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If
we have a literacy crisis, why didn't YOU know?
There are several reasons.
- You May Not Have Seen the Report or It Was Not Covered.
The results of even important and extensive studies of literacy
do not appear in all of the media for these reasons. (a) The
literacy study may not be covered if there are too many "more
important" stories to be covered. By the time all the more
important stories have been covered, the results of the study
are no longer "news." (b) Some media executives have
their reporters cover studies showing results they disagree with.
Many will not; and (c) media executives are sometimes
afraid that reporting unfavorable results from a study will alienate
them from groups from whom they desire support. Obviously not
all studies fit all three items. As a result, literacy and learning
to read may—for example—be front page newspaper stories
in some newspapers. It may be totally ignored in others.
- Illiterates Are Exceptionally Good At Hiding. The
number of U.S. adults who cannot read at all is very small. But
if they only know 1200-1600 simple words they learned by sight
in the first four grades in school, they are functionally
illiterate. They can't read and write well enough to hold an
above-poverty-level-wage job. They have developed many coping
skills for their inability to read over the years. Chances are
very good that many of your acquaintances are functional
illiterates. They may be very knowledgeable. They may even be
eloquent speakers. They just didn't get their knowledge or eloquence
from reading.
- Grade-Level Completion Does NOT equal Grade-Level Competence.
Many people assume that after several years of school the students
know how to read. Every teacher knows, however—even though
they may be in denial of the fact—that this is not necessarily
true. Having sat out several years of schooling does not
guarantee an outcome. The students may not know even a small
fraction of what they have been “taught.”
- Illiterates Are a Silent Minority. Out of embarrassment,
illiterates are a silent minority. Community and cultural leaders
of groups with a large number of illiterates do not want that
fact publicized. They fear it will give their “enemies”
(racists and class-conscious persons) ammunition against those
who cannot read.
- Self-Esteem Teaching in School Is Very Effective.
Perhaps today's most successful teaching in U.S. elementary schools
is the teaching of self-esteem. Studies have shown that U.S.
students often over-estimate their scholastic abilities. The
U.S. scored worse than all but two nations in a recent math and
science competition with about twenty other nations. Some of
the U.S. students in that competition bragged that they were
“good at math.” Some of them were not only not "good
at math," they may also have difficulty reading their math
books.
- The U.S. Census Reports Greatly Over-Estimate Literacy.
Many believe the U.S. is a highly literate nation because of
census statistics. The last two or three census reports claimed
a U.S. is literacy rate of 99%. It is in the short-term interest
of politicians and education officials to believe these figures.
This is not to say that there was necessarily any conscious deception.
Jonathan Kozol's shocking book, Illiterate America, pages
37-38, explained how these figures were decided upon. Once we
understand how the census bureau did the studies, we will be
likely to agree with Jonathan Kozol. He thought the accuracy
of the census reports was open to serious doubt. The Adult
Literacy in America study, in fact, proves the census bureau
figures on literacy rate are wrong.
- Sensory Overload. We are constantly bombarded with
information, much of it bad news. The world seems to go on with
little effect despite the bad news about literacy. We soon learn
to ignore much of it. This is because we often do not want to
believe it. Sometimes we have seen a later report denying the
validity of the bad news. After a few years we have forgotten
most of the bad news even if we initially thought it was significant.
- We Do Not See Large Portions of Our Population in Poverty.
In most cases, more than one family member is employed. If
all workers in the family are functionally illiterate, the family
may be at or below the poverty line. If one or more of the workers
in the family are literate, they bring the family above the poverty
line.
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