Omega School holds family literacy event

By Pamela Gates

 
Omega School's family literacy event June 11 featured Trish O'Kane, who taught creative writing at an Alabama state prison for women for three years. O'Kane read from a book that came out of that effort, a collection of her students' best writing, titled "The Right to Remain Silent." Her audience was an extended Omega family, from 4-month-old Aaliyah all the way up to Fred Robinson, who prepares brunch and snacks for staff and students.
At Omega School, literacy is indeed a family affair. Omega offers tutoring in GED and HSED (high school equivalency diplomas) to people who have not earned a high school diploma — for whatever reason. Director Oscar Mireles is a gruff but loving father to these students, who face myriad obstacles to obtaining a diploma. He badgers them when they need it and supports them every other way he can think of: in-house child care, food, bus money, career sessions, and of course dedicated instructors who help them prepare for the five high school-equivalency tests.
"We do everything we can to help the students; some of them can't concentrate when they're hungry," said Robinson, who sat in on the family literacy event with young Julian and Darius vying for his attention.
Sue Krieger, who attended with the young children in her care that day, said severe dyslexia kept her from obtaining a high school diploma until 2005, when she earned it through Omega. She noted that having child care in the building helps the parents — and many Omega students are parents — be relaxed. "These are my kids," she says, pointing to the bright smiling faces in the photos on the walls. "I love taking care of them." And she adds, showing the spirit in which Omega is run: "Oscar helps if we get a lot of kids."
"The Right to Remain Silent" was introduced to Omega School through the Omega Book Club, a group of six to eight students who read a book together and discuss it. Instructor Antoine Vance formed the club to emphasize the importance of reading. "With so many things going on with technology, people lose sight of the importance of reading," he said. "... I target students' interests. The students have pretty much picked out the books."
"The Right to Remain Silent" was the first book the club read this year, and for several it was the first book they'd ever read. "I was so moved by that," said O'Kane. "They loved it and had a lot of questions. I think the written word still has tremendous power ... This book is invaluable."
"The Right to Remain Silent" is an intriguing title for this anthology, a collection of pieces on childhood, kids, love, and dreams lost; humorous pieces; and some from homework assignments. The writers were involved in every step of the process, and they are anything but silent: They even decided to put in their sentences, number of years, and their photographs. Every woman had to agree on whatever the decisions were before the group as a whole would move forward.
"We wanted to show the whole story," O'Kane said. "People are complex; we are all capable of doing terrible things."
Once the women had agreed to be photographed, they made elaborate preparations, as if they were saying: "'We're coming out,'" O'Kane recalled. "I saw the body posture of my students change." This project with creative writers at the Julia Tutwiler State Prison in Alabama, she said, brought her greater satisfaction than being published herself.