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We Are Not All Better Off Today

by John Corcoran

We are not all better off today than we were eight years ago. There are more adult illiterates today than eight years ago - adults with deficiencies in basic skills do not have an equal opportunity in the work place.

Sixty percent of new jobs in the United States will require computer knowledge and computer knowledge requires basic skills.

A man without a high school diploma earns approximately $16,000 a year, whereas a man with a Bachelors Degree earns approximately $48,000 a year.

America's illiteracy epidemic rages on, it demands affirmative action now, action that provides direct and effective instruction to all adults (including high school students) who desire the skills necessary to compete in the work places and for full participation in our dominate literate society.

Man is the creator of languages. It connects us, we communicate and we build community via language. The written language is the dominate language in the classroom and in the work place and it is the passport to lifelong learning.

Literacy provides the "common people" liberation from injustice, coercion and exploitation. In today's culture the "common people" are at risk of losing an understanding ofthe deepest meaning of the written word if they don't have good basic literacy skills.

There is reason to celebrate. California public school students improved their test scores overall this year, as well as other students across the nation. Educators and students should be commended for their accomplishments, but let us not forget to acknowledge the contributions of the people outside the "educational belt way" that have advocated for a renewed commitment to preventing adult illiteracy by teaching our children to read and their commitment to the eradicating of adult illiteracy by teaching adults of all ages to read.

Californians and all Americans have begun the noble and challenging journey to "literacy for all". But California's statewide scores in reading still showed all grades below the national average and little or no improvement in test scores for high school students who will soon be our young adults.

Governor Gray Davis and state education officials are quick to point out the fact that California has a higher proportion of students for whom English is not their native language. How long should we accept this factor as rationalization for not teaching all of our children to read?

"We know the method of placing and labeling students as learning disabled is fundamentally flawed", said Herman Hehir, the former Director of Special Education Programs for the U.S. Dept. of Education. Alice Parker, California's State Director of Special Education, recently said as many as 250,000 out of a total of 651,000 students have been designated as learning disabled because of reading deficiencies. "These students should not be in special education at all." "They have not been taught to read and that's deplorable", Parker said.

State officials imply that lower scores among second language learners should be expected. This thinking is also fundamentally flawed. It is just another code word for lower expectations.

The key to teaching all children and adults to read is proper instruction. Proper instruction comes from properly trained teachers, with the belief that all teachers (K-12) have the responsibility to teach all students K-12) to read.

Schools have 13 years to prevent adult illiteracy. Direct and effective reading, writing and spelling instruction must be the core curriculum for ALL grades K through 12th.

We can prevent adult illiteracy.

I rejoice every time I hear a child read. I understand that teaching a child how to read is logical and more palatable than teaching an adult to read. However, this bias is as oppressive as any form of prejudice. Americans increased life expectancy including increased work lives and greater demands for literacy skills in the work place, challenges our previous held logic.

We must understand that today it is as important to teach an adult to read as it is to teach a child to read before we can reach our noble goal of a "literate America".

Today, more than any other time in our history, adults need to be given every opportunity to learn to read. It will require leadership, commitment and understanding from the literate community, inside and outside of the "educational belt way".

Eradication of adult illiteracy by teaching adults, (many of whom are high school graduates), how to read is not on the "radar screen" for most politicians. Perhaps it is because the number of adults that can't read has increased. We're not all better off than we were 8 years ago.