Literacy Mid-South Learner Obtains Driver’s License After Ten Years of Attempts

Literacy Mid-South’s Adult Learning Program helps adults to read, but reading just the tip of the iceberg of the services that we provide. For many of our adult learners, learning how to read is one piece to unlocking a larger tapestry of goals. Our learners have many sub-goals, such as obtaining their United States citizenship, getting their GEDs, helping their children with their homework, and even obtaining their drivers’ licenses.

This last goal is especially important. Many of our learners have obligations that require them to move to various locations around the city. Whether it’s picking up children from school, getting to work, or even getting to appointments with their tutors, the ability to drive without having to worry about being in violation of the law is very important. So many of our learners who are able to drive have been unable to obtain their drivers’ licenses despite repeated attempts. For one of our learners, however, getting a drivers’ license is no longer a dream.

According to Literacy Mid-South LaDean S, her learner Osamede O. has been attempting consistently for ten years to obtain her driver’s license. That’s a lot of attempts! Osamaede is a mother who works full time. Her job is not especially close to her home. Without a driver’s license, traveling around the city is especially difficult for Osamede, who is reluctant to drive without the proper credentials for fear of being stopped by the police. But now, Osamede can breathe easy. After ten years of attempts, Osamede now has her Tennessee driver’s license. And  Osamede and LaDean only studied for two weeks before Osamede passed the test!

A large part of this quick turnaround is likely due to Osamede’s familiarity with the driver’s license exam. She was aware of some of the general concepts of the exam, but her problem seemed to be tying the different concepts together. LaDean recognized this as Osamede’s difficulty early on, and developed a focused plan of study that took into account Osamede’s familiarity of the subject matter and adapted it using her own extensive experience with adult education.

These are the kinds of experiences and successes that we work for at Literacy Mid-South. We are always extremely excited to see our learners succeed, because we know that their successes translate to a more fulfilling life for them. We are so proud of Osamede and grateful to LaDean for her dedication to her learner.

Stay tuned to the Literacy Mid-South blog for more information on our programs, developments, and events.