Did you know that nearly one out of every two Americans are illiterate?

Question

"Illiteracy on the rise in America"

By Larry Roberts
14 October, 1998

"According to a recent US government report, The State of Literacy in America, released by the National Institute for Literacy (NIL), there has been a significant growth in illiteracy in America. Over 90 million US adults, nearly one out of two, are functionally illiterate or near illiterate, without the minimum skills required in a modern society.

The report is a devastating portrait of the social conditions in capitalist America, the country generally portrayed as the most advanced in the world. Out of 191 million adults in the US, as many as 44 million cannot read a newspaper or fill out a job application. Another 50 million more cannot read or comprehend above the eighth grade level."

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



Notice the article is from 1998. This is such a bad joke. Is it not disgraceful? No wonder Bush doesn't *do* diplomacy.

Four words, invest-in-coloring-books.

Answer 1

I have no problem believing that.........seeing that illegal aliens come here by the hundreds daily..............1998, Clinton was in office

Answer 2

The first thought that entered my head as my mouth formed a grin was - yes, and some of those people use this forum. I cannot believe how long it has taken me to figure out some of the Qs & As on this site when words are missing, their is used instead of there, sew instead of so, misspellings abound, capitalization & punctuation are missing.

But, seriously, I agree with several statements made in other posts to this question.

- The data given is outdated
- The math is wrong
- The data is not broken down into those who had or
have dyslexia, or some other medical problem.
- The problem has been growing for years
- The school system needs to be re-vamped so the
emphasis is put back on REALLY teaching kids,
not using school reform as a political ploy.

Personally, I'm doing my part by tutoring a Chinese family in conversational American English to supplement their studies at ESL. What will each of you pledge to do to help alleviate this dismal record?

I have also written letters to newspapers & magazines when I notice more than 3 errors in an issue. That is their job. Every article goes through at least 3 checks before its published. It does not set a very high standard when slipshod writing is published, then read by the masses. Its like all the people who use irregardless as a word. The word is regardless. ir = not & less = not, so irregardless is a double negative.

Answer 3

I think it requires a certain degree of illiteracy to believe such lunacy. Literacy is one of those things that can only be measured by degrees.

When a report says 90 million adults are "without the minimum skills required in a modenr society," I assume that they cannot even read STOP signs or doors that say PUSH or PULL.

If half of US adults cannot fill-out a job application, then why isn't the unemployment rate closer to 50%?

Which newspapers can they not read? The Wall Street Journal is far more erudite than your average newspaper.

Here's a great statistic for you: almost 100% of statistics are laden with B.S. Whenever I see a report that makes "shocking" claims, my b.s. antenna immediately goes on alert.

First, I ask whether there is an agenda involved. In this case it appears that the National Institute for Literacy may want more funding. A few years ago, it was reported that a couple of glasses of wine per week were beneficial to the cardiovascular system. Well, the study was commissioned by the California Vintners Association. In 1992 a study that praised walnuts as a positive factor in fighting heart disease became suspect because its sole support came from the California Walnut Commission. My point is that most "objective" studies are anything but objective.

I wish articles such as this would state more than simply conclusions. I would like to know how they define their parameters. I would like to see their statistical analysis. How tight are the standard deviations? How large were their reference groups? How did they arrive at their conclusions?

Answer 4

I would be very curious what alternate business the book clubs will try, maybe picture books?

The decline of literature and appreciation for intellectual stimulation oddly coincides with the invention of television. Tests and such, have been done over the years.

Its very similiar to the parallel of a college education. An degree used to mean something, that person was respected.......now.......your degree is common and of little respect by average people. With a degree you can run a team at Mickey Dees, or even two teams.

Electricians, plumbers, machinists etc.........all need to read quite well to do their job. I sense a higher level of dilution in the American social strata........intelligence dilution.

Even though the article seems quite outdated, we know that true literacy is more
than reading and comprehension. It is appreciation for communication and the
art of writing and to some extent...the sharing of experience and directions and possibilities in life.

The dictionary is now dynamic, and speeding up, so literacy also must adapt,
the tools needed may be genetically deficient in todays population.

Answer 5

Our public educational system is in shambles and has been for years. We need to revamp the current system we have and stop letting states getting away with "dumbing down" the curriculum or letting children graduate with a certificate of completion rather than a diploma. I recently saw on the local news that some states are dumbing down their curriculum and lowering the test standards so that the schools can make it appear like they are actually following all the requirements of the No Child Left Behind policy. In Virginia a group of students had to retake the SOL after teachers were encouraged to "suggest" changing wrong answers to students. Is it any wonder why things are getting worse?

Answer 6

Granted, our educational systemis a mess. But 44 out of 191 million is not even a quarter, much less half.

Which makes sense--only about a quarter still support Bush.

(BTW--serioulsly, while there's a clear deficiency,
those 50 million who canread a newspaper, but not at an 8th grade level, are functionally literate. Not dishing you--but the story is simply wrong on that point. You have to be careful with how mainstream journalists present figures--they love to overstate and sensationalize).

Answer 7

Absolutely! I can tell this is true merely by reading questions and answers.....only in this case 80-90% are illiterate but I must admit that there are a handful of very smart people on this site and I have learned a great deal from their answers.

Answer 8

It's one out of every two adult Americans. An important difference.

Also, the article hints that this is capitalism's fault, and you want to blame it on Bush, but public education is controlled by liberals and unions. And they have fought tooth and nail to keep it out of the free market system. So, although our public education system is a sad joke and giant failure, it has nothing to do with capitalism and very little to do with Bush.

Why do you think private schools do so well?

Answer 9

My husband is one of those. Staight out of highschool, he could barely get through a short paragraph. He was in special ed for his dylexia, but almost nobody would just sit with him and teach him to read.. He finally got a tutor and finished his first whole book about a year and half later.

Answer 10

If you define illiterate as being unable to read a newspaper or the U.S. Constitution, I think the figure might be higher than what you quoted.

Answer 11

It is actually about 1 in 20 and remember that we are talking about being literate in English.