cheryl turner speaks

Cheryl Turner from Guelph Action Read talks about participating in the Tongues in Trees project:

Tongues in Trees was an outdoor art show at the MacDonald Stewart Art Centre as a part of the Shakespeare - Made in Canada Festival. Dawn Matheson, a multimedia artist and writer living in Guelph, volunteered at a poetry reading that included adult literacy learners from Action Read Guelph and was inspired by the voices speaking their own words and those of famous poets. Dawn and a group of learners worked to reveal Shakespeare as the “artist of and for Everyman, Everywoman” he really is.

Happy harvest weekend.

i can't read

signs of the times

The different ways that Learners Speak is through their voice and through sign language.

It sounds like you want to know what they are saying so that you can put in what you think about it too. You learn what the person is thinking and they learn what you are thinking too.

Minnie doesn't want sympathy she just wants places that you could go for help and medical care.

Jerry wants people to be able to specify what they want to talk about and what they would like to Learn.

I want to be able to talk to different people without being shy and be able to Learn what they want to speak about.

by Sarah Fischer

video for when learners speak

Click on the links below to see the videos:

Early Birds:
Learning is Power

Ontario School Children Speak up for Learning

Charlie Angus asks Chuck Strahl, the Indian Affairs Minister, a question about the school

Attawapiskat School Blog

Week 1:
Creating a Sacred Learning Space

Is Change Possible?

Music and Life

Do schools kills creativity?

Week2:
What would Minnie say?

What does Jerry Lee Miller say?

Week 3:
Bishop Tutu speaks about leadership and dreaming:

Almost all seem to want to see in the leader the attributes that they wish they themselves have: integrity, compassion, gentleness, magnanimity -- the things that make you and I proud to be human, to say, "Ah yes. There are awful things about us, but I realize I am actually made for the transcendent. I am made for goodness. I am made for laughter. I am made for caring. I am made for sharing." And those leaders who somehow embody these things show that it is achievable. Yes, the sky is the limit, and we are meant to reach for the stars and dream God's dream.

Read, watch and listen to more from Bishop Tutu here. The quote above in on page 4 and is the 4th clip down the page.

Working for change in a learning circle
For the full Guide to Learning Circles, click here.

Week 4:
Inviting People to Participate

our stories video and audio

How to make a good story part 1

How to make a good story part 2

Famous people tell their BEST STORY EVER


The Three Little Pigs

Grandma Ri Tells a Snowflake Fairy Story

All the Stories Belong to Anansi the Spider

The legend of Nanabozho

The Sweater by Roch Carrier


Portrait of an Artist

Starry Starry Night

Vincent and the Quilters 1

Vincent and the Quilters 2

Vincent and the Quilters 3

Inspired by the Artist


A son asks his father about his marriage and divorce and marriage

A great-nephew asks his great-uncle about the secret of long life

Debra asks her friend Ed about his best tip ever

A Big Brother and Little Brother ask each other questions

Listen to more stories

Question Generator

Great Questions List


Stories that Drums Tell

The Gumboot Dance

A Dance Story

B-Ball Squad

I enjoyed watching the Learning is Power B-Ball Squad video.

As a tutor I feel that this video sums up everything that literacy programs are all about. They are about the learners.

Learning is Power expresses some real concerns that new learners have when they come to any Adult Learning Centre. They experience anxiety, frustration, nervousness and uncertainty.

The video indicates that adult learners attend for various reasons. Some want to read to their kids and grandkids. They wish to be better able to communicate with family and friends and they also want to be exposed to vocabulary that they may not be familiar with. It is also very important for adult learners to feel comfortable filling out forms and applications. They wish to have a comfort level when dealing with various people and they feel it is very important to express themselves properly.

Learning is one of the best ways to develop your reading, writing, math and social skills. An individual feels very powerful when they can face the world on a daily basis and not be made to feel like they are of no value. Self-esteem is also a very valuable lesson experienced within all Adult Learning Centers. Self-esteem is a very valuable asset in helping people understand what power is and how it can help you maintain a very positive lifestyle.

by Catherine L

My Blog Rubert’s Leap In Reading

My blog is to help other people that can't Read and Write. It may give them the courage to start their own blog or to join my. I talk about, In 2004 I didn't know how to read more than two and three letter words, even those words were hard for me. I didn't even know anything about computer's. To show the people that they are not the only ones out there that can't Read and Write. And remember always keep an open mind for mistakes that is why they put rubbers on the end of Pencils.

The name of my blog is http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/rubertsleapinreading/

by Rubert

my power to learn

The power of Learning is to achieve some goals
that you want to do in life
and there are times when we have to try some new things
like making speech and talking about it to the Pupil
and that is one power of learning

and one of thing is to be able to keep trying to learn how to able to learn how to read words and write them down

and when I saw the video I thought it was good when the learners said that she couldn’t read or write

and also when I watch it I thought we should all have challenges in Literacy to be able upgrade your skills

I would like see more videos on the online courses I feel that it important to watch Video.

