Stuck for Words

There's more to literacy than reading and writing. People need to understand what's happening around them to get what they want out of life, and to be able to participate fully in society.

Stuck for Words, in association with the National Adult Literacy Agency, tells the story of people who have overcome personal difficulties to develop the skills they lost out on, and in doing so have changed their lives forever.

Programme 1

In Programme One, we meet four very different teenagers from Bonnybrook Youthreach in Coolock. Paul, Chantelle and Anthony all struggled in the traditional education system. 17-year-old Julie, a member of the travelling community, had never been to school.

Julie, a member of the travelling community prepares for her wedding. Until her family settled in Dublin three years ago, Julie had never been to school. Her tutors worry that her marriage will mean the end of her education.

15-year-old Anthony was always a 'messer' in school. He used bad behaviour to hide the fact that he couldn't read and write. Youthreach has given him a second chance.

Chantelle (18) originally from Coolock commutes to Bonnybrook Youthreach from Cavan everyday, and says she's learned a lot more than reading and writing. Before she started at the centre, she says she didn't care about anyone or anything. Now she hopes to go on to study beauty therapy at college.

Paul, from Ballymun, has just become an uncle. He spent his years in secondary school clashing with teachers, students and staff, and his mother felt like a constant guest in the Principal's office. Now a Youthreach success story, he wants to continue to better himself and to be a good role model for baby David.

Progamme 2

Tom Flynn, a 57-year-old farmer from East Limerick, left school at 14 without being able to write his own name. For most of his life, Tom created a life that would hide his inability to read, resulting in a life of anxiety and silence. Attending local dances, buying cattle at the mart, and eating out were a source of great fear for Tom, and he rarely went out.

35 years after leaving school, Tom made the brave decision to go to his local adult education centre, parking the car two miles away so that no one would know his business. 8 years on, he's still learning. And he has one big ambition- to sing a full song from a page at the local 'rambling house'.

Programme 3

34-year-old Anita Hopkins, from north inner city Dublin, left school at the age of 12 to work in a sewing factory. She hated school, and the money she made was needed at home.

Three years ago, when her daughter Zoe was born, she decided she needed to learn to read and write. She wanted to be able to read a story, to help with homework, and to do all the things other mothers take for granted. As well as literacy, Anita is now learning computer skills, and will sit Junior Cert Maths in June.

Programme 4

Martin, Tom and Kieran have all had literacy difficulties since leaving school. Tom, a factory worker until the recession hit, got his wife to do all the paperwork in his house. Kieran, a French polisher and small farmer with an ever increasing work-load, tried to avoid it completely. Martin, who works as a carer for his elderly uncle, left school early to get a job, and struggled with spelling.

Last year, each of the men enrolled in adult literacy classes in WordAid, Kilkenny, where they have become close friends. With all three men being hurling fans, they have been set an appropriate challenge- they must attend a Kilkenny match, write a report together, and submit their copy to the Kilkenny People newspaper the following day for inclusion in that week's issue.

Programme 5

Programme 5 features 45-year-old Jackie Finney, a mum of eight from Castletown Co. Meath. Jackie is the eldest of nine, a mum of eight and a grandmother of two. She left school at 14 to work in a factory, and had her first daughter at 19. Sometimes she feels like her whole life has been about changing nappies.

Since plucking up the courage to start a computer course in Navan - she was terrified of computers - Jackie has been using Facebook and Skype to keep in touch with her daughter in Australia. Jackie is now doing courses in Maths and Communications, and has the older kids help her with her homework!

Programme 6

Repairing appliances is John Smith's passion, and his trade, since he left school at 15 almost 40 years ago. So much so that he now teaches a course in repairing your own appliances in Dun Laoghaire College of Further Education. But John has carried a secret along with his toolbox for all those years- his problems with reading and writing.

It was only when a close friend confided in John that he had started literacy classes that John felt he could own up to his own difficulties. These days, as well as teaching, John is learning to improve his reading and writing, and has even joined a book club!