all services and his score opens 5 potential service vocational training programs. Neither of us wants to close the match until we see what his next step will be and if I can help him with his training or enrolling in the Armed Forces University.
I have never had such a hard-working and focused student. He is a gift.”
Tutor Susann Felton
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Our nation mourns the brutal murder of an unarmed black man at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. I recommit myself and the Literacy Council to promoting racial equity and justice. We will continue to work hard to address challenges disproportionately affecting Black and other marginalized county residents through our free reading, writing, math, GED, and English tutoring program for low-income adults, and we welcome your feedback on how we can do better.
Sincerely,
Lisa Vernon, Executive DirectorAnne Arundel County Literacy Council
301-523-6750 (cell)
AACLC has set up a partnership with the Army Recruitment Centers in Annapolis and Glen Burnie to help their applicants pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test; a prerequisite to enlist in the various branches of the Armed Forces including the Coast Guard and Police. Our tutors began preparing these applicants in high-school level Math, Science and English when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, shutting down our meeting locations including libraries and coffee shops. The only option left was to tutor students online.
Despite the shutdown and social distancing rules put in place for everyone’s safety, our volunteers have found ways to continue to help out-of-school adults pursue their dreams and further their education. They have been able to connect with their students once or twice a week to maintain continuity in their tutoring sessions. Video chat platforms such as FaceTime, Zoom or Google Hangouts have worked well to have a face-to-face conversation while homework and online resources are shared via email. GED tutor Susann Felton has begun tutoring her student Pernell Matthews, a young aspiring army recruit, via Zoom three to four times a week. They both have the same ASVAB textbook which makes it easier to communicate and share classwork and homework.
Pernell is very appreciative of the support he is receiving. His goal is to maximize his score to allow the best options when he enlists as soon as the quarantine is lifted. Pernell says, “Distance tutoring via Zoom is allowing me to maintain the pace and improve my knowledge base prior to taking the exam. I needed to brush up my math skills and increase my vocabulary. The discipline of tutoring is assuring both!”
See also Tips for Virtual Tutoring
Tutor Jill Berie
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“Because of social distancing restrictions, I am now using the Zoom format for tutoring my student Brosha. I was worried that it would not work well because Brosha only has access to a Smartphone. But, amazingly, our initial session went very well. In fact, I think this new format may be even better for us. Brosha is more physically comfortable, less self-conscious and more focused.
As a result of Brosha’s increased comfort level, I found I slowed my pace, and increased the complexity of the questions I asked of her.”
BASICS for Zoom:
- Tutor sets up a free Zoom account.
- Student downloads app on phone, or sets up a student with Meeting ID and Password.
- Student joins the meeting.
Note: In a 1:1 meeting, there is no time limit.
(Because my student does not use email, I texted her the Meeting ID and Password.)
There are literally hundreds of online video tutorials for Zoom that would be helpful to tutors. There are also other platforms including Google, Microsoft, Skype, etc. but Zoom seems to be easy to use and has lots of features.
This link might be useful to tutors. https://www.simplykinder.com/
See also Tips for Virtual Tutoring
“I live in Pennsylvania for part of each year. As a result, for the past two years, during the months I’ve been away from Anne Arundel County, my ESL student Maria and I have been doing our lessons virtually.
Our tools and methods have been simple. I have emailed the lessons and homework assignments ahead of class. My student has taken pictures of completed work with her phone, then texted those photos back to me. We have talked about the materials that we’ve exchanged with each other during a weekly two-hour online FaceTime call.
I should also say that my student is accustomed to working with a laptop and smartphone, has a reliable WiFi connection at home, and has basic proficiency with a variety of online applications and tools.
Another lesson learned during this time may be worth sharing with AACLC tutors—now more than ever, it’s important to be resourceful, patient and kind. What a crazy time we are all living through!”
