Woman uses childhood experiences to teach others English
More than 80 years ago, a little girl started school in Texas.
To say that she was frightened is putting it mildly. She didn't speak or write English, coming from a home where her parents and grandparents spoke only Spanish.
Today, even though that little girl, Lupe Wright, is 89 years old and a mother of three, with 14 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, she has never forgotten how hard it is to learn in a language that you don't understand.
"I had to do it myself, and it was very hard," Wright said.
Consequently, she has made helping others to read and write English a priority in her life, so that they will not have to struggle the way she did.
When Wright was growing up, most of the parents didn't go to college, or even attend high school, severely limiting the types of jobs they could perform.
By helping her pupils learn English, she feels she is helping them get a chance at a better job and improve the quality of their lives.
A resident of Bartlett, Wright has been a volunteer tutor with the Literacy Connection, an affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America, since 1995. The organization trains volunteer tutors to work one-on-one with native born adults who do not read or non-native English speakers who wish to learn the language.
She meets with each of her adult students at the Bartlett library. Testing is done to determine the length of time she spends with each one, but tutoring usually lasts several months.
Wright is working with a young woman of Mexican descent who is married with two children and has only been in this country for a short time. She is very proud of the progress this young mother has made.
"She works very hard, and it makes me feel good to be able to help her," Wright said. "Currently, she works on an assembly line in a factory, but her goal is to learn English so that she can obtain a better job. Her husband works two jobs, and he is also very proud of his wife."
Wright has many other unusual success stories, including tutoring a young woman in her 20s, who was working on her American citizenship.
In addition, Wright is employed part time one or two days a week as a bilingual substitute teacher in nine different Elgin Area School District U-46 schools in Bartlett and Elgin.
Previously, she worked with older students, but enjoys teaching English as a second language for Spanish-speaking children in preschool through third grade.
Wright was employed with Chase Bank (Bank One) in customer service for 12 years. Prior to that, she worked in the export department at Nystrom Publishers.
She and her husband, Raymond, were married for 52 years before he passed away recently. Her husband and family have always been the most important thing in her life, and Wright is especially proud of her two sons, Raymond and Ronald, and her daughter, Rosemary (Timothy) Wester.
She enjoys her ceramic class at the senior center, and Wright and her family travel every year on cruises or to explore points of interest all over Europe.
The Literacy Connection, a nonprofit, community-based organization helping individuals acquire fundamental literacy skills, was organized in 1983. Since that time, hundreds of volunteers have provided many hours of free tutoring service to thousands of students in the 15 communities it serves.
Programs sponsored by the Connection include: Basic Reading, English as a Second Language, Small Group ESL, and The Family Literacy program. A Summer Youth Tutoring program and a Workplace Literacy program is also available.
For information, write to The Literacy Connection, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin, IL 60120, or call (847) 742-6565.
For additional volunteer opportunities throughout the suburbs, call The Volunteer Center, (847) 228-1320; the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, (847) 228-1006 (adults 55 years or better); or visit www.volunteerinfo.net.