"I'm truly honored to be able to fill a need." Repeatedly, Mildred emphasized how exciting it is for her to tutor a learner. As a teacher, she has taught at the Kindergarten level, first year Spanish, second year Latin, English for 9th and 10th grades, and adult basic skills.

"Words are my talent and it is such a pleasure to be able to use them. We can't cure the whole world but, people are coming here because there is something wrong and it needs fixing." Here is the Mansfield Richland County Library Literacy Connection where she enlisted her skills more than four years ago.Mildred shares that these people are successful citizens in our community. Yet they are entrenched in a situation that isolates them. They can not read.

The education system, however, could not always afford to tailor its curriculum to meet the unique needs of these folks and so, for various reasons, they were not able to master reading. Along came Mildred, and with great candor she stated "learning to read simply takes two people and an interesting book." She qualifies this by admitting "tutors need patience, humor, and reading skills, and learners need courage to stick with it." It makes Mildred "feel frustrated that people don't read when they can; we have to prove to them that they can since they have convinced themselves they can't." Mildred admits having been a teacher for so many years lends credibility to her comments and "makes one believable" when sharing thoughts on education and learning. She encourages tutors to freely use their own talents and a program or method that best suits the need of the personalities involved.

She also stated she felt it was critical to match personalities to encourage the development of a good relationship. In essence, she has always been a "tutor." She fondly recalls a 13 year old foster child who carried "big" books around as a facade to disguise her low reading level. Mildred remembers picking up a simple book and reading one paragraph while the young girl cried and then attempted to decipher the second paragraph on her own. This young woman now has 11 college credits to her name. Recently a learner, who has been working with Mildred, shared with her he had been trying for years to put together various alphabet letters he recognized when reviewing the newspaper. After nine months of honest effort, they reached a breakthrough and are now exploring reading for pleasure. He had a will. Mildred had a way. A way of making the process less overwhelming.

It takes time. But for Mildred, the time taken to tutor is a "bonus" and "such a blessing."
Interview by Dorina Miller