Sandy McKay has a BA in Political Studies from Otago University. After raising three children and working at various part time jobs she joined Literacy Aotearoa in 2006 to train as a tutor. She has her CALT level 5 along with several adult teaching papers from Dunedin College of Education.

Sandy's experience at Literacy Aotearoa includes:

• Workplace Literacy
• Targeted workplace literacy
• Health and Well-Being Course
• Speaking Confidently
• Drivers Licence tutoring
• Creative writing and book binding
• Volunteer tutoring

She also works as a writer and is the author of more than 15 books for children. Sandy's passion for writing combines with her passion for teaching adults. As well as writing books for children of all ages she has also worked as a freelance writer and for 13 years published a regular humorous column in Kiwi Parent magazine.

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'I started writing for children after sensing a need for good, easy to read NZ fiction. I wanted to write stories that were fun, realistic and written in a straight forward, humorous way. This is still the criteria that drives my writing.'

She has written stories for older children with reading difficulties and sometimes uses her own books in tutoring adults. Many of her books work well for both adults and children. Sandy believes that some people think more visually than others and for these people the written word is difficult. In my opinion, good writing shouldn't be too clever or unnecessarily complex.'

Sandy enjoys teaching others the basics of good writing.

'It's rewarding to see students gain an understanding of basic spelling and grammar. Learning a few spelling rules can make all the difference. Writing is difficult when you don't have the basics but stringing good, clear sentences together needn't be complicated. It's a skill that can be learned, at any age.

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Good reading, writing and communication skills are necessary to function in today's language-based society. And if you don't have them you are disadvantaged personally, socially and politically.

A lot of people leave school with gaps in their learning. It stays with you for life, unless you do something about it. My own gap was in oral communication. I used to be completely freaked out by public speaking. So I went along to a group. It was nerve wracking at first but reassuring to meet others who struggled with the same thing.

Literacy Aotearoa is all about adults teaching adults - sharing skills and passing on knowledge. We all learn from each other and it becomes a two way process with the tutor learning as much as the student.

I think the key to being a good tutor is empathy. You have to be able to put yourself in your student's position. I may be a good speller but I'm completely tone deaf. I may be able to hear vowel sounds but I couldn't sing an A flat if my life depended on it.

As adults we are all different. And, in the end, that's what makes the world go round. It's also what makes adult literacy tutoring so interesting.'