Reading And Society

It may come as a surprise to many people that the literacy and comprehension rates of a  society have an enormous impact on a wide variety of aspects of our culture and our day to day life. The reading abilities our children have determines the paths that their lives take and the types of adults they eventually become. The level of literacy that adults in our society hold affects everything from the economy, to the crime rates and a great deal in between. The statistics come back every year looking worse and worse. Fewer adults are reading, more children are graduating high school without basic literacy and meanwhile the unemployment rates go up.

It’s not commonly known but there is a lot of direct evidence that reading, and literary education has a direct influence over many aspects of a persons life. Reading skills demonstrate an obvious correlation when compared with the rates of high school graduation, stable employment, arrests, teenage pregnancies, unmarried mothers, and convictions. The statistics that uphold these statements are often alarming. The Washington Literary Council found that more than three out of four of those on welfare are illiterate along with 85% of unwed mothers and 68% of those arrested. They also found that three out of fie of America’s prison inmates cannot read. The U.S. Department of Education found that over forty-four million adults in the U.S. can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child and that 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. The evidence is overwhelming that reading abilities are paramount to the success of any person and yet we find that over one million children drop out of school each year and an additional two billion dollars is spent each year on students who have to repeat a grade because of reading difficulties.

The message here is clear, with poverty levels being directly associated with reading abilities and states like Arizona using fourth grade reading levels to predict the number of state prison beds they’ll need it’s obvious that our degrading standards for literacy here in the U.S. are much to blame for social and economical concerns across the country. What isn’t clear is the direct cause of these problems? Is it a lack of emphasis by teachers, overcrowding of classrooms, or dwindling school budgets that leads to the poor reading skills students leave school with? And what is it about literacy skills that make such a difference in the life of the average person? Concerns like these plague researchers and educators as they watch the mirroring trends between the decline of importance that literature holds in our society and the rise of disturbing statistics of juvenile arrests, convictions, increases in poverty, families on welfare, and other unfortunate situations. It may seem like little can be done when the budget for education is quickly wiped out by corporate bailouts and national defense spending but there are answers that educators, parents, and concerned citizens can turn to when they themselves or someone they know struggles with reading or literacy skills. It’s an important issue to be aware of not only because of it’s obvious connection to other aspects of life but because of the inherent nature of how our reading abilities allow us to navigate through the world.

The abilities of a person to read and write well has a substantial effect on their every day activities and can determine their interactions and perceptions of the world around them. The very beginnings of these problems can show up as children that struggle to stay with their class in school, have difficulty developing their vocabulary and so forth. Eventually it can develop into a student being one of the twenty percent of students that graduate high school without being able to read and one of the millions of adults in America that can’t balance a checkbook, fill out a job application, or read a drug label. When these problems are left unattended it can cause serious problems for a person. Without proper reading skills the ability to make a living is almost completely lost and this can quickly turn into a criminal record especially for underprivileged students and those in poverty-stricken areas. This is why it’s so important for everyone to ensure that students are getting a proper education and developing the reading skills they so critically need. It’s also of vital importance that reading programs be developed for adults and non-traditional students that may be returning to school so that they too can learn the necessary skills for success.

To do so great changes will have to be made in our country not only about the level of importance that is placed on learning and reading skills but also the way funding is allocated for schools and reading programs as well as the mindset that reading is given. Reading and literature can’t continue to be placed by the wayside when it’s so clear that  they are of such great importance to the way that so many people develop their lives. These changes, though large and on a wide scale, are made on a person by person basis. It starts with parents that take the time to read to their children on a daily basis and encourage them to spend time reading on their own. If teachers get on board and make an effort to have reading be a greater focus in the classroom, not only with children reading as a group but also individually with and without the teacher so that they can receive guidance when necessary. If teachers can place more of an emphasis on reading then hopefully programs to help underprivileged students and adults whose reading skills aren’t up to par improve their skills will be able to get approved and placed in schools and learning centers. These kinds of changes can take time but they are absolutely necessary to improve our country and the level of skills that our students leave school with. By making these changes we can improve the ability of our citizens to earn money, have jobs, teach their children, and greatly benefit many other areas of their life. Take into account your reading abilities and the abilities of those around you and see if there isn’t anything you can do to make an improvement.