Australia has a staggering 44% of adults who are classified as functionally illiterate (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). Functionally illiteracy is defined by Vágvölgyi, Coldea, Dresler, Schrader, and Nuerk (2016) as "a person who cannot use reading, writing, and calculation skills for his/her own and the community's development" (p. 1). This is more common than you would think, even amongst developed nations, with 750 million people in the world remaining functionally illiterate (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2016).
There are many reasons why literacy rates in the world are low, ranging from undiagnosed learning disabilities to a lack of knowledge as to why literacy matters, or even little or no …show more content…
You can't take the bus to work, because you can't read the timetable; you can't order lunch, because you can't read the menu; you can't even message with your friends, because you can't read the messages. Without these literacy skills, you cannot truly participate in life and reach your fullest potential (Fitzgerald, 2011). Participation is one of the Catholic Social Teaching principles, stating that everyone has a right and a duty to participate in society (Byron, 1998; Catholic Charities of St Paul & Minneapolis, 2015). If you could not read or write, could you really participate in society?
On a similar note, someone who is not literate is not reaching their fullest potential, and therefore the common good, another of the Catholic Social Teaching principles, is not being met (Byron, 1998; Kaczor, 2011). The common good has many dimensions, reflecting the many dimensions of the human person, and one of those is an intellectual dimension (Kaczor, 2011). We call it the common good because it is a good that is common to all people, and therefore all people, wherever and whoever they are, are involved in it and should work towards achieving it (Kaczor, …show more content…
There continues to be too many countries in the world where adults and children like you cannot read or perform basic literacy tasks (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2012; UNESCO, 2016). Solidarity is another of the Catholic Social Teaching Principles, and tells us that we are all one big global family, helping each other and contributing to our shared world (Byron, 1998; Kammer, 2018). How much are we losing because of all of these people who cannot participate or express themselves in our
There are many reasons why literacy rates in the world are low, ranging from undiagnosed learning disabilities to a lack of knowledge as to why literacy matters, or even little or no …show more content…
You can't take the bus to work, because you can't read the timetable; you can't order lunch, because you can't read the menu; you can't even message with your friends, because you can't read the messages. Without these literacy skills, you cannot truly participate in life and reach your fullest potential (Fitzgerald, 2011). Participation is one of the Catholic Social Teaching principles, stating that everyone has a right and a duty to participate in society (Byron, 1998; Catholic Charities of St Paul & Minneapolis, 2015). If you could not read or write, could you really participate in society?
On a similar note, someone who is not literate is not reaching their fullest potential, and therefore the common good, another of the Catholic Social Teaching principles, is not being met (Byron, 1998; Kaczor, 2011). The common good has many dimensions, reflecting the many dimensions of the human person, and one of those is an intellectual dimension (Kaczor, 2011). We call it the common good because it is a good that is common to all people, and therefore all people, wherever and whoever they are, are involved in it and should work towards achieving it (Kaczor, …show more content…
There continues to be too many countries in the world where adults and children like you cannot read or perform basic literacy tasks (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2012; UNESCO, 2016). Solidarity is another of the Catholic Social Teaching Principles, and tells us that we are all one big global family, helping each other and contributing to our shared world (Byron, 1998; Kammer, 2018). How much are we losing because of all of these people who cannot participate or express themselves in our