Walk With Alberto

This week when Katie and I met Alberto we immediately spent some more time working on the computer. He brought his username and password with him so, we were able to show him how to login to a computer and check his e-mails. As he has slowly typing in his username and password to access his e-mails, I could see the excitement in his face. With each letter he typed his smile grew bigger. Then, when his e-mail came up he just froze. I said, "Alberto this is your e-mail" and he responded, "wow so this is what e-mail looks like." I got goose-bumps because it never occurred to me that he had literally never even seen e-mail. Katie and I showed him how to click on each e-mail and delete it if necessary. Katie has to help me remember to point out the basics like selecting an e-mail to open. I forget that Alberto does not know even the simplest tasks and yet to me they are almost instinctual.  He was able to read and comprehend each e-mail with ease. He had a grin from ear to ear as he was learning all of this. Then he said, "this is a lot for me and now I must go home and practice with my kids." I told him that practice makes perfect, we all have to start somewhere, and I was once a beginner too. 

For our next big adventure of the day we went for a walk. Katie and I asked him to show us where he worked. He pointed to an area beyond the Bass Building but, Katie and I did not know exactly what he was talking about. We told him to lead the way. Katie and I both learned something from him! There are graduate apartments about two or three blocks behind the library and another random building that we could not identify. He is in charge of both those areas.  As we walked towards his designated area that he maintains we started to point out things. I would point at a plant and ask him what specifically it was like a bush, hedge, grass, and tree. He knew grass and tree fairly well but he did not know the difference between a hedge and bush. After we got that settled I asked him to identify the different parts of a tree. He did not know what that meant so I showed him what a trunk, branch, and leaf are. We also went over what a sidewalk is and what weeds are. He said that his boss always asks him to get rid of the weeds and he has never known what that means.  

Overall, I think this meeting was extremely successful. I continue to be touched by how eager he is to learn. We covered a lot of new material. Alberto took it all in and was excited to go home and share all his discoveries with his family. It will be interesting to see how much he actually retains. Next week we are going to review the computer some more, go over landscape vocabulary more, and start some citizenship activities.  

Computer Skills

I arrived late to my meeting with Alberto. After searching around the library, I found him and Katie diligently working in the computer lab. Katie had taken him in there to look up some citizenship activities. What she was not expecting to find out was that Alberto had absolutely no idea how to work a computer. He did not know how to turn it on or even how to work the keyboard.  

Katie tried to figure out if he has a username and password to show him what e-mail is. He said he has a password and will bring it next time. They pulled up some citizenship activities and read the Pledge of Allegiance. That is when I got there. They were finishing up their citizenship activity and were getting ready to start typing lessons.  

I googled typing lessons and a lot came up. Alberto was eager to learn how to type even one letter. We did did several different typing games and he was satisfied. I started to get the idea that he was at his saturation limit for the day so, I wrapped the lesson up. We showed him how to turn his computer off. With a bright smile he said, "I cannot wait to go home and show my kids that I can turn on/off a computer!"  

Next week we told him that we would switch up the citizenship activities with vocabulary activities and maybe even go on a walk to point items out. Then come back and go over more basic computer skills. I feel like we are really helping and connecting with Alberto. I am looking forward to next week. 

First day with Alberto

I met with Alberto for the first time this evening. Katie and I went together this time to create a plan. He seemed very eager to meet us and came prepared with a notebook and a basic English textbook he has been using to teach himself. He said that his three children have been helping him learn English. When we started talking I noticed right away that he seems extremely unconfident speaking English. He has only been working at TCU for four months. He previously worked at Chili's for fourteen years. Alberto said he was happy that he decided to work at TCU because it will open up opportunities. 

 Katie and I came to the conclusion that Alberto would get the most out of a mix between building his basic English skills and preparing for his citizenship test. He grew up in Mexico and can apply for citizenship in one year. Along with that he does a lot of horticulture work around TCU so, he is wanting to learn the basic vocabulary that goes along with that.  

Alberto is eager to learn, attentive, and determined. I am looking forward to working with him. For next week I am going to make notecards of basic vocabulary for him to sound out and bring pictures for him to identify objects in. 

Childhood Street

You come to a fork in the road and you take a left facing a quaint street of maybe six houses. This is the place I called home from the time I was seven to fifteen. The first thing you notice when you turn on the street are the oak trees bending over swaying their branches as if they waving hello to you, welcoming you to the neighborhood. The street is lined with unique houses representing different shapes and sizes. The first few are the traditional American house: red brick, dark shutters, and empowering white columns. Then, there are a few beige stucco houses with terracotta-shingled roofs.  Dense trees surround each house creating a sense of mysteriousness.  If you listen closely you can hear the Buffalo Bayou trickling behind the houses. If you get lucky you might even see a bunny hop across the street. The street is quaint, inviting, and holds the majority of my childhood memories.