I watch a video about secrets
I found very good and it talk about feel good about your so
that was a challenge for me
have you ever heard of secrets

by Ida

a conscientious mind

To develop power is learning to have a conscientious mind and learning by different mindsets.

Through different mindsets is to have a good outlook on your life. Learning is a difficult process to learn through philosophers before you can learn from them. Every day is a process of learning.

by Luke B.

the video

I really like the video. When I first saw it I let as many staff, learners and volunteers know about it as I could. I let them know I thought it was important to watch. I first found out about it on the discussion boards here at Alpha Route.

Since I have known about the video for some time my excitement about it is not as strong. I would like to see courses that would help to develop leadership skills....such as project management 101. I would also like to know how many people challenged with literacy don't vote and see about running a campaign to encourage our peers to vote. I think if more people understood what the referendum vote was really about they would have made sure they voted.

I know I am off topic. This has been a busy week and I am tired.

by Kathryn

the ultimate power

The only power a person needs is over their own life. People lose their power or feel powerless when they do not know what to do or how to do it. By learning they increase their independence and thus their self-confidence. This makes them feel in control over their lives, makes them better able to make decisions that will be positive - enhance their lives. The more you learn the more able you are to make good decisions.

by Ginny H.

to overcome your fear

How I feel about myself - all my life I thought that I was going nowhere. When you can't read very well it puts a big hole in your life. You think that you will never be able to get a job, to support yourself. Since coming back to school I don't feel that way. When you see on paper that you are going ahead, it feels good inside. To have that power, control over what is going to happen. I have always hid that I couldn't read. Now I don't have to pretend that I am someone I'm not. I am not ashamed that I have a hard time reading. I have confidence, the more I learn, the more I have control, and the more I want!

by Julie C.

control and confidence

I feel very good about myself. I can read books on my own. I can drive a car myself to class now. My life has changed a lot better because I can read and write and do some math. I feel good around other people than before because I can do more things with other people than before. I can read books to my niece and help her with her homework at night. Yes, I have more control over my life. I feel more confident in my life. In many ways I feel I will be able to get a better job in the future and make it on my own. So yes I do feel that learning gives you more power over your own life.

by Trevor L.

learning is life long

I feel that learning is life long. You never really stop learning till you have left this world, and even then who knows. My family as always told that I should not be afraid to try new things, because I can't be faulted for trying but it is when I don't try that is wrong. This whole blogging is very scary to me. But I'm trying it.

by Dawn J.

learning 1, 2, ...

Learning is Power 1
I watched the video called "Learning is Power" on http://www.youtube.com/ It is a good video, but it is seventeen minutes long.

Learning is Power 2
I believe that learning is power because of the technology that is out in the market today.

by Shawn T.

learning with new friends

If I was to have a post I would call it learning with new friends .

I've learned a lot since I've been coming to Literacy Alliance of West Nipissing. I'm hoping to become a tutor in Oct.

I love to read stories but some day I hope to write my story of my life.

by Lynn C.

hats off to learning

learning is power because it teaches us to read and write. and the more you know the more that you can teach yourself to read the cat and the hat. again the more you know the more it will help you later in life.

by David M.

b-ball squad

I enjoyed watching the Learning is Power B-Ball Squad video.

As a tutor I feel that this video sums up everything that literacy programs are all about. They are about the learners.

Learning is Power expresses some real concerns that new learners have when they come to any Adult Learning Centre. They experience anxiety, frustration, nervousness and uncertainty.

The video indicates that adult learners attend for various reasons. Some want to read to their kids and grandkids. They wish to be better able to communicate with family and friends and they also want to be exposed to vocabulary that they may not be familiar with. It is also very important for adult learners to feel comfortable filling out forms and applications. They wish to have a comfort level when dealing with various people and they feel it is very important to express themselves properly.

Learning is one of the best ways to develop your reading, writing, math and social skills. An individual feels very powerful when they can face the world on a daily basis and not be made to feel like they are of no value. Self-esteem is also a very valuable lesson experienced within all Adult Learning Centers. Self-esteem is a very valuable asset in helping people understand what power is and how it can help you maintain a very positive lifestyle.

by Catherine L

i'm getting better

I'm getting better on the computer than I was three years ago.
I took a computer course at the Adult Learning Center, then I went to the college and did some more work on the computer.

I'm doing well in my English, Math, spelling, and with my writing.

The more I learn the more powerful I get.

by Jean O.

always learning

Some people have different things they like to learn and some find it a challenge. I think we all faced challenge through are lifetime. Two things I am learning are the following being a parent to my son who is 16 months and another cooking. I know I could have learned cooking but you are always learning everyday no matter what you are doing.

by Joanne N.