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I have met 3 people in my life who could not read. One could read at perhaps a kindergarten level but certainly couldn't make any sense out of job applications and other adult-level writing. That person and the second were unemployed and homeless.
The third worked in a bank and had gotten very good at pretending he could read, but couldn't.
I think the OP's assumption that it's easy to learn to read if you can speak the language doesn't really hold water. Many who can't might have dyslexia or another learning issue.
How would you know if you've met an illiterate person?
That's a serious question. How do you know, unless the context is one where you're asking the person to read something and then respond. I've been a church soup kitchen volunteer and I can think of other places I may have met an illiterate person but the thought of any of the clients being illiterate never crossed my mind before.
When I worked as a supervisor in a tobacco factory in Richmond, VA, I had several employees who couldn't read or write. They had worked there for a long time and knew their jobs well, but signed their checks with an "X". Ironically, since they were union employees, they made more money than I did.
I meet people every day who seem to have great trouble comprehending the sense of the written word it seems, and who can't seem to write down a sentence that is not filled with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and logical errors. They are truly functionally illiterate although apparently many have graduated from our high schools and colleges.
Other than that, I have met a few people who have spent no time practicing reading anything, apparently even cereal boxes, and therefore can read only at a grade 1 or 2 level even well into adulthood. They were passed through the system by a system that gave up on them so they gave up on themselves. They are very close to truly illiterate though they can usually print their own names.
Years ago, I worked in a bank and there were people who, it seemed, could only sign their names with an X. I presume they were illiterate but maybe they were only drunk.
When I worked as a supervisor in a tobacco factory in Richmond, VA, I had several employees who couldn't read or write. They had worked there for a long time and knew their jobs well, but signed their checks with an "X". Ironically, since they were union employees, they made more money than I did.
Are they native English speakers? Do they have any medical conditions or learning disabilities?
I have a neighbor who can't read, can't drive (obviously), and is really dumb as a stump. She has great difficulty following logic. Too bad, really. She's a nice lady.
I meet people every day who seem to have great trouble comprehending the sense of the written word it seems, and who can't seem to write down a sentence that is not filled with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and logical errors. They are truly functionally illiterate although apparently many have graduated from our high schools and colleges.
Other than that, I have met a few people who have spent no time practicing reading anything, apparently even cereal boxes, and therefore can read only at a grade 1 or 2 level even well into adulthood. They were passed through the system by a system that gave up on them so they gave up on themselves. They are very close to truly illiterate though they can usually print their own names.
Years ago, I worked in a bank and there were people who, it seemed, could only sign their names with an X. I presume they were illiterate but maybe they were only drunk.
In the TV show It's always sunny in Philadelphia, Charlie didn't know the meaning of words like "filibuster" and "philanthropist". It's a hilarious show, and I started thinking, how many U.S adults are as illiterate as Charlie?
I do understand some people suffer from learning problems, health problems, and many others are recent immigrants from Mexico. But what about perfectly healthy people who were born in the U.S? Most people simply acquired writing and reading skills in elementary school without a lot of efforts.
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