A literacy advocate, esteemed teacher and film producer spoke on the importance of increasing reading and writing proficiency at the Hub for Community Innovation on Thursday evening, Feb. 22.
Partnering with Augusta University’s Paulette P. Harris Literacy Center, located at 631 Chaffee Ave., guest speaker Janet Lee gave an engaging presentation on the Arnie Project.
Sharing the story of Arnie Stewart, Lee explained how an impoverished man, who died in 2012, became a Canadian inspiration by learning to read as an adult.
Navigating bullying and growing up with 11 siblings, Lee said Stewart originated from humble beginnings in the small mining town of Cobalt in Ontario, Canada, and was kicked out of school in fifth grade after missing too many classes.
With a discouraging principal and being told that he would “never amount to anything,” Lee shared how Stewart toured Canada in his adult life and inspired children throughout the country to value education and the gift of reading.
“He ended up touring, and [Stewart] was gold. Anytime he would speak, students would line up,” Lee said. “Every single time, students wanted to talk with him afterwards, get autographs and even started asking for help.”
From mistaking dog food for canned beef to almost causing a fatal car accident as a result of misunderstanding a written road sign, Lee’s presentation highlighted the necessary role literacy holds in day-to-day life outside of academia.
“But it’s hard to find content that readers want to engage with,” Lee said. “So, to teach [Stewart] how to read we asked kids to write him letters, and eventually we had thousands and that’s how [Stewart] learned to read – from their letters.”
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As event attendees shed tears for Stewart’s story, Lee said she heard time and time again how Stewart’s school presentations inspired and saved thousands of children.
“There was a girl once who said she was wearing all black the day [Stewart] spoke to her school, because that was the last day she was going to school. She told us she had planned to give away all her stuff and then go home and kill herself,” Lee said. “But because of [Stewart]’s talk, she said she was inspired and later we both went to her graduation ceremony.”
After being awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award, which is awarded to Canadians who have made outstanding and exemplary contributions to their communities or to Canada as a whole, Lee said Stewart finally felt he found his purpose by sharing his story and helping thousands of struggling children feel seen and valued.
“We also started passing out these ‘Arnie Cards’ to children in schools, so if they needed help with something, all they would have to do is take this out and set it on their desk, or put it on their teacher’s desk or even hand it to someone,” Lee said. “We even had adults start using them.”
Emphasizing the significance of literacy and collaborative efforts to bridge learning gaps, Lee said she was thoroughly shocked at Augusta’s resources to help tackle various students’ educational struggles.
“I’ve never seen anything like this center, and I’ve been teaching literacy for over 25 years,” Lee said. “People are welcomed and represented here, and I have never seen a community come together like this one, so I’m really honored to be here.”
Explaining how Stewart viewed students as life’s “seeds” and “flowers,” Lee said Stewart used to think of himself as a garden “weed” and that – if loved and taught enough – he too could become a blossomed flower.
“[Stewart] would be beaming if he were here today, and he would be so proud of these teachers and the Literacy Center,” she said. “He always called teachers the raindrops that fall on students, who are seeds. He always saw life as a garden of people.”
To continue accomplishing Stewart’s mission of increasing literacy, Lee is currently producing a documentary about Stewart utilizing her entire teaching pension and has recently published a book containing his life story.
“Anytime someone buys the book, I want to take that money and put that back towards the documentary,” she said. “… I’m paying for this because I absolutely believe it can make a difference, and I know there are so many adults flying under the radar.”
In alignment with the Literacy Center’s goal to hold more community events, Director Betsy VanDeusen said she hoped attendees walked away feeling confident about asking for help.
“Bringing community awareness to what it’s like being an adult learner is important, because many people bluff their way through life without knowing how to proficiently read,” said VanDeusen. “… for adults to ask for help we’ve found that they really have to have goals that drive them.”
To VanDeusen, asking for learning assistance in literacy is easier as a child because schools make it a part of students’ routine, whereas adults oftentimes are not encouraged or are even ridiculed for their lack of knowledge.
“It takes courage,” she said.
AU assistant professor Christi Pace, from the College of Education and Human Development, said she and VanDeusen worked together to invite Lee, because both believed Stewart’s story of adult learning could help inspire locals to address their own educational shortcomings.
Following Georgia’s passing of House Bill 538 in April of 2023, which requires the State Board of Education to approve high-quality instructional materials to be used in teaching students from kindergarten to third grade, Pace said reading proficiency is increasingly needed within the state.
“Literacy is such a huge deal now in Georgia,” she said. “… and we know that a parent’s literacy directly affects their child’s. As we know, the literacy rates in Richmond County are struggling a bit, so we have a lot of striving readers.”
By giving families an “Arnie Card,” VanDeusen and Pace hope more locals feel more comfortable with silently asking for help in any educational matter by simply handing the card to an educator.
“There’s often a lot of shame involved and self-taught thoughts of ‘I’m not smart’ or ‘I’m not worthy,’ so if they don’t have to say they need help, hopefully people will be more apt to seek that,” Pace said.
In the future, VanDeusen said the Literacy Center plans on reaching out to local businesses and nonprofits and asking them to display the “Arnie Card” in their windows to help residents find resources.
“That way people will know ‘this is a safe place to ask for help,’” she said.
To find out more about the Arnie Project, visit AlwaysAskForHelp.com
For those interested in learning more about the Literacy Center and its services, visit: https://www.augusta.edu/education/literacy-center/.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education, lifestyle and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
