
DATE: Thursday, October 9, 1997             TAG: 9710090501

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL  

SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   89 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: * In a story Thursday about the Suffolk Literacy Council, the names of Jerry Parker and Baker Parker were incorrect in a photo caption. Correction published Friday, October 10, 1997. * SUFFOLK READING TUTORS CONNECT WORDS, PEOPLE

Jerry Parker always wanted to know how the Dick and Jane stories of elementary school turned out.

And he often wondered what was new on the company bulletin board.

Daily specials at restaurants? He could only guess.

Until three years ago, Parker was among an estimated 450,000 Virginians unable to read and write at a functional level.

In December 1994, his world changed. Matched with a tutor through the Suffolk Literacy Council, he began learning to read - ``the best Christmas present I've ever had.''

The literacy agency, celebrating its 10th year, has helped about 200 people gain reading, writing and math skills through one-on-one instruction by volunteer tutors trained by the council.

Last week, Parker, 51, was the featured speaker for the council's anniversary luncheon.

The council estimates that 12,000 people in Suffolk fall below the level of functional literacy, which continually rises as more technology is introduced into daily life.

Parker's school days were a nightmare. While his learning difficulties today might be diagnosed as dyslexic or suffering from attention deficit disorder, 40 years ago he was labeled as slow and relegated to the back of the classroom with crayons and paper while the rest of his class met in reading groups.

To compensate, Parker developed a photographic memory, mentally storing information that other students were writing in their notebooks.

There was little encouragement at home, where his father also was illiterate, so Parker shouldered his embarrassing secret alone. He answered schoolyard teasing by turning into a bully. As a teen-ager, he dated girls from out of town.

``When you are labeled, especially in a small town like Suffolk, it is very hard to shake,'' he said. ``Many a night I sat on the back porch and cried.''

By ninth grade at Suffolk High School, Parker had repeated several grades. He left school and went to work.

With ingenious ways to hide his illiteracy, Parker successfully held jobs that paid well. Using a tape recorder and cue cards coded by his wife, Shirley, he worked for one firm for 16 years before his illiteracy was discovered.

He was a press operator for a printing company, a general contractor and a maintenance supervisor for Holly Waste Management, where he was named employee of the year.

Parker now works in the utilities department with Waste Management of Hampton Roads.

It was his former employer, Dan Holly, who recognized Parker's abilities and encouraged him to contact the literacy council.

After an evaluation interview, Parker was matched with his tutor - former classmate Baker Parker.

``We are not related but have become blood brothers through the last three years of tutoring,'' Baker Parker, 51, said. ``The chemistry has been very strong, with lots of mutual respect.''

Baker Parker, a self-employed marketing specialist, and Jerry Parker meet every Tuesday to work their way through books provided by the literacy council and whatever other materials fit their needs, including television listings and menus.

The Suffolk Literacy Council is a nonprofit group supported primarily by grants and donations.

Although more than 200 tutors have been trained over the last decade, a continuing supply of new tutors is necessary to provide free, confidential tutoring if the program is to impact the city's illiteracy rate.

``We have all success stories here,'' March said. ``Anyone who is taught to read anything where they could not read at all before is a success.'' MEMO: For more information about the SUffolk Literacy Council, 216 N.

Main St., Suffolk, call 539-1524. ILLUSTRATION: Jerry Parker, left, works with Baker Parker, a Suffolk

literacy tutor, outside the Suffolk Christian Church. The Bakers

are former classmates where Jerry Baker used to be teased for his

inability to read. Jerry Baker used creative ways to hide his

illiteracy for over 16 years. The literary council is in its 10th

year.

MICHEAL KESTNER

The Virginian-Pilot