The Effects of Illiteracy

More than 43 million adults in the United States cannot read above a third-grade level, a staggering number that reveals a hidden crisis in one of the world's most developed nations (Literacy Facts n.d.). The widespread problem of illiteracy is not just a struggle in individuals, but in society as a whole that increases poverty rates and inequality among citizens. The lack of literacy shows that the education system has failed in some ways partially due to underfunded schools and underqualified teachers while increasing personal disengagement and lack of parental involvement in children’s education. To combat the growing issue of illiteracy, the United States Department of Education needs to address the problems by improving early childhood education, providing stronger support for teachers, and encouraging greater parental involvement. The crisis of illiteracy in America is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately so that illiteracy no longer limits American citizens.There are many different ways that our society can start to combat illiteracy; one way is to improve early childhood education. A Harvard study says there needs to be a “balanced approach to emotional, social, cognitive, and language development” so that the child will be prepared for school, workplace, and community success (Center on the Developing Child, 2007). By ensuring that every child has a high-quality, lower-elementary education we can prevent illiteracy in the upcoming generations. If the students have a solid reading and writing foundation at a young age, they will be better prepared for the more challenging grade levels they will advance to. In these early childhood education years, the students need to learn proficient phonics, grammar, reading, writing, math, and science to ensure that they do not become illiterate. Since language initially develops through speaking and listening, what a child hears at home will influence their future literacy skills, stressing the importance of literacy in the home.. An article by ABC Canada (2023) says, “Our home is our first place of learning, and our parents are our first teachers.¨ This statement further expresses the importance of parents teaching their children before they go into elementary school. Because the parents are their children's first teachers, they also need to have strong literacy skills, but, in today's homes, many do not. The solution for this must be a compromise between the parents and the government. One example is having adult literacy classes at the local schools after hours so that the parents can become more equipped to teach their children. In my personal experience, at our local library, there are adult reading and writing classes to help illiterate parents who want to give their children the best education. The classes are held once a week focusing on becoming better at reading, writing, and basic math. By making literacy a community-wide effort, we can empower parents and give their children a better chance of success. There are two major types of illiteracy, complete illiteracy and functional illiteracy. The Oxford Dictionary defines illiteracy as the “inability to read or write” (Oxford Reference n.d.). This definition targets more of the complete illiteracy because if you are completely illiterate you can not read or write at all, while if you are functionally illiterate, the person may be able to read and write a little but still can not form complete sentences and can not comprehend writings. Both of these forms of illiteracy create challenges for people as they go about their daily lives. They struggle to get jobs, have an unstable financial situation, and can not read important documents or instructions. Thirty-three percent of adults with less than average literacy skills are unemployed which causes them to live in poverty (The Policy Circle n.d.). Students who live in these poverty-stricken households have less access to books, educational materials, and technology to further develop their education (Public Policy and Education, n.d.). There needs to be grants available to schools so that we can decrease the unavailability of resources so that all students, whether living in poverty or not, have an opportunity to get a great education. A potential solution to the issue of illiteracy in schools is to implement policies that ensure teachers are adequately trained, especially in areas where alternative certification programs are commonly used. This alternative certification can be good and bad in different ways. A good way this can help our schools is by decreasing the teacher shortages. This will make it easier for schools to have the appropriate amount of teachers lessening the workload for many overworked educators. However, the extreme downside to this is that these alternative certified teachers may not know what they are teaching. Bowen and Williams (2024) discuss that “alternatively certified teachers lack training in classroom pedagogy, causing them to struggle in lesson planning, classroom management, and accommodating assignments for a diverse group of learners”. In schools in rural Oklahoma, there have been teachers who have been alternatively certified to teach subjects they do not understand, which leads to the students learning very little about the subject. Research by the Learning Policy Institute (2024) shows that 9,916 teachers are not fully certified for their teaching assignments further hurting the education system. Policies that address these situations would benefit the schooling systems and help decrease illiteracy in schools across the country. A key solution to addressing illiteracy in students is tackling personal disengagement, which is often caused by factors such as large class sizes, overworked teachers, and poor parental involvement. Overcrowded classrooms limit the individual teaching and attention the students receive making it easier for them to become disengaged and fall behind on classwork. These students are not getting enough one-on-one time with the teachers. On the other hand, the teachers are overworked because of teacher shortages making it more difficult to work with their students individually. Lastly, poor parent involvement is a major cause of why students become disengaged in the first place, because if the parents do not care how the students do then why should they try? There are a few ways our society can take action against student disengagement, one way is by finding out what excites the students and planning lessons around that, keeping them interested in the subject (Promethean, n.d.). Another example of engaging students is having them move around the room as much as possible. In a math classroom, there can be different stations that the student has to go to so that they can solve the problems. This activity helps the students stay engaged by giving them something to focus on themselves instead of listening to a teacher talk for an hour. There are many more ways to reengage students, parents and teachers need to work together to achieve this goal so that this generation will continue to pursue an education. The crisis of illiteracy in America is not just an individual struggle but a societal failure that deepens poverty and limits economic opportunities. The issue comes from various factors, including underfunded schools, underqualified teachers, and a lack of early childhood literacy development. Additionally, home environments play a critical role in shaping a child’s ability to read and write, emphasizing the need for parental literacy support. Addressing this issue requires collaboration between schools, communities, and policymakers to invest in quality education and provide necessary resources. By tackling illiteracy at its root, we can create a future where every American has the fundamental skills needed to thrive.

References

ABC Life Literacy Canada. (2023, August 25). The important role of parents in children's literacy development. Retrieved February 14, 2025, from https://abclifeliteracy.ca/news/the-important-role-of-parent-in-childrens-literacy-development/Bowen, B., & Williams, T. (2024). How do alternatively and traditionally certified beginning workforce development teachers feel about their preparedness? Journal of Technology Studies, 49(1), 21–31. https://doi.org/10.21061/jts.417Center on the Developing Child. (n.d.). InBrief: The science of early childhood development. Harvard University. Retrieved February 27, 2025, from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbriefs/inbrief-science-of-ecd/#:~:text=In%20the%20first%20few%20years,brain%20circuits%20become%20more%20efficientLearning Policy Institute. (2024). State teacher shortages and vacancy resource tool. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/state-teacher-shortages-vacancy-resource-tool-2024?utm_source=chatgpt.comLiteracy Texas. (n.d.). Literacy facts. Retrieved February 14, 2025, from https://www.literacytexas.org/why-literacy/literacy-facts/Oxford Reference. (n.d.). Illiteracy. Retrieved February 14, 2025, from https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095957746