Illiteracy in America
Illiteracy in America
Walking into a class room full of seniors, one might not suspect that some of the students can not read above a third grade reading level (Mcmaster). In fact one million teenagers from the ages of 12 and 17 do not have the reading ability of a third grader. Literacy among American people is important because it affects our economy greatly. Not only that but it also affects the lives of the American population. Illiteracy is a large problem within the United States that can be reasonably solved using different tactics.
Illiteracy is detrimental to any society. First people must know what it is before the problem can be fixed. Illiteracy can be defined as the inability to read or write. Lately illiteracy has been moved up to the ability to comprehend what one reads or writes. There are 40 to 44 million adults alone in the United States that do not have the ability to comprehend words that they are reading. This is an enormous problem that can lead to even more devastating effects.
Another step before solving the problem is that one must also know the roots of it. One of the many sources of illiteracy is right in the home. Many parents do not take the time to read to their children when they are at an early age. This introduces them to phonics and reading. It has been proven that children who have had their parents read to them have been known to have higher literary abilities (Sachwitz). Children who start learning about reading at an early age have a head start when they begin to have formal education. This leads to better acceptance of received material which in turn helps for a much better education. Another problem was a program inserted into the schooling system called the “Whol...
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...me a better America to live in.
Literacy is a catastrophic problem around the world. With the information age coming in at blazing speeds, literacy is needed among every one in the nation. To solve literacy’s problems must effectively the United States must go the roots of where illiteracy begins. When this starts to happen nation wide, all able will be able to have the ability to read. How else would a nation survive in a literate world with out being literate itself?
Works Cited
Mcmaster, Scott. “Illiteracy”. http://bvsd.k12.co.us/schools/cent/Newspaper/dec97/p7/stories/mcmaster.html. December 1997
Roberts, Larry. “Illiteracy on the Rise in America”. http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/oct1998 /ill-o14.shtml. October 1998.
Sachwitz, Jennifer. “Illiteracy in America: Past, Present, and Future”. http://www.uah.edu/colleges/liberal/education/S1998/jen.html. 1998
I previously have mentioned, in prior reflection essays, just how important literacy is for a person’s future. Notice how I didn’t say “student’s” future? Literacy fluency effects several aspects of life, not only academically speaking. Ultimately, the literacy level of a child can directly affect their future as an adult. The whole point of Torgesen’s article “Catch Them Before They Fall” is about preventing students with literacy deficits from slipping through the cracks without the best possible, research-based interventions.
Literacy gives courage and provides a positive influence in times of crisis.
As the world advances through the modern age of information and connectivity, having a literate society is crucial to being able to work effectively with the outside world. Jonathan Kozol’s book, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society, portrays the life of illiterates in the modern world and argues that society has an ethical obligation to fix the problem of illiteracy. Kozol believes that illiteracy has the greatest effect on the education of current and future generations, the way food is consumed and wasted, and various economic costs to both illiterates and those around them. Kozol’s main point throughout his book is that society as a whole needs to face the problem of illiteracy, as not one single group or person can do it on their own.
Having an understanding will determine whether or not one will have an indulgent of language. As Berry states, “illiteracy is both a personal and a public danger. Think how constantly "the average American" is surrounded by premeditated language, in newspapers and magazines, on signs and billboards, on TV and forever being asked to buy or believe somebody else's line of goods.” If a person reads a newspaper and can’t understand what’s written, it’s definitely going to be a personal danger. Now when that person is asked a question about the news spread or what a product does that is shown in a magazine, if one can’t understand what’s scripted that same person won’t able to clarify it and that’s public danger. Even if the product looks good in a magazine or billboard, but if one can’t understand what the product does than he or she won’t be able to purchase the item. Majority of the Americans watch debates on TV and if one person doesn’t understand anything that the candidates are saying, then that person will have a hard time conversing with family members or even colleagues. Being illiterate will have a toll in a person’s ordinary ambiance, but having knowledge will make it easier for a person to have discussions about their understandings on what’s written, seen, read, or
Illiteracy poses a threat to political, economical and social constructions that shapes the individual life. Jonathan Kozol laid out the idea that illiteracy is detrimental to human lifestyle. He supported that claim, saying, “Illiterates live an uninsured existence,” meaning that they cannot take care of themselves, as they are unable to make the right decisions. This disability burdens them because they can’t be independent but dependent on a friend, family, co-worker, or a stranger. Undeniably, in the “I Just Wanna Be Average” text, one sees Ken Harvey’s story of growing up, being labeled as “slow”, which he took for granted and believed it. As a result of that Ken didn’t want to become better, he just wanted to get by and be “average”. Which could be considered an example of not having his own identity as Ken assumed the one he was given, of being “Slow”. This, example confirms Jonathan Kozol’s views on illiterates in our society. Therefore, we see a point of commonality concerning our society and the school system that is meant to educate us and help us become better human beings but otherwise fails to, as it separates the somewhat educated from the ones that are considered beyond average. This similarity reveals the
