After retiring from a career in engineering, Phil Swisher didn’t sit still long. His passion for personal connection led him to extend his cheery demeanor to help others as an Oakland Literacy Council (OLC) volunteer tutor.

Since joining OLC, Phil has tutored three students, all who have immigrated to the U.S. from Korea. His two former students have both graduated from OLC’s program!

Phil’s students have shared a common goal – to improve their English in the workplace. But that goal has meant something different for each student, so Phil has tailored his approach to meet each student’s needs.

2020 graduate Jeongmun, who was working in logistics and product control, became more proficient speaking with customers on the phone. Phil helped Jeongmun expand her vocabulary by providing vocabulary lists, practicing reading and summarizing articles, and giving creative writing assignments, including poetry. 2021 graduate Jihyun wanted to improve his formal presentation skills to better show his company’s automotive products to potential customers. Phil and Jihyun spent hours on Zoom rehearsing the presentations. Phil’s current student, Kunwoo, wants to improve his English to socialize more comfortably with coworkers, so Phil and Kunwoo focus on informal conversation and American colloquialisms.

As a tutor, Phil consistently goes above and beyond by creating extensive and individualized lesson plans and unique exercises to help his students build language skills. He designs his lessons around each students’ competency level and goals. Phil keeps personalized binders for each of his students, which contain their lesson plans and pictures of their achievements upon graduating. Jeongmun noted that Phil clearly understood her comprehension level and was able to advise her with whatever she needed. Phil also makes a point of checking in with his students who have graduated.

Tea-ching Words of Wisdom

Phil uses a large swath of resources, including article databases provided by Oakland Literacy Council. His hallmark exercise involves a collection of tags from Salada tea bags. Each tea bag features “Words of Wisdom.”  At the end of each session, students pick a tea bag. These special messages advance students’ reading, listening, writing, and comprehension skills and have the added benefit of some sage advice! (Phil also compiles posters on the computer that feature his students’ favorite Salada Tea Words of Wisdom.)

Despite his obvious passion for teaching and glowing reviews from his students, Phil is incredibly humble about his role, often downplaying his talent as a tutor. Phil prefers to highlight his students’ hard work and notes that, “Students don’t realize how good their English is!” Additionally, he maintains an open-minded approach to teaching his students and appreciates the opportunity to learn from them in return.

Bloomfield Hills, MI – Oakland Literacy Council announces the recent appointments of two new members to its board of directors. Joining the board are Shelley Taub and Damany Head.

“Our new board members bring to our organization valuable government and business expertise and belief in the power of literacy to advance communities,” says Lisa Machesky, Executive Director.

“We are fortunate to have Shelley, a longtime education advocate with 28 years serving in state and county government, and Damany, an entrepreneur and Pontiac business leader, to provide guidance and connect us to vital resources as we grow to meet the enormous need for adult literacy services in Oakland County.”

Shelley Taub was elected twice as Oakland County Commissioner, serving a total of 20 years until retiring in 2020. She also served one term as State of Michigan Representative. A former teacher, Shelley believes, “if you can ready, you can do anything.” As a member of the Oakland County Library Board, she worked to secure government funding for adult literacy. As a board member, Shelley wants to help open new sources of government and foundation funding.  Shelley graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and completed post-graduate work in education, business, and medical management at the University of Kansas and University of Missouri.

Damany Head is the principal owner of Essential Recycling, a Pontiac-based business that provides recycling services to the HVAC industry. He has served over six years as chair of the Pontiac Regional Chamber. He is committed to economic development in Pontiac and increasing the per capita income of Pontiac residents. Damany believes that workforce development and breaking the cycle of illiteracy in families is essential. “Oakland Literacy really focuses on adults and young adults in Pontiac. I think that’s really critical – to think about the forwarding of educational outcomes though the ongoing education of adults and the community.”  Damany graduated from Ohio Northern University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

We are currently looking for a full-time student coordinator, find the job posting here:  studentcoordinatorjobdescriptionjuly2021

 

Thank You for shopping at Leon & Lulu, a portion of your purchase on August 1, 2021, went to the Oakland Literacy Council. The Oakland Literacy Council is the only organization dedicated solely to ending adult illiteracy in Oakland County.

Want to know more?

Watch our video:

https://youtu.be/glqK6Gc1nfI

Want to volunteer?

Become a tutor:

https://www.oaklandliteracy.com/become-a-tutor/

Want to brush up on your math, reading, English language, or digital literacy skills?

Become a student:

https://www.oaklandliteracy.com/become-a-student/

Want to invest in our work?

Donate:

https://www.oaklandliteracy.com/donate/

Come to our fall fundraising dinner:

https://www.oaklandliteracy.com/exlibris2021

Jiyeon wants to learn to play golf. Jeehye recommends trying snowshoeing. Mikyeong plays classical guitar. Sungyun loves sudoku. And Phyllis, who facilitates this conversation group of Korean women, makes a fabulous artisan bread!

Want to find out more? Just read their blog HERE. 

Phyllis White started the conversation group in early 2020. A tutor since 2018, she found that regardless of her ESL students’ different skill levels and learning styles, their overall goal was similar. She explains, “They are here with their family. They want to be able to integrate into the community and communicate.” For Phyllis, starting a conversation group was a natural next step.

The group bonded quickly. While their English language skills vary, they can help each other since they all speak Korean. They feel a commitment to each other. When one group member could no longer meet during school hours because her children were  in virtual school at home, they began meeting later in the day for what became “happy hour.” (Phyllis, who owned a graphic design business for ten years, even created a happy hour logo!)

As the year went on, Phyllis was looking for new ways to keep the group engaged online. She was finding it challenging because each student has a different technology system and a different skill level with technology. She found Google Workplace, which has been a platform they can all use. Phyllis guided the group through the Google platform until they were set up and ready to blog.

Students post their stories and picture on the blog, based on a prompt given by Phyllis. They also comment on each other’s posts, which provides more practice with writing and conversation. The blog also includes a group calendar and study materials.

Phyllis has enjoyed harnessing her creative skills into the blog. It has become a special “place’ for the group during this busy and complicated year. “The website has really helped us take a moment for us and connect and go from all the work to the fun.”

Phyllis is thrilled about the positive response from the students. Mikyeong says the blog is a “very, very great experience” and “she [Phyllis] encourages me always.” Sungyun agrees. “I have many stories. I want to share my story.”

Sungyun sums up the group best. “We are very synergy.”