The Luxury of Literacy

Can you read the following sentence? ||

If you’re like me, you can’t. It looks like a string of random symbols and spaces. (It is just a string of random symbols and spaces.) But pretend you’ve just gone in for a job interview and this is at the top of a form that you are required to complete. You ask the receptionist what language it is and she says it’s English. Quite a challenge! You no longer know how to read.

In this situation, however smart you are, whatever level of education you have, however highly respected in your field, you become as ignorant as a young child. This is what it’s like for many of the 44 million Americans, including 31,000 Kalamazoo County residents who cannot read well enough to complete an application. (Statistics are provided by the Kalamazoo Literacy Council and obtained from the National Institute for Literacy and the National Adult Literacy Survey.)

This is similar to how Laubach method literacy tutor training begins. Tutors become ‘ignorant’ students again and learn what it’s like to be taking those very first steps toward reading and writing with ease.

Since I began working at the Poverty Reduction Initiative in Kalamazoo County in late 2010, I have been busy learning many new languages — the language of the non-profit community, the language of my workplace, the language of our online database; and relearning ones I already knew – HTML, marketing, press release writing, film-making. I also recently completed literacy tutor training to learn how to help others learn to read and write in (American) English.

For several weeks, with all of this learning, I have not had time to write for this blog or my own personal projects, except for short bursts on twitter. Writing for pleasure is a luxury. So is reading for fun. It takes time to write and time to edit. I’m a fast thinker and slow writer. That means I make a lot of revisions. Most of us who work full time don’t have much time during the day to read or write except as required by our jobs. In the evenings we’re busy with our lives, our families, our friends, away from our computers (but not our phones!). I’m lucky that writing is part of my job description. I made the choice to be in a profession where it is. You’re fortunate to have the time, resources, and ability to read this today.

Without essential reading and writing skills, you must rely on spoken communications to make your way in the world. You must take at their word those people who interpret the strange written symbology for you, whether or not they understand what they have read. When you can read and write for yourself, you can gain knowledge from everywhere, make your own interpretation, develop your own understanding. It’s empowering.

As a society we need to ensure our children grow up as literate as possible, in as many languages as possible — including mathematics, finances, foreign languages, and computer code — to be able to read, write, and reason for themselves. Childhood education needs your support.

(On February 8 the Kids Count in Michigan 2010 Data Book is being released, which will highlight how our community supports — and can better support — kids’ academic success. PRI will be posting information on our website and social media networks.)

It’s also never too late to learn to read. If you’d like to empower someone with the gift of literacy, you can find a literacy tutor training program through America's Literacy Directory.