After speaking with the volunteer coordinator at Hawaii Literacy, I decided to request for another student. Since I would really like to begin tutoring and do not really appreciate being stood up for the past two sessions, I decided to give up on my first student. He apparently doesn't want to devote the time to learn to read. This is fine with me.
I was given a new student and met her today for the first time. This should be interesting. She seems very enthusiastic about learning but has a short attention span. She's easily distracted and zones out a lot. I suppose this will be good training for JET as kids are probably very similiar.
We arranged to meet up once a week since we don't live near each other. I hope we're able to have a longer meeting since it's only once a week. However, we'll have to test out her ADHD thing. Maybe she won't be able to focus that long. I'm not sure exactly what's going on with her as far as any learning disabilities. She has a difficult time pronouncing words and even forming thoughts sometimes. I don't know if she was in any kind of accident previously or if this is just biological. We'll see how it goes.
Showing posts with label Hawaii Literacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii Literacy. Show all posts
November 8, 2009
October 15, 2009
Tutoring Update - Face-to-Face with Student
I met my student tonight at Liliha McDonald's. He was running late because of the bus and called several times to let me know. I appreciated that a lot.
Prior to meeting him, I was a little anxious and intimidated especially since he is an ex-con (according to the Hawaii Literacy people). When we did meet, I have to admit that he does look a little indimidating. As with all stereotypes of ex-cons, he's got tattoos on his arms and is pretty built. In my over-active imagination I could picture him snapping someone in two. However, he is also a reverend, which I am sure is not a stereotype of people who have been in jail. Giving in to my suspicious and cynical nature, I just Googled him and found him in a picture on the website of a church. Apparently he really is an ex-con preacher.
Anyway, I also learned that this guy is a former boxer. He said he is a former state champ and now trains other people. He is currently training a 16-year-old girl, who is really good. It's hard to picture a minister and a boxer in the same person, but apprantly they do exist.
We talked for a little over an hour and agreed to meet Mondays and Fridays at 6:30 p.m. He wants to learn to read his minister's manual so he can perform his baptisms, weddings and funerals better. I'm not quite sure how one becomes a minster without being able to read well. But, I suppose God has his chosen people or whatever. I was happy that he didn't go all preachy on me. I think it's enough to be reading his manual. I really don't need to be converted too.
This Sunday is my last tutor class. We're supposed to discuss our meeting with our student. I wonder who other people were assigned. I'm not sure how I feel about tutoring my dude yet. We'll see how things go. On one hand, you can't really hold someone's prior actions or physical appearance against him/her. On the other, it takes a lot for people to change their lives and turn them around. All I can say is, we'll see.
Prior to meeting him, I was a little anxious and intimidated especially since he is an ex-con (according to the Hawaii Literacy people). When we did meet, I have to admit that he does look a little indimidating. As with all stereotypes of ex-cons, he's got tattoos on his arms and is pretty built. In my over-active imagination I could picture him snapping someone in two. However, he is also a reverend, which I am sure is not a stereotype of people who have been in jail. Giving in to my suspicious and cynical nature, I just Googled him and found him in a picture on the website of a church. Apparently he really is an ex-con preacher.
Anyway, I also learned that this guy is a former boxer. He said he is a former state champ and now trains other people. He is currently training a 16-year-old girl, who is really good. It's hard to picture a minister and a boxer in the same person, but apprantly they do exist.
We talked for a little over an hour and agreed to meet Mondays and Fridays at 6:30 p.m. He wants to learn to read his minister's manual so he can perform his baptisms, weddings and funerals better. I'm not quite sure how one becomes a minster without being able to read well. But, I suppose God has his chosen people or whatever. I was happy that he didn't go all preachy on me. I think it's enough to be reading his manual. I really don't need to be converted too.
This Sunday is my last tutor class. We're supposed to discuss our meeting with our student. I wonder who other people were assigned. I'm not sure how I feel about tutoring my dude yet. We'll see how things go. On one hand, you can't really hold someone's prior actions or physical appearance against him/her. On the other, it takes a lot for people to change their lives and turn them around. All I can say is, we'll see.
October 13, 2009
Tutoring Update - Contacted the Student
I contacted my student today, who was assigned to me by Hawaii Literacy. We agreed to meet at McDonalds on Thursday night to get to know each other. We'll see how it goes. The student is an older guy so I'm not sure how he'll react to a younger person tutoring him. I'm not sure this is a right fit, but I'll go in with an open mind and see what happens.
While I'm not at liberty to discuss him at length, I have to admit that I don't really know much about him at this point. I was told that he is an ordained minister and is interested in learning to read the Bible. I'm not sure how he can be a minister and not know how to read. I'll have to ask him about it. He has had some drug issues in the past so I hope they are resolved. I was also told that he has other health problems.
