An essay telling the perils of illiteracy? This paper is a paradox illustrating the morbid reality facing all of America. Those affected by this crippling disability will never know just how far reaching the problem is because they cannot read. Literacy is one of the few ailments that can affect everybody without prejudice. No test to determine a predisposition to illiteracy exists, but it is one of the few paramount issues of today’s society that we can change. Illiteracy will lead to a lower standard of living, more complications in the workforce of America, and a less intelligent society because “If you can’t read, you can’t do anything.” (Bush). But illiteracy can not only be corrected but reversed.
History
The first time that literacy …show more content…
21 percent of adults cannot read, and this is a problem. That is 32 million people that lack the ability to read a prescription label or a recipe. This is an extremely worrying statistic, because it shows that reading education programs are failing at preparing the youth for the future. As a society we put a full faith in these individuals to veer our future down the right path of education when they have not fully explored the path themselves. Yet literacy is under addressed and under researched.
Another 21 percent of adults read below a fifth grade level, meaning a book comparable to their reading level would be Holes by Louis Sachar. While being significantly better than not being able to read, a fifth grade reading level is still horrendous. Once again another 32 million people who are missing out on great art forms and the ability to do basic daily functions. These individuals can be served papers to appear in court and would not know they have been summoned because they cannot read. Interestingly 61 percent of prison inmates cannot read. Literacy has been directly linked to the incarceration rate among inmates because they cannot read; interestingly enough inmates are unable to procure a job without the ability to …show more content…
The United States acts as a police force and spend billions for countries that have no need for military because they know they have our protection. Annually the United States spends 3.9 trillion dollars as noted by President Obama’s 2015 budget. The world is more peaceful now than ever, and yet America spends more and more on defense. The need to divert some of this spending and put it towards programs for literary is very apparent. The government can set up literary programs in the early lives of school children to ensure that every child is reading. Another avenue to pursue would be to add onto existing charities. Dolly Parton has a charity where she sends a child a new book every week until they are a certain age, if the United States Government got involved us could broaden the reach of this program to ensure all children are able to read and increase their
History
The first time that literacy …show more content…
21 percent of adults cannot read, and this is a problem. That is 32 million people that lack the ability to read a prescription label or a recipe. This is an extremely worrying statistic, because it shows that reading education programs are failing at preparing the youth for the future. As a society we put a full faith in these individuals to veer our future down the right path of education when they have not fully explored the path themselves. Yet literacy is under addressed and under researched.
Another 21 percent of adults read below a fifth grade level, meaning a book comparable to their reading level would be Holes by Louis Sachar. While being significantly better than not being able to read, a fifth grade reading level is still horrendous. Once again another 32 million people who are missing out on great art forms and the ability to do basic daily functions. These individuals can be served papers to appear in court and would not know they have been summoned because they cannot read. Interestingly 61 percent of prison inmates cannot read. Literacy has been directly linked to the incarceration rate among inmates because they cannot read; interestingly enough inmates are unable to procure a job without the ability to …show more content…
The United States acts as a police force and spend billions for countries that have no need for military because they know they have our protection. Annually the United States spends 3.9 trillion dollars as noted by President Obama’s 2015 budget. The world is more peaceful now than ever, and yet America spends more and more on defense. The need to divert some of this spending and put it towards programs for literary is very apparent. The government can set up literary programs in the early lives of school children to ensure that every child is reading. Another avenue to pursue would be to add onto existing charities. Dolly Parton has a charity where she sends a child a new book every week until they are a certain age, if the United States Government got involved us could broaden the reach of this program to ensure all children are able to read and increase their