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America is said to be the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the land of opportunity. America prides itself on being the best country in the world. It is where people from all over the world strive to be. People everywhere believe that if they can just make it to America they will have opportunities they never would have in their homelands. The American Dream is one where anyone, no matter their money, status, or education can move up the ladder of society and be whatever they want to be. However for those who cannot read the opportunities for advancement are greatly limited or nonexistent.  

In the Academic American Encyclopedia (AAE) Vol. 12 literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. The levels of ability to read and write are redefined according to the culture and time as well as the part of the world one is in. Earlier in American history literacy was defined as the ability to write one’s name, while today literacy in America is defined as “understanding and producing a simple statement on everyday life” (Cockcroft 368). Functional literacy however is a different thing altogether.

Culture, critical, and workplace all have standards for functional literacy. “Cultural literacy is the ability to read in order to express oneself, solve problems, and participate in educated society” (Cockcroft 368). If one cannot communicate clearly on a day to day basis they are culturally, functionally, illiterate. “Critical literacy is reading not just for information but to evaluate the information” (Cockcroft 368). Not only should one be able to read but one should be able to withdraw information from what they read to use in other ways. “Workplace literacy involves such things as verbal communication skills, how to use a computer, reading blueprints, and using elementary statistics” (Cockcroft 368). Many aspects are involved in being functionally literate in the workplace. Some aspects differ between different careers but the basic aspects are the same in every job.

According to the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) approximately fifty percent of the population is functionally illiterate. This means that they are only literate on level one or level two. There are over ninety million adults in America who can only perform the basic literary functions. The NALS found around sixty-one million adults could function on level three which indicates that they are moderately functioning in literary aspects. They are able to decipher and integrate information from long, difficult passages of text. Close to twenty-percent of the adult population functioned on the highest levels of literacy. Level four and level five are those who are able draw information from the longest and densest articles and documents. Not only can they draw the information out but they can then use that information in something else.

Adult illiteracy also impacts children. Children of illiterate people are often illiterate themselves. A person’s surroundings often impact their life in many ways. Children who grow up having their parents read to them and take an interest in their schooling tend to be better in school. Those children who have illiterate parents often grow up in poverty and the cycle repeats itself over again. It is like being in the middle of a dark tunnel. They cannot see the light nor do they know if it is even there. Since they cannot see the light they do not attempt to move toward it. This causes them to be stuck in a rut and live their lives the same way their parents did-in poverty.

The NALS also tried to make connections between literacy levels and ability to function in the professional world. The average that level one adults worked was eighteen to nineteen weeks per year while the level four and five adults worked were almost three times that amount. The monetary earnings varied greatly between levels. Level one adults made around two hundred and thirty dollars a week while level three adults made three hundred and fifty dollars a week and level five adults made six hundred and twenty to six hundred and eighty dollars a week. Levels of literacy also corresponded directly with requests for food stamps, poverty, and whether or not they voted. Many consequences result from illiteracy. Poverty, welfare, employment, and crime rates are all related to illiteracy according to Barton. In prisons that were evaluated approximately seventy percent of the inmates were illiterate.  

“Yet, some argue that lower literacy skills mean a lower quality of life and more  limited employment opportunities. As noted in a recent report from the American Society for Training and Development, The association between skills and opportunity for individual Americans is powerful and growing… Individuals with poor skills do not have much to bargain with; they are condemned to low earnings and limited choices” (Jenkins 22).

Although having a high literacy rate is a bonus it does not necessarily guarantee a job. Having said that, it is still highly important for those in America to be functionally literate and if possible functioning at a high level of literacy.

“Still, literacy can be thought of as a currency in this society. Just as adults with little money have difficulty meeting their basic needs, those with limited literacy skills are likely to find it more challenging to pursue their goals- whether these involve job advancement, consumer decision making, citizenship, or other aspects of their lives” (Jenkins 22).

The higher literacy rate one has the better one’s chances for advancement in life.

One of the problems on the road to literacy according to The National Right to Read Foundation (NRRF) is the method of teaching reading.

“Learning to read is like learning to drive a car. You take lessons and learn the mechanics and the rules of the road. After a few weeks you have learned how to drive, how to stop, how to shift gears, how to park, and how to signal. You have also learned to stop at a red light and understand road signs. When you are ready, you take a road test, and if you pass, you can drive. Phonics-first works the same way. The child learns the mechanics of reading, and when he's through, he can read.” (Sweet 1).