I'm a little intimidated about meeting him, but I guess it should be okay. I don't really feel confident about being a tutor after only four days of training. It all seems so unprofessional. How can you let an untrained person take control of someone else's education? I know we're just helping them to read, but it still seems pretty weird that we're not trained.
While I'm not at liberty to discuss him at length, I have to admit that I don't really know much about him at this point. I was told that he is an ordained minister and is interested in learning to read the Bible. I'm not sure how he can be a minister and not know how to read. I'll have to ask him about it. He has had some drug issues in the past so I hope they are resolved. I was also told that he has other health problems.
I'm a little intimidated about meeting him, but I guess it should be okay. I don't really feel confident about being a tutor after only four days of training. It all seems so unprofessional. How can you let an untrained person take control of someone else's education? I know we're just helping them to read, but it still seems pretty weird that we're not trained.
September 28, 2009
Visian ICL Update
Man, last week was pretty bad in terms of post-Visian surgery. I was experiencing minor headaches on the left side of my head as well as seeing stars in my left eye whenever I'd stand up from a seated position or sit up from a prone position. I found it difficult to look at the computer or read paperwork for long periods of time. My vision would become blurry.
On Friday I called up the doctor's office and asked to move my appointment up from Oct. 2. They scheduled me for Sept. 30. After work, my vision got really bad and it seemed like a gauzy curtain had fallen over my left eye. I could still see but things were obscured by this whiteness. However, when I woke up on Saturday things were fine.
Yesterday after my Hawaii Literacy class, I got home to the same situation. At this point I was pretty freaked out, and of course, started to think about the worst. My headache was back and my eye felt like it was going to pop out. I immediately went to sleep thinking it might be strained somehow and just needed rest. As the night progressed, I decided I'd call the doctor in the morning and see if he could look at it. When I woke up around 5 a.m. though, I saw that my eye was extremely red and the cloudiness was worse!
I panicked and called my dad to see if he could drive me to the hospital since I couldn't really see out of my left eye. I then called the doctor's office, which of course was closed. I called the physician's exchange number, which is an answering service. The rep called me back and told me the doctor said to come in when the office opened at 9 a.m. What the eff man?!?!
So my dad and I waited till about 8:30 a.m. and went into the office. After explaining what happened to the technician, she checked my vision and eye pressure. Next the doctor came in and looked at my eye. He said that because the iris has many layers of cells, he thinks one layer was not cleared out thoroughly and was flapping to and fro blocking the iridotomy (a hole on the outer edge of the iris that allows fluid to flow between the different parts of the eye). When I read, it seems like the flap would close up, causing a build up in pressure. This led to seeing stars and headaches.
After numbing my eye, the doctor tried to clear the pathway with a needle (I assume. I didn't actually see it coming to my eye). I suppose that didn't work well enough for him so we went over to the Surgical Suites and he used a machine to redo the iridotomy. It was basically one of those machines where you stick your chin on the platform and forehead against the bar, then look straight ahead. He aligned the laser, which I could see was a red grid-like thing, and zapped. The zap was really quick but I did feel it. He said afterward that it probably wasn't the laser I was feeling. It was probably the release of all the pressure in my eye.
We went back to his office and he checked out my eye again. He got another needle and made sure the laser got all the extra cells. He upped the number of times I need to do my drops, then retested my eye pressure and vision. I could immediately start to feel my eye getting better. He said the pressure dropped pretty dramatically since it was taken several minutes before. I could also see more of the eye chart after the zap.
Now, about four hours after coming home, my vision is definitely back to normal and clear. My eye aches a little when I move it around but I guess that's from the laser zap. The white part of my eye is still red from the stress I suppose. He said it'd go away eventually. I felt a little nauseated when I got home so I haven't eaten anything. I should be starving as I only had lunch and a Jamba Juice on Sunday and a third of a bagel this morning, but somehow I don't have an appetite. Yes, very odd indeed.
Hopefully this is the last of my adventures with this Visian thing. I didn't go to work today but will probably go in tomorrow. I have a follow-up appointment at 9:45 a.m. It's a wonder that of all the people out there, I'd be the one to experience these issues with Visian. While it's theoretically possible, why does it have to be me?
On Friday I called up the doctor's office and asked to move my appointment up from Oct. 2. They scheduled me for Sept. 30. After work, my vision got really bad and it seemed like a gauzy curtain had fallen over my left eye. I could still see but things were obscured by this whiteness. However, when I woke up on Saturday things were fine.
