Illiteracy

"Illiteracy is a form of poverty." J. Drapo ~ 1 October 2006

There are many forms of poverty however I think literacy ranks high up there among them. After all you hear people at parties and gathering saying things like~ "I never learned how to knit" or~ "I never took up golf". You rarely hear a sucessful person say~ "I never learned how to read, I just didn't have the time."

Being literate is not just for the wealthy and privileged anymore. Public schooling was founded to combat this very issue. Of course we all know there's not equality in education, just look around you, I did...

This past spring I was fortunate enough to take part in an exercise where we the students lined up shoulder to shoulder and then the instructor asked us questions. As we answered her questions we were allowed to take one step forward or two steps back depending on our answers. The questions mostly had to do with ability but then the instructor interjected a few questions about ethnic background and economic ability. I have a dear friend, the best teacher that I've ever had the privilege of meeting, who was so far behind some of us that it wasn't funny. Yet we sit side by side in each and every class but it was clear she'd had more obstacles to overcome than most of the rest of the students in order to some to graduate school.

Literacy begins at home, continues through public or formal education and to be honest by the time most reach high school we've knocked the hunger to learn out of most students. It should not be this way. We need to change the face of education here in America and promote literacy. Illiteracy should not be a form of poverty in the United States- or anywhere in the world.

The UN has designated this the Literary Decade - Education for all, 2003 - 2012. What can you do to combat illiteracy? I leave you to open your mind as to how to change the face of education.

For more on the UN's Literary Decade please click on the following link:

http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/literacy.htm