The gift of literacy

By Mary Alice Garrett

This story originally appeared September 22, 2011 in The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware.

Jack Winn delivers mail by day, but it's his volunteer night job that feeds his soul. For the past 11 years, Winn has taught English to adult international students in Delaware.

"I knew that was my calling," he said, when he heard about Literacy Volunteers Serving Adults/Northern Delaware at a Community Day in Newark. Literacy Volunteers is affiliated with ProLiteracy, an international organization for adult literacy based in Syracuse, N.Y.

Two nights a week Winn, 60, teaches English as a second language, hosts monthly ethnic dinner parties and introduces his students to American pastimes such as baseball.

"I love doing it," Winn says. "It fulfills my soul, and the job of mailman doesn't ... If I could be a teacher, that's what I'd do ... It makes me a happy guy."

It's obvious how happy Winn is when you attend one of his classes. He gestures and smiles easily as he tutors.

At a recent class at the Bear library, there were six students -- all women.

One was from Thailand and five from Colombia. Thai native Oath Peterson, of Newark, has been in Winn's class for two years since moving to Delaware with her American husband. The Colombians are a mother, three adult daughters and the mother's sister, all of whom live in Bear and work in the Wilmington area. They are Gardenia Nino, her daughters Madelin, Alexandra and Andrea Nino, and her sister, Gloria Galindo.

What they all share is a desire to learn conversational and written English. Through homework, testing and classes, they will progress from beginning to intermediate to advanced literacy levels. They're required to speak English at all times, Winn said -- even at social events. Most students stay with Winn for two years.

Winn began his class by asking how everyone had survived Hurricane Irene. All had gotten through it without any problems. He next introduced a unit on "modals" -- auxiliary verbs used to denote the mood of another verb.

Winn gave examples of "can, could, have to, must and might." He went around the table asking each student to complete a sentence using an auxiliary verb. All were able to do it.

Idioms -- expressions peculiar to a language -- followed. Winn also introduced what he calls "baseball English," expressions that sprung from baseball.

"We say President Obama 'hit a homerun' with his speech," Winn said. Other expressions, such as "on the ball," "off your rocker" and "off the record" followed.

Winn had the students go over last week's homework before assigning new homework on "time of day" illustrated with cartoons. He told them to use the vocabulary words in sentences and encouraged them to enlist the help of family members.

Class members got their first look at American professional baseball when Winn took them to a Blue Rocks game this summer. One member, an Arab from Yemen, steadfastly refused to go. At Winn's urging, he went, cheered enthusiastically and ended up loving the game of baseball.

"He was the most serious student I've ever had," said Winn.

"Jack is just delightful," said Cindy Shermeyer, executive director of Literary Volunteers in Northern Delaware. "He's very tuned-in to his learners. He goes outside the box. You can tell his heart is in it."

Another person who admires Winn's dedication is retired educator Jane Wilkie, of the Highlands section of Wilmington.

"Jack is my favorite postman of all times," she said. "After discovering Jack's passion for tutoring English as a second language, I admired him even more."

Wilkie taught English as a second language for 29 years herself at Delaware Technical and Community College and has given Winn some of her favorite textbooks.

Former student Maleny Castano, of Colombia, attended Winn's classes for six years. Later, with Winn's help, she opened a day-care center in Bear. Her operation now is used as a day-care model.

While most of Winn's students are women, some men and couples attend. Winn said women are more prone to seek help with the language -- and other things -- than men.

"As the father of four daughters, I'd better say that," Winn joked.

A native of San Diego, Winn was a professional cook before joining the U.S. Postal Service. He has an associate's degree in social science and studied Spanish for three years. He moved to Delaware with his wife, Michele, with whom he has four daughters. He has four grandchildren.

Winn's class now is held at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Newark from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other classes are held at schools and churches throughout the Wilmington area.

Winn's learners are grateful.

"He's wonderful. It's nice that he does this for us," said Alexandra Nino.

Her aunt agreed.

"He's a very good teacher," said Galindo.