Yesterday after my Hawaii Literacy class, I got home to the same situation. At this point I was pretty freaked out, and of course, started to think about the worst. My headache was back and my eye felt like it was going to pop out. I immediately went to sleep thinking it might be strained somehow and just needed rest. As the night progressed, I decided I'd call the doctor in the morning and see if he could look at it. When I woke up around 5 a.m. though, I saw that my eye was extremely red and the cloudiness was worse!
I panicked and called my dad to see if he could drive me to the hospital since I couldn't really see out of my left eye. I then called the doctor's office, which of course was closed. I called the physician's exchange number, which is an answering service. The rep called me back and told me the doctor said to come in when the office opened at 9 a.m. What the eff man?!?!
So my dad and I waited till about 8:30 a.m. and went into the office. After explaining what happened to the technician, she checked my vision and eye pressure. Next the doctor came in and looked at my eye. He said that because the iris has many layers of cells, he thinks one layer was not cleared out thoroughly and was flapping to and fro blocking the iridotomy (a hole on the outer edge of the iris that allows fluid to flow between the different parts of the eye). When I read, it seems like the flap would close up, causing a build up in pressure. This led to seeing stars and headaches.
After numbing my eye, the doctor tried to clear the pathway with a needle (I assume. I didn't actually see it coming to my eye). I suppose that didn't work well enough for him so we went over to the Surgical Suites and he used a machine to redo the iridotomy. It was basically one of those machines where you stick your chin on the platform and forehead against the bar, then look straight ahead. He aligned the laser, which I could see was a red grid-like thing, and zapped. The zap was really quick but I did feel it. He said afterward that it probably wasn't the laser I was feeling. It was probably the release of all the pressure in my eye.
We went back to his office and he checked out my eye again. He got another needle and made sure the laser got all the extra cells. He upped the number of times I need to do my drops, then retested my eye pressure and vision. I could immediately start to feel my eye getting better. He said the pressure dropped pretty dramatically since it was taken several minutes before. I could also see more of the eye chart after the zap.
Now, about four hours after coming home, my vision is definitely back to normal and clear. My eye aches a little when I move it around but I guess that's from the laser zap. The white part of my eye is still red from the stress I suppose. He said it'd go away eventually. I felt a little nauseated when I got home so I haven't eaten anything. I should be starving as I only had lunch and a Jamba Juice on Sunday and a third of a bagel this morning, but somehow I don't have an appetite. Yes, very odd indeed.
Hopefully this is the last of my adventures with this Visian thing. I didn't go to work today but will probably go in tomorrow. I have a follow-up appointment at 9:45 a.m. It's a wonder that of all the people out there, I'd be the one to experience these issues with Visian. While it's theoretically possible, why does it have to be me?
September 13, 2009
Hawaii Literacy Orientation
I went to the Hawaii Literacy orientation today, which was held at Barnes & Noble in Ala Moana. It was an informational session for prospective volunteers and is mandatory if you want to become a tutor. It was scheduled to be two hours long but was just a bit more than an hour. Everything was pretty interesting and I'll be contacting them to sign up for the tutor's training classes.
Before you can become a tutor, you have to take four four-hour long classes. I don't think it'll be that bad. Once that's done, they try to match you up with a student (all 18+ years old) who matches your criteria. You can request different things, such as that your student lives near you, your student's age or if you would like a male or female.
I'm also planning to contact Hawaii Literacy about their ESL program, which is separate from their adult literacy program. Maybe that'd be a good one to volunteer at too? The adult literacy program that I'm doing is just that - adults who cannot read or have trouble reading. They all speak English so it's not ESL. The ESL program will be able to expose me to what it is like to teach someone who is not from the US and who may speak only a little English. This will definitely help prep for teaching in Japan if I make it into the JET program (Yes, I realize I keep mentioning this but have yet to really write a post explaining it. I promise to do this soon).
Before you can become a tutor, you have to take four four-hour long classes. I don't think it'll be that bad. Once that's done, they try to match you up with a student (all 18+ years old) who matches your criteria. You can request different things, such as that your student lives near you, your student's age or if you would like a male or female.
I'm also planning to contact Hawaii Literacy about their ESL program, which is separate from their adult literacy program. Maybe that'd be a good one to volunteer at too? The adult literacy program that I'm doing is just that - adults who cannot read or have trouble reading. They all speak English so it's not ESL. The ESL program will be able to expose me to what it is like to teach someone who is not from the US and who may speak only a little English. This will definitely help prep for teaching in Japan if I make it into the JET program (Yes, I realize I keep mentioning this but have yet to really write a post explaining it. I promise to do this soon).
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