Adults learn to read, write at library

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
By Christina Veiga
Special correspondent
September 14, 2008

When he's not spending time mastering chess, Aaron Thomas is at Lauderhill Towne Centre Library learning how to read. Thomas, 29, is one of more than 250 adults learning how to read and write through Each One Teach One, Broward County Library's adult literacy program.

"It's very important to me to try to get an education. It doesn't really matter how old you are, especially living in the United States," said Thomas, a Jamaican native who came to the U.S. when he was 20. But Thomas, a club-level chess player, admits learning wasn't always a priority for him.

Growing up in Jamaica, Thomas never took school seriously. He didn't get along with the other students and would much rather "play around" than learn. "I think it was because I was so young and not understanding the importance of having an education," Thomas said.

That changed three years ago when Thomas decided to join Each One Teach One after deciphering an ad for the program in a local newspaper. Run by the library's Learning Services Department, Each One Teach One matches tutors and students who meet weekly to work one-on-one at their local library.

"By coming here and trying to go and fill out an application and not be able to do it, I decided to try to get in some program where I could be able to learn to read to be able to help myself and move around," Thomas said.

With the help of his tutor Carl Zettelmeyer, Thomas obtained his American citizenship since joining the program. He now can read a newspaper proficiently and is working toward earning his GED, or high school-equivalent diploma. Thomas hopes eventually to become a plumber to make a better living.

"I'm learning as much from him as he's learning from me.

I think of my role as more of a coach than a teacher, so to speak, because he brings a great deal to the situation," said Zettelmeyer, a retired high school English teacher. Reading and writing aren't the only skills Thomas has learned since moving to the U.S. He learned to play chess "by accident" about a year ago.

"I do maintenance and I was walking one day and I looked in the garbage room and I saw some chess pieces and a chess board," Thomas said. "I went to the park, and I asked somebody to teach me to play.

"Now, with an above-average rating of about 1,600, "The people that taught me how to play, they can't beat me right now," Thomas said.Just like chess, learning how to read and write has provided Thomas with newfound skills, confidence and independence. "It's a wide world out there.

Once you learn to read, you could step up — do other things, start a business, do whatever you want to do, go to college. But, you know, you have to take it step by step.

"Anyone interested in joining Each One Teach One should call Broward County Learning Services at 954-625-2820.

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