I have to admit, I did not think it was possible to be as illiterate regarding computers as the people I worked with today. Of course, most of them were mentally handicapped to some degree, so I really shouldn't be placing the blame anywhere other than the roll of the human creation dice.
Let me backtrack.
I came in early and asked for Dave (not real name), the seventy-odd year old man who handles the computer classes. He had already started the first class.
The institution has a rather small computer room with six computers. Four of them were running Windows 7, and the other two were running Win8. There are rolly chairs and the room is just large enough to cross the whole floor with one big push.
There were four classes, each an hour long. The curriculum consisted of practicing typing and basic arithmetic practice.
I won't use strong language to describe how the "clients," as they are called, handled computers. A surprising number were around my age. Most of them were at the hunt and peck level of typing ability. About half did not know how to use a mouse. They would get caught up at the strangest things, such as not realizing that the screen had been scrolled down, to not knowing how to get rid of antivirus software popups (you know, those.)
I had one rather energetic gentleman who could not, in any way, understand the operation of the Shift key. He would press the shift key, and the instant he pressed the ?/ key he would let go of the shift and ?/ key at the same time--a method with a fifty percent failure rate.
I tried everything I could to try to tell him to keep the shift key pressed when you let up on the ?/ key! I guided his hands, I told him to count, repeated the same instructions over and over in as many ways as I possibly could. It was a no-go. The day ended and he still does not understand the function of the shift key.
A little backstory about VIP Services. They run a program where mentally disabled people can hang out during the day to give breaks to their caretakers. The program is mainly funded by donations and staffed by volunteers.
The highlight of my day was the guy, Dave, who was a blast to be around. I'm one of the people who really like listening to old folks tell their life stories. Because, that's exactly what he did. He told me that he once worked the BIG dump trucks that you see carting ore around strip mines. The thing had twelve foot tall tires, with a cab that was twenty-three feet off the ground. This guy was living on three pensions and social security. He had been a fireman, too. He also got a degree in Engineering and another one in computerized drafting.
Pretty cool dude.
The only problem was that, in the middle of the day, his phone rang. Apparently his aunt, who was on hospice, had passed away and Dave's wife was too devastated to be alone.
As a result, I got to be useful, being the pinch hitter in this situation so that the day would go on.
Next week I'm going to be teaching the clients origami. I bet that will be fun.
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