Frederick Douglass once said, “Once you learn to read, you will forever be free” (Cardoza, 2013). Millions of U.S. adults do not possess basic reading and writing skills, and may be deemed “illiterate” or “functionally illiterate”. “Illiterate” means unable to read or write at all and “functionally illiterate” means that one does not possess sufficient reading and writing skills to function successfully in today’s society. Those who are illiterate and functionally illiterate are unable to perform tasks as simple as reading a bus schedule or writing a check. The inability to read could not only cause one emotional damage such as embarrassment or stress, but also could lead to one losing one’s job. Adult illiteracy is a critical problem in the
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31). However, when America began to gain more schools during the late nineteenth century, women took many of the new teaching positions that became available, thus leading to a rise in women’s literacy (Dolan and Scariano, 1995, p. 32). In spite of the growing need for teachers, women teachers were paid significantly less than male teachers, sometimes receiving only a third of the wages that the men received (Dolan and Scariano, 1995, p. 32). Though African-Americans legally gained freedom following the Civil War, education was far from equal between whites and blacks. The Freedmen’s Bureau helped former slaves gain their rights, and helped increase the literacy rate of Southern African-Americans to twenty-one percent by the early 1870s (Dolan and Scariano, 1995, …show more content…
[lack] basic literacy skills (Cardoza, 2013). In 2014, New Orleans, Louisiana had a staggering illiteracy rate of forty-four percent among its residents (Miller, 2014). Camden County, New Jersey, Freeholder Board Member Ian K. Leonard state that “more than forty percent of Camden City’s 77,000 residents are living in poverty, attributed to their lack of education (Boyer, 2014). Personal Accounts of Those Who Have Struggled with Illiteracy Many of those who advocate for literacy once struggled with illiteracy themselves. One such person is Duke Conover of Paducah, Kentucky (Conover, 2009). Conover tells of how, when he was in early elementary school, he had trouble reading, which eventually led to him receiving reading tutoring from a high school senior named Sherry Roberts (2009). Conover speaks of the way Roberts connected reading and writing, and how it was much more effective than previous strategies to teach him how to
31). However, when America began to gain more schools during the late nineteenth century, women took many of the new teaching positions that became available, thus leading to a rise in women’s literacy (Dolan and Scariano, 1995, p. 32). In spite of the growing need for teachers, women teachers were paid significantly less than male teachers, sometimes receiving only a third of the wages that the men received (Dolan and Scariano, 1995, p. 32). Though African-Americans legally gained freedom following the Civil War, education was far from equal between whites and blacks. The Freedmen’s Bureau helped former slaves gain their rights, and helped increase the literacy rate of Southern African-Americans to twenty-one percent by the early 1870s (Dolan and Scariano, 1995, …show more content…
[lack] basic literacy skills (Cardoza, 2013). In 2014, New Orleans, Louisiana had a staggering illiteracy rate of forty-four percent among its residents (Miller, 2014). Camden County, New Jersey, Freeholder Board Member Ian K. Leonard state that “more than forty percent of Camden City’s 77,000 residents are living in poverty, attributed to their lack of education (Boyer, 2014). Personal Accounts of Those Who Have Struggled with Illiteracy Many of those who advocate for literacy once struggled with illiteracy themselves. One such person is Duke Conover of Paducah, Kentucky (Conover, 2009). Conover tells of how, when he was in early elementary school, he had trouble reading, which eventually led to him receiving reading tutoring from a high school senior named Sherry Roberts (2009). Conover speaks of the way Roberts connected reading and writing, and how it was much more effective than previous strategies to teach him how to