Bradley County literacy program celebrates 30 years

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — For 30 years the Learning Center for Adults and Families has been following the maxim “Each One, Teach One.’’

Now Bradley County’s literacy program, known for many years as Opportunity for Adult Reading, is thanking the volunteers and students who have made it possible to reach the three-decade milestone.

“Thousands,” Executive Director Debra Conner said when asked how many people the program has touched.

Some adults enroll to refresh the skills they learned in school, with the goal of getting or moving ahead in a job. Some want to read the Bible. Some want a GED or to be able to help the young people in their lives with homework.

“Helping someone learn to read is a life-changing experience for both the student and the tutor,” said Nancy Lewis, president of the center’s board of directors.

The nation’s first adult literacy movements began after World War II for returning GIs. Educators realized those soldiers who left high school to serve the nation would not go back to a classroom of teenagers.

The current Bradley County program began in 1978. One of the early supporters here was Dorothy Arthington. When Mrs. Conner wrote to thank her for serving, Mrs. Arthington wrote back.

“To me this was as much a service to our Lord as any work in the church. Finally, those adults could read their Bibles — many of them expressed this to their teachers,” she wrote in a letter now on display at the center.

Mrs. Conner said literacy is broader than reading. She cited mathematics as an example.

“Math is your life. Math is your insurance. Math is your money,” she said. “You say you hate math. We say you hate something that hasn’t been explained well to you.’’

The center noticed many adults were signing up for classes so they could help children and grandchildren with their homework. And there are children who have trouble with reading, she said.

“We realized we had to look at both ends of the equation,” Mrs. Conner said, so the center created its own homework help program.

Over the years, all the people who came through the center’s doors have made a difference in the community, Mrs. Conner said. Many volunteers have taught and some joined the staff. Some of the students who learned to read and who obtained or upgraded jobs now contribute to United Way of Bradley County, one of the center’s funding agencies.

The philosophy of “Each One, Teach One,” is a legacy from Dr. Frank Laubach, who brought adult literacy programs to people around the globe in the years before World War II.

That legacy will grow over the years to come, Mrs. Conner said.