Why We Have More Than 40 Million Functional Illiterates

[Conservative65]

I still feel the main reason for illiteracy is our focus on academic courses and not vocational.

Some of those same kids who "don't give a dam " might if they were given the opportunity to learn a trade. Stress that reading, writing, and math will help them become good carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, heating & a/c tech and you will be surprised at how much their grades improve.

The school systems today have a mindset that everyone must go to college. The local district has done away with what they used to call Regular level classes and the minimum level, outside of special education, is College Prep. Many of the students who went to what we call Career Centers took Regular level and got the academic basics they needed to be functionally literate in society because they learned a trade at the Career Centers. Not so much anymore.

 

[regent]

I think we are simplifying a topic that is not simple. So many studies have been done, so many new approaches and methods of teaching tried from the 3R's to today's latest attempt "Common Core." (I'd love to make a list of all the attempts.)
Educators still don't have real answers, but since most of us have been to school we feel knowledgeable enough to take a stab at solving the problems, based on our own school experience, but at least that shows an interest. Until recently I didn't even know of a program named "Teach For America" or TFA for short. TFA is just another attempt to find answers for the lag in black education, is it genetic, cultural or other?

 

[Unkotare]

I still feel the main reason for illiteracy is our focus on academic courses and not vocational.

Some of those same kids who "don't give a dam " might if they were given the opportunity to learn a trade. Stress that reading, writing, and math will help them become good carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, heating & a/c tech and you will be surprised at how much their grades improve.

The school systems today have a mindset that everyone must go to college. .....

No they don't.

 

[koshergrl]

I read the article and it got me to thinking. Why was I reading before kindergarten and how did I learn then – and when I entered school? I think the reason was that it was during WWII when my parents placed me in a “military school”, Page Military Academy in Los Angeles. I was taught phonics. So, when I entered “traditional” school, I had a leg up.



This article seems to point out a way we can improve the reading ability of our children, something I believe is vital to our future.



Read more: Articles: Why We Have More Than 40 Million Functional Illiterates

And they all identify as progressive and post at usmb.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I am adept at spelling, grammar, and phonics because I was on the receiving end of nuns' yardsticks for eight years.

oh man, I had a teacher like that in eight grade. she loved those three sided rulers if you didn't have your spelling lesson done. Yikes

My wife had a psycho teacher like that. She still has a scar from the bitch's shiv. (It was a broken-off piece of a draftsman's square, that she honed with a whetstone.) That day, she decided there would not be a second attack. The second time Sister Psycho came around with her weapon, my wife got her: an uppercut to the chin, with a roll of dimes (a credible stand-in for a knuckleduster) in her fist and every ounce of her strength behind it. She broke the bitch's jaw, knocked out eight teeth, and when her head hit the floor, she got a concussion. Sister Psycho forgot something important: when you are a bully, never try it on someone that is more vicious than you are.

Her father found out about the shank and nearly killed the principal with his bare hands.

 

[Conservative65]

I still feel the main reason for illiteracy is our focus on academic courses and not vocational.

Some of those same kids who "don't give a dam " might if they were given the opportunity to learn a trade. Stress that reading, writing, and math will help them become good carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, heating & a/c tech and you will be surprised at how much their grades improve.

The school systems today have a mindset that everyone must go to college. .....

No they don't.

Ever worked or been part of one in any way?

 

[Unkotare]

I still feel the main reason for illiteracy is our focus on academic courses and not vocational.

Some of those same kids who "don't give a dam " might if they were given the opportunity to learn a trade. Stress that reading, writing, and math will help them become good carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, heating & a/c tech and you will be surprised at how much their grades improve.

The school systems today have a mindset that everyone must go to college. .....

No they don't.

Ever worked or been part of one in any way?

Yup