(Example+Page)+Literacy

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Overview
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, literacy is the quality of being able to read or write. It is estimated that more than 20% of America’s population is functionally illiterate. This means that more than 2 in 10 adults are unable to read or write well enough to complete an employment application without help (Literacy Facts). A problem such as this surely impacts more than those who read and write inadequately.

Loss of income is a significant result of illiteracy. Adults who obtain a high school diploma earn 42% more than those who do not (OLRC). Additionally, high school dropouts are four times more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates (OLRC). Ultimately, this hurts the population who are employed. This is because those who are employed pay taxes on the wages they earn. Through their taxes, they pay for unemployment compensation, welfare benefits, as well as have their wages taxed at a higher rate to make up for the loss of revenue from those who do not pay taxes at all ("The Time").

Schools
“20 percent of high school seniors can be classified as being functionally illiterate at the time they graduate” ("Grim" par 3). And, it hasn’t improved much in the past 25 years ("Grim"). Often, teenagers graduate with poor reading skills because they are able to hide their inability to read. And, many of these students have learning disabilities or lack the self-confidence to believe they can improve. However, when the problem does become apparent, schools are more concerned with teaching students the content, rather than to help improve their reading skills (Kogut).

Family
According to the U.S. Department of Education, a mother’s literacy level is a good predictor of her children’s ability to read and write well. “Numerous studies show that children whose parents have less than a high school education tend to have the poorest performance on reading tests” (Kogut par 8). Among the many activities in which families participate, reading aloud, or being read to, is an essential part of childhood. However, within those families in which the parents are not able to read or write satisfactorily, this does not happen. Additionally, parents with low literacy skills are not able to help their children with homework. Therefore, these children do not grow up being able to read or write proficiently, nor do they value these abilities.

Immigrants
Immigration growth has exploded in the United States in the past 30 years - nearly tripled since 1970. According to the 2000 Census, one in five children is the child of an immigrant (Kogut). Most immigrants are productive members and contributors to our society, but their lack of English-speaking skills creates a barrier and literacy challenges. As a whole, immigrants have less education and are poorer than those born in the United States. Kogut observed, “Thirty percent of immigrants lack a high school diploma - that is 3.5 times the rate for natives” (par. 4). Consequently, not only are they not able to read and write well, but many of their children are in the same situation.

Schools
One way to improve adult literacy rates is to improve the rate of identification of poor readers while they’re still in school. However, many schools lack the resources and “know how” to educate their increasing diverse population (Kogut). Consequently, funding is needed so that schools can test students’ reading abilities and then hire expert staff to remediate them, as well. This not only will help students’ reading abilities, but will also give them a sense of self-confidence and esteem to move forward more successfully. Additionally, dropout rates will most likely be reduced which will further minimize adult literacy.

Family
Families contribute to adult literacy problems. Because many parents of illiterate students are illiterate themselves, they need to participate in learning programs to stop the generational progression ("Issues"). However, in order for programs to be successful, they can’t look like the formal educational setting in which the parents originally failed. Therefore, community literacy programs seem to be the answer. Programs such as these not only help adults improve their literacy skills, but also help adults improve workplace skills, get jobs, and master life skills. These improvements help ensure long-term financial and personal security.

Immigrants
30% of immigrants don’t have a high school diploma. This is 3.5 times higher than those native to the U.S. (Literacy Facts). Community based literacy programs are just as important to immigrants as native-born citizens. However, programs for immigrants must be fundamentally different. Literacy programs for immigrants need to focus on giving them the ability to read and write English, as well as master basic educational skills, find jobs, and prepare them for citizenship. Consequently, immigrant-focused programs need to include an ESL instructional component (Kogut).