An Exchange with a Friend Regarding Reading Instruction for an Adult

I am sharing the following exchange, typical of many requests that I get daily from people of all ages, from the K-12 years, college and university settings, and living in the adult workaday world---  all seeking academic help that they are not getting or did not get while attending public schools.  While I get these requests from across the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area, and even beyond, most of my students are currently attending in the Minneapolis Public Schools---  or are adults who attended (many even graduated) from those schools without getting anything resembling a decent education.


Here is the exchange:


Hi Gary.


I have a client in need of help improving his reading skills. 


Do you guys handle that at New Salem, and if so what days and times? 


Please advise at your earliest convenience. 


Thanks a lot,


[Your Brother at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church].




February 3, 2016




To [My Brother at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church]---


I was happy to have your email.


Your client should start attending Tuesday Tutoring at New Salem, held every Tuesday evening. We start at 6:00 PM and go until 7:30 PM on most Tuesdays. The exception is the second Tuesday of the month, on which we start at 6:30 PM and go until 8:00 PM. This latter schedule will be the one to follow next Tuesday, February 9th.


The reason for the later start on the second Tuesday of the month is to allow me time to make Public Comment at the meeting of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education before buzzing over to the church to run the tutoring program.


So I'll be looking for your client next Tuesday at 6:30 PM.


If your client needs more intense personal help, I'll do what I can to work him into one of the 17 small-group academic sessions that I teach each week.  I run two or three sessions each day of the week, after school, in the evenings;  all day Saturday (up to five different academic sessions on Saturday);  and after church on Sunday. 


You'll need to give your client lots of encouragement, and so will I. Catching up on reading is a daunting prospect for an adult who was disserved by our terrible public schools (not just in Minneapolis, but across the nation)--- the reason for many of my efforts in agitating for big change in the way the Minneapolis Public Schools are run.   In case of folks such as your client, they tend to get discouraged with the slow progress that necessarily is the reality when people are far behind because of abuse by the public school system and because, by definition, they are largely nonreaders due to ability and habit.


But I thrive on such challenges and will do everything that I can to help your client to succeed.


You would likely enjoy my interview with Minneapolis Public Schools Office of Black Male Achievement Director Michael Walker, seen on my show, The K-12 Revolution with Dr. Gary Marvin Davison on MTN Channel 17.


You are only able to see the show in real time at 6:00 PM every Wednesday, either on television or live streaming at http://www.mtn.org/on_air/channel-17-webstream.  The show featuring Michael Walker is this evening (February 3rd), accessed as indicated, either on television or live streaming at the website. 



Be blessed, my brother--


Gary


Gary Marvin Davison, Ph. D.
Director, New Salem Educational Initiative