COSTA MESA : Son Begins to Read So She Will Try

It has been 10 years since Renee Tous dropped out of high school because of family problems. She married and had two children but never learned to read. Motivated by her 7-year-old son who is now learning to read, Tous has signed up for the new Literacy Lab at Orange Coast College.

“I feel that if I go to college, it’ll be better for him (her son),” she said. “He’ll have someone who is doing something for herself. It’s something I never had.”

The lab, with touch-screen computers and word processors, is designed for adults. It looks more like an office than a traditional classroom to attract adults who have been away from school for years. The programs also are individually paced.

“It’s all by design,” said lab director Irene Otey. “When we think of reading and writing, they are so basic, but for adults, you have to clothe it in adult terms.”

The programs pick up where the student left off in school, using listening and speaking skills as a way to compensate for the lack of reading and writing skills.

“Adults already have a lot of language skills, but they have gotten it through speaking and listening,” Otey said. “Reading and writing are the most difficult, but anyone who can speak and listen can learn to read and write. A lot of people have basic literacy. They can read things, but they have problems decoding the words.”

Otey, who is a reading specialist and literacy volunteer, hopes that the lab will become a springboard for people who are intimidated by the thought of attending college. She hopes to refer students to the different services on campus, such as the Re-Entry Center, that will help them sign up for more classes or possibly return to school after being away for a number of years.

About $80,000 in private donations paid for the lab, including major funding from the Times Mirror Foundation.

The lab will be the featured attraction Saturday at the Literacy Celebration at Orange Coast College. Sponsored by the Communications Network for Literacy, the event is designed to heighten awareness of literacy problems in Orange County.

According to the organization, there are 450,000 people in Orange County who are functionally illiterate. With money raised at the festival, the Communications Network for Literacy hopes to publicize literacy programs and services in the county and to establish a referral service for these programs.