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
“Literacy—the ability to access, evaluate, and integrate information from a wide range of textual sources—is a prerequisite not only for individual educational success but for upward mobility both socially and economically,” states Sean Reardon (18). Literacy plays a significant role in civilized society. As Reardon mentioned, literacy is an important part of social and economic progression; therefore, it is unsurprising that thousands of dollars are poured into the education system each year to ensure that students can be considered literate. Reardon continues on to claim, “by third grade virtually all students can “read” in the procedural sense—they can sound out words and recognize simple words in context” (20). However,
Last school year, I took a college class that required hours of field experience in a high school English class. I was able to observe different English classes and different high school grade levels. What made a big impact on me was to hear some of those high school students struggling with reading more than the third grade students I was teaching that same school year. These students were expected to read and comprehend grade level text when they were reading at an elementary level. Illiteracy “is considered the blackest mark of a person’s finally in school and the greatest failure in the American school system” (Tchudi, and Tchudi 75) and there are around twenty-five million functional illiterates in the United States (75). Why are our middle school and high school students still struggling with reading? What can English/Language arts teachers do to help these struggling readers?
Poverty is an important and emotional issue. Last year, the Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty in the United States declaring that there were nearly 35 million poor persons living in this country in 2002, a small increase from the preceding year. To understand poverty in America, it is important to look behind these numbers--to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems to be poor.
It continues to be a big problem with the ranks swelling each year. Although safety nets are everywhere, illiteracy is still abundant. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 1998, ten million children between seven and eleven years of age performed below the most basic level of reading achievement.
Growing up in working class family, my mom worked all the time for the living of a big family with five kids, and my dad was in re-education camp because of his association with U.S. government before 1975. My grandma was my primary guardian. “Go to study, go to read your books, read anything you like to read if you want to have a better life,” my grandma kept bouncing that phrase in my childhood. It becomes the sole rule for me to have better future. I become curious and wonder what the inside of reading and write can make my life difference. In my old days, there was no computer, no laptop, no phone…etc, to play or to spend time with, other than books. I had no other choice than read, and read and tended to dig deep in science books, math books, and chemistry books. I tended to interest in how the problem was solved. I even used my saving money to buy my own math books to read more problems and how to solve the problem. I remembered that I ended up reading the same math book as my seventh grade teacher. She used to throw the challenge questions on every quiz to pick out the brighter student. There was few students know how to solve those challenge questions. I was the one who fortunately nailed it every single time. My passion and my logic for reading and writing came to me through that experience, and also through my grandma and my mom who plant the seed in me, who want their kids to have happy and better life than they were. In my own dictionary, literacy is not just the ability to read and write, it is a strong foundation to build up the knowledge to have better life, to become who I am today.
On the contrary, a person that is illiterate has many limitations in their life. Limitations can consist of any disadvantage that can stop a person from becoming successful in their life. For one of many examples, illiteracy has a significant impact on the economy, because it affects the jobs and basic living skills that people need to survive. Mental disorders can possibly ensue in an illiterate person’s life. In some cases, it is like they live in a world of their own and alienate themselves from other individuals.
Being literate defines who I am, and forms an integral part of my life. From the practical to the creative, it aids, and enables, me to perform the tasks that modern society dictates. I shall explore the many aspects of my life that are affected by literacy. Through this, understanding in greater depth what it means for me, to be literate. I would not be writing this essay if were not for the pathways being literate.
There are some theoreticians who view literacy in a form of social practice. In their view, social issues are also important components, as well as linguistic competence and understanding cognitive processes in language studies. Freire (1974) views literacy not only as a process of knowledge transformation, but also as a relationship of learners to the world. Vygotsky (1978) suggests two stages of development at social and individual level. In his view, literacy is a phenomenon that is created, shared, and changed by the members of a society. Gee (1996) similarly argues that becoming literate means apprenticeship with texts and apprenticeships in particular ways of being. In summary, literacy practices are not just about language, but about their interrelation with social practices.
What exactly is illiteracy? Illiteracy is defined in the Webster’s dictionary as: 1) not educated; especially, not knowing how to read or write. 2) showing a lack of education --noun. a person who does not know how to read or write -- illiteracy. May-be someone can read just a little, some can make out the sounds of a word and some just cannot read at all. Illiteracy is a “loss” to those who cannot read or write. The impact of illiteracy is devastating. This problem causes other problems as listed below.