Volunteer Hours
In March
825
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Volunteer Hours for 2020-2021 School Year
6543
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As spring turns to summer and we head outdoors to enjoy the incredible beauty of the Pacific Northwest, it is important to remember to whom this land belonged long before we arrived.
Land acknowledgements may seem like a new trend, but they've been employed by indigenous people for centuries. As the Duwamish tribe points out on their website: "Land acknowledgement is a traditional custom dating back centuries for many Native communities and nations. For non-Indigenous communities, land acknowledgement is a powerful way of showing respect and honoring the Indigenous Peoples of the land on which we work and live. Acknowledgement is a simple way of resisting the erasure of Indigenous histories and working towards honoring and inviting the truth."
At Literacy Source, we've been working on a land acknowledgement that recognizes the historical ties and incredible stewardship of indigenous people in our region. Here is our land acknowledgement:
Literacy Source acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral land
of the Coast Salish people, the land which touches the shared waters of
all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, Duwamish and
Muckleshoot nations. Indigenous people are still here and continue to
honor and bring light to their lived histories.
We affirm Native American sovereignty and acknowledge the sacrifices
and contributions of Indigenous people of Puget Sound.
We acknowledge the ongoing disparities, racism, and political erasure
they face today and pledge to donate, promote resources, and educate
about the struggles of the Coast Salish tribes.
We raise our hands to honor Chief Seattle’s Duwamish tribe of
Indigenous peoples past, present, and future.
We also recognize that land acknowledgments are but a small part of the process of coming to terms with a bitter history and ongoing injustices towards indigenous people and their land. Literacy Source has developed an action plan for each academic term that supports our pledge and continues the work. This spring term our plan includes:
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Increasing Awareness: We plan to continue to share thought-provoking resources and enhance the Literacy Source Social Justice library with books that reflect the current and historical Native American experience. We are asking for suggestions and donations of fiction and non-fiction books on these topics, especially ones that are accessible to our students. Please contact Cat Howell for more info.
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Supporting Real Rent Duwamish: Because the Duwamish Tribe is yet to be federally acknowledged and thus justly compensated, there is an opportunity for Seattle residents to pay rent to the Duwamish tribe. All proceeds go directly towards the Duwamish Tribal Services (Learn more here).
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One of the things we love most about our community is your willingness to consider other perspectives. Read on to hear an interesting proposal for how to give back to Native American tribes.
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Courageous Conversations: Return the National Parks to the Tribes |
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From the conversations (and legislative momentum) happening around reparations for the enslavement of African Americans to reimagining the landscape to more justly consider its original inhabitants, ideas abound for how our country can rectify some darker aspects of its history. We wanted to share with you an article that considers an interesting option: "Return the National Parks to the Tribes", written in the Atlantic last month by David Truer (also a National Book Award Finalist for his 2019 book The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee and member of the Ojibwe Indian Tribe).
Truer explores a unique yet logical approach for repairing the broken trust between the American government and the tribes that resided on the land before that government existed. In his words:
We live in a time of historical reconsideration, as more and more people
recognize that the sins of the past still haunt the present. For Native
Americans, there can be no better remedy for the theft of land than land.
And for us, no lands are as spiritually significant as the national parks.
They should be returned to us. Indians should tend—and protect and
preserve—these favored gardens again.
At Literacy Source, we believe that all adults can learn and grow, and we believe a critical part of doing that is expanding the conversation to include voices that do not represent the dominant narrative, and considering perspectives outside of our own. We invite you to join us as we continue to engage in the types of courageous conversations that create learning and growth.
Read the full article here.
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Please join Literacy Source volunteers and instructional staff for the next "Tough Topics" Round Table Discussion.
We will be continuing our discussion around some of the hard topics facing everyone in this country and around the world, focusing on how we can create a safe space for dialogue with our students either in the classroom or in tutoring. We will share ideas/strategies and open the discussion up for exploring other content.
Please join us:
Tough Topics #4: Wednesday, May 26th 6:30 - 7:30pm
Hope you can join us!
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Teaching Tip: Addressing Educational Backgrounds in the Classroom
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Kody Janney, ESOL Instructor
Students come to class with so many different backgrounds and different learning styles. These differences take so many forms.
One difference is in the academic background: how much schooling has this student had? You may have classes where backgrounds range from a PhD to no formal schooling at all. The PhD will understand how learning happens in school, but the student with no formal schooling may not have that experience. Not only do they have to learn English, they also have to learn the culture of school. Many of the expectations Americans have may not exist for students from other countries: for instance, the importance of homework, regular attendance, and organizing your papers.
It’s good to set expectations the first week, but do not be surprised if they are not adhered to. Work with students to see how school can be prioritized in their lives, and to fill them in on school norms they may be missing. Also do not assume that your students with college degrees know how to do True/False worksheets and other forms of homework we take for granted. These may not be a part of the learning experience where they came from. Explain all the academic structure to everyone; make no assumptions. Even if the format of a worksheet is familiar, the terms in English may not be: everything is a learning experience.
Another issue is how school is conducted in the countries your students come from. Is it very formal with a great distance between student and teacher? How is respect to the teacher shown? You may have students who, rather than focusing on their own work, are focusing on watching you as an instructor so they can jump up to help. Is group work the norm or is it forbidden? Will a student lose face if they are placed in a lower learning group? In some cultures, the teacher will lose face if the students do poorly, so activities that might be considered cheating in the US are valued, as they ensure that all the students do well. How noisy or quiet is the classroom? In the US, students tend to sneak in quietly when they arrive late. In other cultures, acknowledging each person’s entrance is worth interrupting class for. You may find a brief welcome ends up being less disruptive.
