Adult Literacy
By:
Anagha V.
The United States
Department of Education shows that 54% of American adults, 130 million adults,
have the reading level of a sixth-grader or under. The study was conducted on
working adults aged 16 to 74. Literacy is the ability to read and write and is
used every single day. Illiteracy should be considered a handicap in modern-day
society.
Singapore is a renowned country in English literacy, but even a role model to other countries has its issues. Stephan was born and raised in Singapore, yet Stephan has had numerous obstacles due to his poor proficiency in reading and writing. When he was in elementary school, he was constantly called out and humiliated by his teachers, causing him to have hardly any friends. Illiterate people typically have to compensate with an alternative skill. Stephan was performing well in math; he went into poly-engineering instead of the other opportunities he could have had. Nonetheless, this career included writing essays and reports. You can never run away from reading and writing. His wife frequently writes and assists him on his essays, and that greatly reduces the time they spend together that is not work-related. A study from the Adult Performance Level Project shows that 20% of adults are unable to do everyday tasks without the assistance of others due to issues with reading and writing.
Literacy can be an
intimate issue, but it is likewise a nationwide issue that impacts the lives of
numerous people. The U.S is currently losing 2.2 trillion dollars due to low
adult literacy every single year. “America’s low literacy crisis is largely
ignored, historically underfunded, and woefully under-researched, despite being
one of the great solvable problems of our time,” says British A. Robinson, CEO
and president of Barbara Bush Foundation. One of the significant profits of
bringing all adults to the bare reading level of a sixth-grader would be the
economic gain. The economic gain would be 2.2 trillion dollars and a 10%
increase in gross GDP. An improvement in
literacy would also result in superior jobs because literacy is correlated to
income. The average income of a person with the reading level of a sixth-grader
is $63,000, which is higher than the average income of $43,000. Individuals
with the lowest level of literacy have an average income of $34,000.
Literacy dictates many
aspects of day-to-day life from the relationships that can be created and the
information that can be accurately expressed. Multiple concise activities can
improve literacy in an at-home environment such as discovering ways to read
daily and halting reliance on videos and reading software. You can sign up for
a library card at your local library or just read out loud to yourself or friends
and family. Literacy progress moves at a personal pace and changes daily, but
having literacy skills solely benefits you in the future.
Anagha thinks that adults should work on their literacy skills. I agree when you get a job you normally have to write an essay. And if you read and write poorly that's on you. Anagha states in the passage that 130 million adults have the literacy of a 6th grade or lower. That's not good. Also, the U.S is losing 2.2trilllion dollars a year because of this.
ReplyDeleteAnagha believes that people require better literacy skills due to the fact that some adults have a reading level equivalent to the reading level of a sixth grader. I agree with her opinion because it is important to read and write at a good level for your age. In the editorial Anagha states “A study from the Adult Performance Level Project shows that 20% of adults are unable to do everyday tasks without the assistance of others due to issues with reading and writing.” This is not good because if you always rely on others to help you then you can never accomplish stuff by yourself.
ReplyDeleteGood job Anagha! I now feel extremely fortunate to have 7th grade literacy. I feel bad for all of those people who are struggling with literacy and reading. A good example of information showing that literacy is a lot less common in the U.S. compared to places like China and Japan is this, “The United States Department of Education shows that 54% of American adults, 130 million adults, have the reading level of a sixth-grader or under.” That is why you should take advantage of school and being able to learn unlike the 130 million adults who have trouble because they didn’t take advantage of learning.
ReplyDeleteI agree illiteracy is a issue, and adults shouldn’t have low literacy skills. If adults had better literacy skills a lot could change in modern life, for example if all adults had the literacy skills of a sixth grader; the economic gain would amount to 2.2 trillion dollars, and a 10% increase in gross gdp.
ReplyDelete