[thechat] kiddy domains

Elaine Frances elaine at members.evolt.org
Thu Jun 14 22:45:14 CDT 2001


6/15/01 8:44:18 PM, "isaac" <isaac at members.evolt.org> wrote:

snip, snip
>the only US literacy figures i can find on the CIA site are from 1979 (97%).
>the figure for australia, in 1980, was 100%.

I've been lurking on thechat for awhile now - after lurking on thelist for months. Finally I have something to write about!! :-) Unfortunately it's a rant:

Isaac, those statistics are so misleading that it would be funny if the real situation weren't so sad. The only way to come even close to a 97% literacy rate 
in the US is to include everyone who can at least write their own name. 
Before I moved to California - two years ago - I worked as a part-time volunteer with a literacy campaign in the northern part of Appalachia for nearly 
sixteen years. I taught adults how to read. We defined literacy as being able to read at a 3rd to 4th grade level. (I don't know how that translates to other 
educational systems but it is a very basic level.) Anyone who could not read at that level was considered to be "functionally illiterate."  In practical terms it 
meant that a mother could not read the directions on a medicine bottle for her child, or legibly complete an employment application, etc etc.

When I began, the  illiteracy rate in Appalachia was 25-30% of the adult population according to the campaign literature, which was produced by the US 
government.  While it's true that Appalachia is the largest pocket of poverty in the US, those figures were also true of our inner cities and many rural 
areas. Sixteen years later the figures had not changed enough to revise the organization's promotional material - it still says 1 out 4 adults in the US are 
functionally illiterate.  While the actual rate may not be quite that dismal, it certainly remains a major social problem - and embarrassment - for the US.

Yes, college is very expensive here  (I have a son at Penn State and as a single mom I really struggled to get him there) and higher educations is not 
available to all qualified students as it should be. But access to a good primary education or even a moderately adequate one is not available to everyone 
either. 

Sorry about this rant. It was that damn 97% figure that set me off....  It's like pretending the problem - and the people - do not exist. 

I'm not usually so very serious like this - really. I look forward to finding a lighter topic to address here soon. :-)

Cordially,
Elaine












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