Whereas In the US, there is often an emphasis on independence, other cultures assume more cooperative environments. That can impact how students expect to learn. For instance, it can affect how well table groups work together. In some cultures, learning is all teacher-led. At Literacy Source we emphasize student-led learning, but that might differ from some students’ initial expectations. They may be expecting only lectures and formal tests. These students may find the teaching style at Literacy Source unusual until we explore as a class how and why we employ the methodologies and practices that we do.
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Celebrating a Year of Service |
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We'd like to extend a special thanks to Aiswarya Sasidharan, Jeff Litvak, Jen Hartmann, Rob Tyrrell, Robin Kessler, Rose Hashimoto, and Sara Grimes for reaching one year of service at Literacy Source. Thanks so much for your time and commitment!
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Heartwarming Citizenship Story |
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In lieu of our spotlighting our new citizens for the month (as there are no new citizens this month), we'd like to share with you a story that is sure to make you smile - and who doesn't need a good smile these days!?
Two sisters, T.T. and T.C., demonstrated what we at Literacy Source see on a regular basis: students coming together, from very different geographical locations and backgrounds, to revel in the joy that hard work and accomplishment brings. There was no shortage of challenges for these sisters, but they pressed on.
Read the full story here to find out how they achieved their dream!
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Literary Mixer & Book Recommendations |
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Last night Literacy Source volunteers gathered online to share their love of books and reading at our Spring Literary Mixer. Everyone brought along the name of a book they would recommend and then met in small groups to share and discuss the books. The Literary Mixers are open to all volunteers, and we look forward to our next one in the fall of 2021, hopefully in person! Please check out the books people brought:
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Volunteer: Jodi Forschmiedt
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And a few more!
Hope to see you next time!
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New Volunteer Orientation |
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Please help us spread the word!
Our upcoming New Volunteer Orientation will be on Wednesday, June 2nd at 1pm and 7 pm. We will be conducting orientations via Zoom video conferencing until further notice. Individuals can register online here with their email address to receive the online link on the day of orientation.
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'Malcolm X' Drive-Up Film Showing
Saturday, May 22: Doors open at 7:30pm, film begins at 8:45pm (Museum of Flight, Free)
Join the Northwest African American Museum at the Museum of Flight for a drive-up movie! To continue our Malcolm X Day celebration, we will view Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992) starring Denzel Washington.
The A. Scott Bullitt Lecture In American History Presents Michelle Duster
Tuesday, May 25, 6-7pm: Seattle Public Library (Online, free)
In 1862, Ida B. Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was often overlooked and underestimated—a woman who refused to exit a train car meant for white passengers; a woman brought to light the horrors of lynching in America; a woman who cofounded the NAACP. In 2020, she won a Pulitzer Prize. Hear professor and Wells’s great-granddaughter Michelle Duster, offer a “warm remembrance of a civil rights icon” (Kirkus Reviews). Registration required.
50TH ANNUAL NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL
Thursday, May 27 to Sunday, May 30: NW Folk Life (Online, Free).
Presented by Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the 50th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival will take place online this upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Created in partnership with Seattle Center, the festival features six program channels and a virtual marketplace that will bring together local culture bearers, artists, creatives, sponsors, and merchants on the From Home to Home platform.
The Mixed-Race Identity: Writing to See Ourselves
In Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories, author Donna Miscolta traces the social education that a Mexican American girl receives as she experiences and responds to microaggressions and systemic racism in and out of school. Unfortunately, though Living Color is fiction, many of the incidents depicted in Angie Rubio’s life are inspired or derived from Miscolta’s own girlhood. To further explore the topics of racism, family, and identity, Miscolta participated in a class with Anne Liu Kellor called “Shapeshifting: Reading and Writing the Mixed-Race Experience.” They join us now, along with two other writers from the class, Rebecca Delacruz-Gunderson and Sarah McQuate, to discuss the course and the importance of writing to see ourselves.
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Important Dates and Center Closures |
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Literacy Source's spring term began on Monday, April 12 and will end on June 17. We will be closed for classes in observance of Memorial Day on May 31.
During the COVID-19 Stay at Home period, Literacy Source is open for remote tutoring, online video classes, and online learning programs. Check our website for updates, call 206-782-2050, or email us with specific questions. Click here for answers to frequently asked questions.
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Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? You can access archived newsletters at the bottom of the Volunteer Resources of our webpage.
Missed the Tutor Blog? Here is the latest entry.
Literacy Source recognizes the inherent dignity, equality, and value of every person and strives to create and maintain a learning community that is respectful and welcoming. To foster and maintain a safe and inclusive community of respect, openness, understanding, and civility, it is crucial that students, volunteers, and staff are aware of their rights and options when confronting a discriminatory or bias-related incident. To read more, click here.
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Literacy Source is on the traditional lands of the Duwamish people, and we pay our respect to elders both past and present. To support the revival of Duwamish culture and the vitality of the Duwamish Tribe, please consider signing this petition to federally recognize them, or consider making a donation to Real Rent Duwamish.
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Literacy Source | 206-782-2050 | 3200 NE 125th St. Seattle, WA 98125 | www.literacysource.org |
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