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I am from a city that has a 47% illiteracy rate.How does this come to pass when reading and writing are taught in the early grades of elementary and no student can drop out until there at least 16 years of age.
What is considered illiterate? I know it means you can't read,but does it mean a person can read only on a first or second grade level or does it mean they can't read enough to get by in a normal society.
Well, you really have the illiterate, which is one who can't read or write. And you have the functional illiterate, who can read and write somewhat, but they really struggle to get by.
I saw this a lot in the military. We would have high school graduates come in and they couldn't read a tech manual. Trying to read what they wrote was like trying to decipher a code. It was usually minorities, ones who came from large cities with huge school districts.
There are many reasons why. I think with the huge number of schools that are now faced with teaching Spanish speaking students English it has hurt our school districts. I was born in the 1950s, when I was in elementary school we had about 15 to 20 students, we all spoke English and the teachers were able to effectively teach us. Today teachers in many school districts are faced with 35 or more students, many who don't even understand English.
A lot of this type of illiteracy is because for many years, children were promoted even though they couldn't read. The idea was to not hurt their little egos.
The bad result of this policy was that there was never another place where they could be taught. What few things they picked up in first grade were soon lost. Poor teachers and crowded classes allowed these students to "fall through the cracks."
I think the tide is beginning to turn, and the children that need help are getting it in the early grades.
Not all kids learn to read the same way, but each school only teaches it one way.
My son left public 2nd grade a non-reader. Yes, he was promoted to 3rd grade. No, the school did not have a proper reading method for him. I put him in private school and a few years later he is reading at grade level. Several other non-readers left that same public school when we did, too. We are all fortunate we can afford private schools for our kids. Our public school had the highest ranking given by the state - exemplary.
If the parents just sat back and trusted the school to do the right thing, they were burned and they learned it when these kids moved on to middle school. The teachers just keep pushing the kids through and hope it will just "click" one day. Then the kids move on to the middle school and it's not the elementary's school problem anymore.
NCLB is supposed to stop this. The schools can't sweep these kids under the rug and hide them until middle school. Of course these kids were getting promoted every year. The school was anxious to get them out of there.
The teachers say, "It's ultimately the parents who need to take action." But parents are too trusting. They think their kids will be properly educated at school. Not true. Parents must intervene and the teachers will tell you that. The teachers say, "Parents, you are the bottom line, not us. This is your problem, not ours." If the teachers are successfully teaching your child they will take all the credit. If the child is not learning, they blame the parents.
So, it's very important that parents pay attention and then start looking for alternative schooling towards the end of 1st grade/beginning of 2nd grade if the child doesn't seem to be catching on with reading. You have to make sure they are not memorizing books. My son's public school teachers thought he could read and they sent the book home. I said, "Read this book to me, son" and he held it up unopened and recited the entire book. This is not reading.
It's very important parents stay involved, intervene, make school changes, because the common denominator of people in jail is not having the ability to read.
If your child does not have phonemic awareness in kindergarten, that could be a sign your child with struggle. Also if they have speech issues in kindergarten that could also be an early sign.
I personally think it would be nice if more parents would get involved with their children's education and stop depending solely on the schools for each and everything.
Just one small item here...There are a great number of people in jail and/or prisons that can't read but there are also quite a number who are quite intelligent. It is not a complete common denominator of not being able to read. Think of all of the ex-Senators and such that are now or have done time. LOLOLOLOL
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