Not knowing how to
interpret...or read... the instructions rendered me useless in completing my
task. I began thinking about what it must be like for many of our homeless
residents, children and adults, who have poor reading comprehension because
school was not a priority while they were just trying to live day to day. I did
some research and discovered some startling facts about illiteracy and its
effect upon those who struggle with reading.
Widespread
illiteracy not only leads to lower education and employment rates, it is also
linked to increased crime and incarceration and a high social and economic
cost. Most people think of literacy as a simple question of being able to read.
But while a young child who can work her way through a basic picture book is
considered to have age-appropriate literacy levels, an adult who can only read
at the most fundamental level is still functionally illiterate. The world requires that adults not only be able to read and understand basic texts, but also be able to function in the workplace, pay bills, understand legal and financial documents and navigate technology - not to mention the advanced reading comprehension skills required to pursue postsecondary education and the opportunities that come with it.
As a result, when
we talk about the effects of illiteracy on society, we're talking primarily
about what happens when you have a large number of adults whose literacy skills
are too low to perform normal, day-to-day tasks. However, it is worth keeping
in mind that childhood illiteracy is, of course, directly correlated to adult
illiteracy.
In 2003, the United
Nations launched the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) with the slogan,
'Literacy is freedom.' Operating under the premise that 'literacy is a human
right,' the initiative aims to improve literacy efforts, increase global
literacy levels and reduce poverty.
According to the
UNLD: 14% and 24% of U.S.
adults performed at the lowest level for all three scales, a figure
echoed by the National Adult Literacy Survey. So what effect does this
have on society in the United States? On average, adults
at the lowest levels of literacy:
* Earn about $230-$245 per week
* Earn about $230-$245 per week
* Work only 18-19
weeks each year
* Are more than three
times as likely to receive food stamps (17%-19% as compared to 4% of those who
read at the highest levels).* Are almost ten times more likely to be living below the poverty line (41%-44% as compared to 4%-8%) .
* Between 31% and 40%
of prisoners read at the lowest literacy level, which is at least ten
percentage points worse than the national average.
* Only four percent
to seven percent of the prison population reads at the highest two literacy
levels, compared to 18% to 21% of the rest of the population.
Illiteracy can be closely correlated with low earnings and
high incarceration rates. Individuals who cannot read struggle to function in
society, which can cripple their lives and increase the burden on state prisons
and economic support systems.
Although illiteracy
seems like an overwhelming problem, there are many things that individuals can
do to help. You can help prevent illiteracy by becoming a tutor at a nearby
school or offering literacy support at a local school or community center. You
can also help adults overcome literacy challenges by volunteering at an adult
basic education center where you can teach adults to read and help them with
basic life skills.
Individuals who
want to spend more time working on this issue may consider getting involved
with their communities to address this issue. Students who would like to devote
themselves to fighting illiteracy may be interested in degrees in education,
public administration or social work.
You can view statistics
from the UNLD, IALS and NALS via UNESCO (www.unesco.org), the National Center
for Education Statistics (www.nces.ed.gov) and the U.S. Census Bureau
No comments:
Post a Comment