Alferd Williams worked in manual labor for most of his life — beginning when he was six years old. His father was ill and Williams was forced to leave school.

Now more than six decades later, Williams is back in the classroom learning to read with first graders. A teacher at Edison Elementary School in St. Joseph, MO, agreed to teach Williams to read and he now spends half of each day in her first-grade class. Although nervous at first, he says the kids have taken to him like he’s one of them.

This touching audio slide show by AARP is a profile of this 70-year old man who now reads at a third-grade level and hopes to earn his GED and eventually go to college. The story includes interviews with the teacher who took him under her wing and fellow first-graders.

Williams says he’s proud of himself and that he is proof that anyone can learn to read if they want to.

CHANNEL:AARP

Length: 3:59

Photography and Audio: Mark T. Osler
Producer: Nicole Shea

Click to View

SEE ALSO:

“A World of Words: Man, 70, Learns to Read for First Time”