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Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2000 18:01:13 -0500 (EST)
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From: Bonnie Odiorne <bodiorne@erols.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:905] Re: Time constraints
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I am very grateful for all of you who expressed yourselves so eloquently
about "Time constraints." I have "volunteer" not as my middle name, but
in the title of my organization: I am Program Director for the Literacy
Volunteers of America affiliate in Waterbury, CT. My job includes
scheduling and advertising tutor trainings, writing a monthly tutor
newsletter, matching tutors and students, keeping track of tutor and
student status, doing IPIs for students I have assessed, and for tutors
and students who request them, follow-ups on matches. I also design and
very often conduct our tutor training modules, which is considered to be
a "volunteer" position; when our primary base of education service
delivery is volunteers, I see this as one of my most important
functions, and this is where I'm doing the most work with integrating
EFF into trainings, as well as trying to communicate it to more
experienced tutors, so that it can percolate to our students. In time we
can work at the organizational level directly with students, but that
would require even more volunteers....
I am at present working on a grant that would have EFF as the basis
for content, standards, and outcome management. And I, too, spend my
"free" time reading listserves, downloading material others have
suggested, reading professionally, and feeling sometimes very sorry for
myself. But, yes, we do it for love. Money or time would be nice,
because that would be more than just financial, but a valuing of what we
do as important and essential to effectuating change and progress for
our volunteers who give their time, and our students who would otherwise
fall through the cracks (and often do, anyway). I, too, strive for a
healthy balance that includes self care, meditation, and purely
frivolous reading. Without that I would be truly ready to be carted
away. I've come from an academic background where, even though having
been paid well for a relatively small course load, with time for
committee work, advising, and research/writing, I found that I wasn't
reaching out to the community, or rather, to a very small, select
community in a rarefied atmosphere. I now have stronger community roots
than ever before, feel at least once every day that what I'm doing is
worthwhile, and try to live with the other times when work seems
thankless and fatiguing. I am just beginning to understand the scope of
the work I do, and I've been in the field almost six years now. But I
can't think of a better second career, and am grateful that there are so
many of you out there who offer your support, your expertise, and your
best practices, with a generosity that would put other professions to
shame. We want to be the best professionals we know how to be, the best
people we can be, so that our students, our tutors, and community will
receive (most of the time) our best efforts. Every profession that's
worth it demands work on our "own" time; the problem is, other
professions get more pay and benefits and prestige. But we weren't all
born for fame and glory. Doing our bit, and doing it well, and learning
all we can (Thank God for the internet, which makes that part so much
easier) touches more lives than our own. We must hold onto that, and
continue this ethos of sharing without which a community of learning
would not exist. Thanks for being honest about the time we spend on our
work. And thank you all for being out there.
Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D.
Program Director
LVA-Greater Waterbury, CT
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<html>
I am very grateful for all of you who expressed yourselves so eloquently
about "Time constraints." I have "volunteer" not as my middle name, but
in the title of my organization: I am Program Director for the Literacy
Volunteers of America affiliate in Waterbury, CT. My job includes scheduling
and advertising tutor trainings, writing a monthly tutor newsletter, matching
tutors and students, keeping track of tutor and student status, doing IPIs
for students I have assessed, and for tutors and students who request them,
follow-ups on matches. I also design and very often conduct our tutor training
modules, which is considered to be a "volunteer" position; when our primary
base of education service delivery is volunteers, I see this as one of
my most important functions, and this is where I'm doing the most work
with integrating EFF into trainings, as well as trying to communicate it
to more experienced tutors, so that it can percolate to our students. In
time we can work at the organizational level directly with students, but
that would require even more volunteers....
<br> I am at present working on a grant that would have
EFF as the basis for content, standards, and outcome management. And I,
too, spend my "free" time reading listserves, downloading material others
have suggested, reading professionally, and feeling sometimes very sorry
for myself. But, yes, we do it for love. Money or time would be nice, because
that would be more than just financial, but a valuing of what we do as
important and essential to effectuating change and progress for our volunteers
who give their time, and our students who would otherwise fall through
the cracks (and often do, anyway). I, too, strive for a healthy balance
that includes self care, meditation, and purely frivolous reading. Without
that I would be truly ready to be carted away. I've come from an academic
background where, even though having been paid well for a relatively small
course load, with time for committee work, advising, and research/writing,
I found that I wasn't reaching out to the community, or rather, to a very
small, select community in a rarefied atmosphere. I now have stronger community
roots than ever before, feel at least once every day that what I'm doing
is worthwhile, and try to live with the other times when work seems thankless
and fatiguing. I am just beginning to understand the scope of the work
I do, and I've been in the field almost six years now. But I can't think
of a better second career, and am grateful that there are so many of you
out there who offer your support, your expertise, and your best practices,
with a generosity that would put other professions to shame. We want to
be the best professionals we know how to be, the best <i>people we can
be</i>, so that our students, our tutors, and community will receive (most
of the time) our best efforts. <i>Every</i> profession that's worth it
demands work on our "own" time; the problem is, other professions get more
pay and benefits and prestige. But we weren't all born for fame and glory.
Doing our bit, and doing it well, and learning all we can (Thank God for
the internet, which makes that part so much easier) touches more lives
than our own. We must hold onto that, and continue this ethos of sharing
without which a community of learning would not exist. Thanks for being
honest about the time we spend on our work. And thank you all for being
out there.
<br>Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D.
<br>Program Director
<br>LVA-Greater Waterbury, CT</html>
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