“My interest in reading goes back to high school,” said Linda Rebenstorf, who has been a Project Read tutor since 1988. “A friend was doing some remedial reading. I looked at his book and was horrified. I thought ‘Why would anybody try to read this…I wouldn’t read this, either!’ Linda would remember this as she developed her own ideas about teaching reading which would surface years later.
          Linda was taking graduate classes at San Francisco State, but found she couldn’t continue onward toward her MA. However, her volunteer experience tutoring with Project Read and John Adams Community College caused things to click. “I began taking courses towards the Adult Ed credential. And it was with each step that I became more and more enamored, thinking, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I love to read and wanted to help give others that same opportunity, the same access, same enjoyment.”
          Linda began understanding that “when you teach, you have to learn more than the person being taught.” And she has begun seeing the tutor as facilitator. “You don’t really teach anyone; you help someone learn how to use tools and that’s a big difference.” Reevaluating education in those terms has opened up the possibilities. “It wasn’t just a matter of assigning things—and grading them saying ‘good’ or ‘bad’—but starting to understand this process. It really has been a situation where I have learned so much, and I particularly enjoy working with adults. 
          “Don’t ask your learner to do anything you aren’t willing to do,” said Linda, who is not hesitant to pass on tutoring tips from her own experience. “I heard a teacher say that once. As a result, I’ve begun keeping a reading log, and writing as well. It gives me a greater appreciation. It’s one thing to talk about writing, but then it’s another to actually do it. It reminds me again of some of the writing blocks – the things we all confront when we go through this process. It doesn’t matter what reading level you’re at – we all encounter the same things.”