Illiteracy Among Adults in America

Illiteracy Among Adults in America

While some adults in America are functionally illiterate, many adults can not read at all. America is supposed to be one of the most affluent advanced societies in the world. Free public education is available in every nook and cranny of this country, and the federal government spends billions of dollars every year battling illiteracy. So now the major question, why are so many American adults illiterate? In this essay I would like to raise awareness to this growing problem in hopes of finding a way to end this tragic epidemic.

Illiteracy is considered a learning disability. Reading is an important and must have skill everyone needs in life. Reading is a skill upon which all our learning skills are based. Beginning readers must understand the concept of the alphabets and their principle in order to master basic reading skills. Good reading comprehension rests on a foundation of the fluent reading of words. Good readers can rapidly recognize words without having to think about what the words are and they automatically activate meaning of the words they are reading. An illiterate adult is unable to accomplish this task. Readers who are not fluent readers have comprehension difficulties that increase in severity as words and sentences become more complex.

Reading to children at an early age is often the best way to ensure success in school and in life. Children who read with their parents have higher intelligence and reading capability. The child is better able to comprehend language and communicate well. With adult illiteracy on the rise there is little hope of parents assisting their children in developing literacy skills they need.

The problem of adult literacy does not get much notice because few people realize the frequent occurrence of adult illiteracy. Many adults read at or below the fourth or fifth grade levels. Some adults can not read at all. For those adults, simple everyday task present major problems. Reading product labels, following street signs or filling out a simple job application become difficult and very frustrating. Their families can suffer too. Parents who can not read struggle to raise children who are good readers. Parents with low literacy skills have trouble reading to their children or helping their children with homework. Many do not try to help them and are ashamed of their disability before their children. These feelings of shame often cause the individual to hide their difficulties (Gerber, Ginsberg, & Reiff, 1992). Some adults feel ashamed of the type of difficulties they are struggling to cope with such as basic literacy skills, slow processing, attention difficulties, etc (Gerber, Ginsberg, & Reiff, 1992). Teachers of student are the first to take noticed of this problem. There are ways teachers are able to indicate the literacy problem of a parent. If a parent appears to have a lack of interest in their child’s progress, they may be dealing with a low literacy or illiteracy problem. Teachers should also question if defensive behaviors arise in a parent concerning their child’s performance in school. Failure to return something as simple as a permission slip (e.g. field trip) can also be a large indicator. Literacy levels of children are strongly linked to the educational level of their parents. Children of parents who do not have a basic education are at an extreme disadvantage. These students are more likely to leave school before graduating. Teachers can take an active role to help reduce the literacy problem among students and their parents. There are many programs available for children and their parents to overcome their illiteracy problem.

There is a direct relationship between illiteracy, poverty, employment, crime and health. Nearly half the adult population is condemned to poor income and limited opportunities because of insufficient reading skills. The state and federal legislators realized there were adults who had missed out on educational opportunities and, as a consequence, were unable to make economic progress (Neff 1972 and Kozel 1985). Lack of basic skills is a huge cost to the economy. In 1972, adult illiteracy in America cost adult men aged 24 to 34 years of age $237 billion in unrealized lifetime earnings (Kozel, 1985). Because of this, many illiterate adults are unable to make necessary purchases for the home (food, utilities) or even pay taxes. The National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992, found that fifty-eight percent of adult with self-reported learning disabilities lacked the basic functional reading and writing skills needed to experience job and academic success (Kirsch, 1993). Many adults in the United States lack a high school diploma due to the failure of the school system to recognize and/or accommodate their learning disability (Gerber, Ginsberg, & Reiff, 1992).