From illiteracy to independence

At just 16, Tyrone Simms dropped out of high school, barely able to read. The now-39-year-old says the struggle with literacy left him deeply self-conscious, often avoiding situations that could expose his challenge.

“When somebody not so efficient in certain stuff dem nuh really put themselves in a way where that would be highlighted so that was pretty much what was done,” he said.

Reflecting on his school years, Simms admits he was simply “passing through” as there wasn’t much pressure or encouragement to take school seriously.

Raised by his grandmother alongside several other children, he said there was little encouragement to focus on academics.

After failing his exit exams at Spanish Town Primary in St Catherine, his mother arranged private tutoring. He later attended Horizon Primary and Junior High, then Innswood High. He spent less than a year at Innswood High School before he and his mother relocated to Kingston, and Simms dropped out of the formal school system.

In Kingston’s Parade Gardens, Simms found work that relied on physical strength rather than academic skill. He depended on friends to write résumés and fill out forms. It wasn’t until he joined a local youth club that his perspective shifted.

“A lot of motivation starts to kick in when mi see certain peers or certain people in my age demographic start express themselves and tek on certain role,” he told The Sunday Gleaner. “Yuh find yuhself motivated and want to attract a certain level of understanding of how to move and navigate.”

This drive led him to the now-defunct Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) – previously JAMAL – which played a key role in helping him become literate. Despite personal struggles such as unemployment and discouragement, he persevered.

Got discouraged

“A lot of times I got discouraged about where my life was at the time. A lot of the times I wasn’t working, and certain things wasn’t looking up, but all mi have fi do was to show up,” he said.

Fifty-year-old Michele has been showing up to the Adult Learning Centres (ALC), a charity run literacy hub, consistently for the past few years. Having never learned to read as a child, she’s now discovering a newfound independence.

“Mi find myself real confident. It coming on. Mi nuh good inna di spelling, but trust mi, mi can help myself,” she shared excitedly.

Though she only completed primary school, Michele considered herself “street smart.” Still, she longed to be “book smart.” Over the years, she often relied on strangers to help her fill out forms.

“Mi always just be truthful. If mi face yuh and yuh give mi a form and mi couldn’t full it out, mi a guh ask yuh fi help mi spell, ‘cause mi not good [at] spelling,” she said.

Her journey took her through various literacy programmes, including JFLL and now the HEART/NSTA Trust’s High School Diploma Equivalency (HSDE) programme, which absorbed JFLL in 2019. But it was at ALC where she experienced the greatest progress – thanks to patient, committed teachers.

“Mi all put wah book inna di bathroom seh every time mi using the bathroom, mi have a book and mi read a paragraph and mi read ‘Dear Pastor’, even if mi miss out some a di word mi wi understand weh di person a write ‘Dear Pastor’ ‘bout,” she said, referencing a popular column in THE STAR.

As her literacy improved, Michele said she also noticed a shift in her behaviour and mindset.

“It help mi so much that mi feel like it mek mi calm,” she stated.

This feel of empowerment through literacy was what inspired ALC, its co-founder attorney Sanya Goffe explained.

The programme, which she operates with her husband Gavin, was initially one of the satellite centres of the JFLL, before breaking off to become a registered charity in 2008.

Its mandate is to provide functional literacy, Goffe stated.

“What we mean by ‘functional’ is: Can you enter a government office or another building and read the signs? Can you navigate daily life? When you collect your change at the shop, do you do if you have proper change, or you are able to help your children with their homework? Can you read you the Bible in church? Can you pick up the newspapers and read the stories yourself?” she shared.

Lacked basic reading and writing skills

A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report in 2015 estimated that more than 161,000 Jamaican males and close to 74,000 females, over the age of 15, were unable to do that as they lacked basic reading and writing skills.

At the time, Jamaica’s literacy rate was 88.1 per cent – a figure that is still widely quoted.

Goffe explained that the centre originally operated at The Church of St Margaret on Old Hope Road in St Andrew as part of the church’s ministry. Classes were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, and when they resumed, they were relocated to Swallowfield Gospel Chapel.

This change of location, coupled with the impact of the pandemic, affected the number of students who turned up for classes, falling from 100 to around 30. However, Goffe stressed that this has no bearing on the quality of lessons taught.

“Our quorum is one, so even if there was just one person in the community, one person in the area who needed to read and write, we open our doors for one,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Her mother, Jackie Young, serves as principal of ALC, along with a team of dedicated volunteers. The centre offers mathematics and English classes at the basic and intermediate levels from a specialised curriculum on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Among ALC’s students is Samora, 43, who left high school unable to read. She described feeling a lingering “shame within myself” – until she decided to change her story.

She started the classes just before the pandemic, and has been going consistently since they resumed.

Now, the company messenger, she is able to read her Bible and write. She is urging adults in a similar position to take the first step.

“I’ll encourage anyone that is in my position, that they should test it out. You’re never too old to learn; it will help you out a lot,” she said.

Goffe, in the meantime is advocating for “more community-based programmes, whether it be set up in community halls or church halls” to address adult illiteracy.

Sharnet Blake-Senior, acting programme director at the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Community and Special Interventions Training, noted that the High School Diploma Equivalency (HSDE) Programme provides learning opportunities for adult learners aged 17 and older, who have either exited or never entered the formal education system.

It is a three-tiered programme consisting of basic – grades 1-6; intermediate – grades 7-9; and proficiency – grades 10-11.

Currently, 5,130 students are enrolled in the programme across the island. They are assessed using the TABE (Tests of Adult Basic Education) Locator Test, which is a preliminary assessment designed to determine the appropriate level of the TABE to administer to each student.

“The programme ranges from six months to three years. Upon successful completion and the attainment of five Caribbean Secondary [Education Certificate] subjects, including mathematics and English, participants are awarded an HSDE diploma, signifying their achievement in the programme. Certification is provided upon completion of the intermediate and advanced tiers of the programme. A statement of competence is issued for the basic level,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com