Literacy education is a dynamic part of any society's educational desires and goals. Everywhere around the world, many individuals cannot read or write a single sentence making the illiteracy rate surprising to some. Typically, in most industrialized nations, the literacy rate of individuals over the age of fifteen, is 90 percent or above. However, the definition of literacy can be quite misleading. It has been estimated that while 99% of persons over the age of fifteen in the United States are able to write their names, and read some words, certain studies have estimated that 40 to 50% of adults are functionally illiterate.
The phrase functionally illiterate describes those persons over the age of fifteen who are unable to read well enough to read a daily newspaper and comprehend it, or to read well enough to understand a simple contract, or a basic letter concerning their children's school needs, or the pamphlets that are enclosed with prescription drugs that explain side effects and precautions.
Certainly, this illiteracy makes it very hard for a person to hold a well-paying job, or to care for a family member, and is a contributing factor to poverty. Other studies have demonstrated that the functional illiteracy rates in the United States are not as high as 40 to 50 percent across the population, but the studies do acknowledges that in certain impoverished regions of the country, as many as one-third of the residents are functionally illiterate.
Even if the statistical rates of functional literacy may vary from one study to another, it is still apparent that a high number of adults in this country are poor readers. This has tremendous implications for employers and social service programs. Employers need to have an educated workforce to perform well in various jobs that bring revenue to a community. People who cannot read well enough to have a good job are more likely to need social services assistance, which costs taxpayers more money. Therefore, it is important that literacy education be promoted as a highly important need for all communities. Literacy education needs to begin from early childhood, with parents spending time talking to and reading to even the youngest of children. Additionally, early learning programs are a vital part of literacy education for young children to prepare them to read once school begins. In addition to a literacy program, other programs such as early identification of those with learning disorders are also critical for children to get the help that they need before they fall too far behind in reading.
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The California Literacy Network, or Literacy Education-Teaching Literacy, is again fully dedicated to ensuring that the citizens of California are educated to their full ability to become more and more educated on the importance of literacy. The number of individuals who are illiterate will continue to rise, unless further action is taken in order to dissolve this problem. This problem can be considered an epidemic, and our society cannot afford to take on the challenge of an uneducated society.
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