ADULTS NEED STRONG LITERACY SKILLS

…to raise children who have strong literacy skills.

Learning to read begins long before a child enters school. It begins when parents read to their children, buy their children books, and encourage their children to read. The research is clear: parents who are poor readers don’t read as often to their children as do parents who are strong readers; children who are not read to enter school less prepared for learning to read than other children.

 

…to be good employees.

The employees most in demand have at least a two-year college degree. Workers must be able to read safety regulations and warnings so they and their co-workers can stay safe on the job. And working in a team means that employees must be able to communicate clearly with one another.

…to keep themselves and their families healthy.

Understanding a doctor’s orders, calculating how much medicine to take, reading disease-prevention pamphlets—all are ways adults can keep themselves and their families healthy. But millions of adults lack these essential “health literacy” skills, which adds to our heathcare costs.

…to be active in their communities.

Political campaigns often stress the need for “informed voters.” But how can an individual be well informed if he or she cannot access written campaign literature or read newspaper coverage of the issues and candidates? 

…to advocate for themselves and avoid human rights abuse.

People must be aware of their rights in order to assert them. Literacy gives people access to that information.

…to avoid crime.

There is a clear correlation between adult illiteracy and crime. In the US, more than 45 percent of all inmates in local jails, 40 percent in state facilities, and 27 percent in federal corrections institutions did not graduate from high school. Inmates age 24 and younger are less educated.