03 Dec The Hotline says thanks to inspiring adult literacy leader
(In this article, Vanessa Iles, Manager of the Hotline says goodbye and thank you to the wonderful Jill Finch who is finishing up at the Hotline in late December).
I first met Jill in 2014 at a conference after my interest was piqued by the description of her presentation titled Weighing the Pigs: Looking at online LLN assessment. Suspecting this might have something to do with the proverb that weighing a pig doesn’t fatten it, I was intrigued to hear the links she planned to draw between farm animals and LLN assessments.
I was so impressed by Jill’s discussion of the educational and ethical issues around these (at the time) ‘new’ online tools and who benefits from them that I introduced myself. I explained I had recently finished studying my Graduate Diploma in LLN and asked if she would consider being my mentor.
Jill laughed out loud and rolled her eyes. I got the distinct impression that she had thought I was joking when in fact I was being quite earnest.
Fast forward to 2015 and the Reading Writing Hotline was being restructured and reborn to bring qualified literacy and numeracy teachers back to work on the phoneline. It was a brand new team and I was lucky enough to have been offered the role of manager. To my delight, I learned that Jill Finch (and my university lecturer Pamela Osmond) would be working alongside me for the next 3 months as Hotline Project Officers to assist the transition process.
Thrilled was an understatement. Knowing I would have only 3 months, I set about to glean as much knowledge as possible from these two LLN heavyweights.
There are few times in a working life that you have the opportunity to work so closely with someone that is not only incredibly knowledgeable and experienced but also equally generous in sharing their insights.
Jill has taught adult literacy and numeracy for over 40 years and managed teams of teachers during her many years as a Head Teacher at Ultimo TAFE in Sydney. Her experience extended both to TAFE’s adult basic education and to educational support in vocational classrooms. It extended further to teaching literacy and numeracy in many workplaces. These included council outdoor workers affectionately known as ‘the garbos’ and to working with Aboriginal community programs such as Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation. Jill has been past president of the NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council and has overseen adult LN teacher training programs. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of teaching adult literacy and numeracy and more importantly she has the most wonderful way of building trusting relationships with both her students and fellow teachers.
We have now passed a decade working together at the Hotline. In that time, we have written over 100 LLN submissions to various government agencies and departments, including the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Importance of Adult Literacy. We have met with state and federal Skills Ministers, travelled to and presented at conferences around the country and celebrated the Hotline’s 30th Anniversary at the Mint in Sydney last year.
Jill has overseen the Hotline’s extensive resource development, staff development and promotional work. I could not be more thankful that by default (and some very good luck) Jill indeed became that mentor I had sought out all those years ago. I have loved every minute of the ten years we have worked together and have learned an enormous amount – more than I ever thought possible.