The method of teaching still used today is outdated and useless.

"In the course of researching this book, I made a shocking, incredible discovery:

that for the last forty years the . . . children of America have been taught to read

by a method originally conceived and used in the early 1800s to teach the deaf

how to read, an [experimental] method which has long since been discarded by

the teachers of the deaf themselves as inadequate and outmoded. Yet, today, the

vast majority of . . . American children are still being taught by this very method.

The result has been widespread reading disability" (Sweet 1).

Even though the system was discarded by the teachers who came up with it many of today’s youth are still being taught by the outdated system which researchers have found to be ineffective. Phonics should be taught rather than the look say method. Phonics are the building blocks with which any student can read any word simply by sounding it out. Why then is this system for teaching the youth to read not been discarded? Tradition plays a big part in keeping the system in operation. Another reason is that of the businesses that profit from the system. America does not want to acknowledge the literacy problem. If the problem is not acknowledged there is no way to fix it.  

The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) informs the reader that out of one hundred and ninety-one adult Americans forty-four million cannot read a newspaper and another fifty million cannot read above an eighth grade level. These statistics mean that one out of two people in America are functionally illiterate. The research for this article also shows that this illiteracy rate is growing rather than shrinking. If America continues to decline at this rate it will not be long before the population as a whole is functionally illiterate.

The southern states are the worst statistically in many ways including literacy rates. Mississippi is ranked the ultimate lowest in the United States. Thirty percent of Mississippi’s adult population placed in the first level of literacy meaning they could not even read a newspaper. Louisana comes in second place with twenty-eight percent and Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina are all tied for third place with twenty-five percent statistically. If the statistics for level one and level two were combined in these states the illiterate portion of the population would be approximately seventy percent of the population. Although the US prides itself on being better than the other countries of the world the sad truth is that America is the most illiterate country in the world second only to Poland. How is it that a country can pride itself on an illiteracy rate that bad?

One of the major concerns for those in this country who are illiterate is not only the inability to hold jobs and the fact that those who are functionally illiterate generally fall below the poverty line, but also medically. Many of the illiterate population cannot follow basic medical instructions which can therefore cause their health to take a drastic downward turn. In one study seventy percent of those who participated could not understand the consent form. The inability to understand something as simple as a consent form raises questions about whether the patients could in fact take care of themselves.  

What is America going to do about this problem of illiteracy? According to the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society (DCRDS) one solution that was put into affect was free compulsory education. Over one hundred and eighty-four billion dollars is poured into compulsory education each year. Although free education is in place many Americans graduate without the basic reading and writing skills needed in the working world. In 1988 over three hundred million dollars was funded to attempt to make the illiterate population functionally literate. Job Corps and other non-profit organizations are not included in that count.  

The solutions to fix America’s illiteracy problem are not perfect nor are they easy solutions. It is never too late for an illiterate adult to learn to read and write and to become functionally literate (Barton 1).  There is Adult or Family Literacy Programs that are free based through public libraries, churches, and synagogues. One method used to teach those who are illiterate is the Barton Reading and Spelling System. (BRSS). The BRSS is highly effective especially on those adults who have trouble reading because of dyslexia. Illiteracy is a huge problem in America. What is going to be done to help America educate not only its young people but its adults?    

























Works Cited Page



Adult. “Adult Literacy.” Barton Reading and Spelling System. September 28, 2006

http://www.bartonreading.com/adult.html



Allen, Jeanne. “Illiteracy in America: What to Do About It?”



Research DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society. February 10, 1989.



September 28, 2006. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Religion/bg690.cfm



Cockcroft, James and Radwin, Eugene. “Literacy and Illiteracy.”



Academic American Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. Danbury, Connecticut; Grolier



Incorporated, 1998.  



Jenkins, Lynn and Jungeblut, Ann and Kirsein, Irwin and Kolstad, Andrew.



“Adult Literacy in America”. U.S. Department of Education. April 2002.



September 27, 2006. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93275.pdf



Roberts, Larry. “Illiteracy on the Rise in America” World Socialist Web Site.



October 14,1998. September 28, 2006.



http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/oct1998/ill-o14.shtml



Sweet, Robert. “Illiteracy: An Incurable Disease or Education Malpractice?”



The National Right to Read Foundation. 1996. September 28, 2006.



http://www.nrrf.org/essay_Illiteracy.html