1-866-295-3104 | Universal Literacy: Realistic Goal or Utopian Fantasy?
In an environment crammed with pre-packaged messaging, it's perhaps fair to ask how important advanced reading skills are to the average citizen. Sure, reading was important in Abe Lincoln's day but, to what extent does today’s media-filled society erode the value of advanced literacy? To get a better grasp on the question, let's take a mental trip to our imaginary local Wal-Mart.
Imagine: You're sitting at the stop light near your local Wal-Mart.
The light turns green and without reading a thing, you cruise into the parking lot. As you approach the front doors, they open automatically. Nothing to read here. You glide down the aisles scanning product packages filled with vivid imagery. Why read the label when the pictures say it all? Over the store's loud speakers, a soothing, generic voice informs you of the daily and weekly specials. At the checkout line, you hand the teller your debit card and you're on your merry way.
You've just completed your entire imaginary shopping trip without reading a single word, and that's exactly the point. In a world of endless auditory and visual information, it's possible to navigate our daily lives with little attention to reading. It's now possible to be functional, successful even, without being bogged down in the ancient, time-consuming task of reading. Or is it?
To understand the real value of advanced literacy, first we must understand what we mean by the terms "literate" and "illiterate. “It's rarely a black-and-white issue. For starters, almost no one is totally illiterate. Even those deemed illiterate can usually read hundreds if not thousands of words. Not bad, but compared with the fact that most adults can read tens of thousands of words (and even more if you include proper nouns), it's not so good, either. This phenomenon is known as "functional illiteracy." Typically, functionally illiterate adults can read at or below the fourth-grade reading level, and that's where things get interesting.
In 1993, the United States government released its largest study to date on the state of literacy in America and the results were simply shocking. According to the study, more than 40 million adults in the United States are functionally illiterate (meaning that they cannot read beyond the fourth-grade level.) This group earned an average of less than half the poverty income threshold.
Combined with approximately 50 million other semi-literate adults earning below the poverty threshold, which meant that nearly half of US adults were either functionally or totally illiterate and living below the poverty line. A 2006 follow-up study indicated no significant improvement in this troubling trend.
Recognizing the correlation between illiteracy and poverty, American society has some tough issues to grapple with. Are we willing to accept a society in which nearly half of all adults read at less than high-school comprehension? If not, what are we going to do about it?
One option is to train more reading specialists. With online programs like the Master of Education in Reading and Literacy offered by Benedictine University, educators can now earn an advanced degree while helping address America's silent literacy crisis. In addition to earning a better salary for themselves, literacy specialists can make a difference in the lives of impoverished families. By addressing poor literacy early in life, reading teachers can make a lasting impact on the life of a child, and by teaching adults to read, it's possible to lift entire families out of poverty.
The effects can last for generations. That's because illiteracy runs in families and tends to get passed along from parents to their children. By tackling the issue early in life, reading specialists drastically improve their students' quality of life.
