Press room
Personal accounts
Adults' personal accounts
“I’m dyslexic, but I only discovered it when I was 28. No one had ever realized, at home or at school. I was the slow one, not too bright, the useless one... It made me really mad, so mad that as soon as I could I left school. I worked at little jobs, here and there. There I was with two kids, no job, no boyfriend. One day I realized my elder daughter was going to be starting school, and I panicked. I was so scared for her, so afraid she’d do things the way I did… That’s when I plucked up courage and went to a learning centre. I used to go two nights a week. That was three years ago. I got back my self-confidence, and I found confidence in life. I’m still going, but because I like it. It makes me proud. My two girls are at school, and so am I. Often we do our homework together. We help each other out. Next week, I’m starting vocational training. I’m going to have a job, and what’s more, it’ll be a job I’ve chosen myself!”
Geneviève, 32 years old
“I couldn’t learn how to read and write, and when I was 13 I went to work in the forest... I worked hard all my life without any education. That’s how it was in those days, there wasn’t anything dramatic about it. Today, without an education you can’t do much. But when I retired, I made myself a promise: to be able to read stories to my three granddaughters. I’m getting quite good at it after two years of classes. I’m really proud of myself. I may die uneducated, but at least I’ll have learnt how to read...”
André, 70 years old
“I never had any trouble earning a living, and until last year my family lived on what I earned... I had a good job as an operator in a furniture factory. But I lost it, we all lost our jobs when the plant closed down. I couldn’t even fill out an application. I was never any good at that, I left school early, and my wife always looked after that kind of thing. But I had to take control of my life, so last month I started classes. It’s scary to begin with, really scary. But my son and I, we’ve made a deal: I’ll finish my classes, and he’ll finish high school. We’re going to encourage each other. I’m already proud of what we’ve accomplished…”
Stéphane, 38 years old
You can also consult the personal accounts shared by the Info-Alpha and Adult Learnline operators. Each month, they share with visitors to the Web site an account of an especially interesting call they have taken.