Why do I need to care about it?

Literacy refers to a person’s ability to both understand and create messages in a variety of contexts and situations.  This includes reading and writing.  Also includes understanding paycheck stubs, tax forms, contracts, & other legal documents.  Also includes understanding media messages, the news, political speeches, etc.

 Your level of literacy can determine your life chances:  Where you can go to college (if you decide to go)  What kinds of jobs you can get  How much money you can make  What level of social status you can hope for

 Here’s a slam poem on the subject:

 Here’s a real life clip on the subject:

 Getting a good job now depends a lot on your level of literacy.  More and more jobs, for example, are requiring computer literacy (ability to use computers).  99 % of new jobs require some degree of reading *  The United States used to have many factory jobs that did not require a person to be literate.  We’re losing those jobs; Many are being shipped overseas—called outsourcing. ▪ The Cato Institute estimates that 2 million jobs were outsourced from 1983 to 2004; how many more have been lost in the seven years since then, nobody can say for sure. *Many statistics taken from a presentation authored by Ira S. Wolfe in 2007

 America used to be a “superpower” with regard to workers. This is no longer true.  More than a dozen countries have a higher high school graduation rate than the US —including China, India, Norway, Germany, Japan, Canada, and Cuba.  India has more “honors students” than America has children and teens combined.  Employers want the best employees, but complain they have a hard time finding them in the USA.  Many high level American jobs go to non-Americans — including government and military jobs.

 25% of American companies say they have or soon will stop hiring people without a high school diploma or GED.  America’s high-school drop out rate is around 34%  11 million adults in America are illiterate  Only 13% of American adults can read at a “proficient” level  Only 32% of high school graduates are ready for college and 52% are not ready for the work world

 82% of high school freshmen do not earn a college degree  Employers consistently say the biggest weaknesses of young workers are reading, writing, math, and computer skills even though these are also among the most important skills in today’s work world.  Team work/collaboration skills and professionalism/work ethic are also weak.

 Literacy requirements for good jobs are going up  But literacy abilities among American high school graduates are going down

 Economic fact 1: A good, well-trained workforce usually leads to a strong economy and higher pay for people.  Economic fact 2: A weak, poorly-trained workforce always leads to higher prices, less pay, and more unemployment.  Economic fact 3: Employers will higher who they think will be the best workers, no matter what nationality they are.

 If you apply yourself to becoming even more literate, you can have an advantage in the job market.  Countries and companies want to hire good people and will pay to get them.  The better the job you can get, the better you can support your family and community.  This also includes racial communities.

Figures from a 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics study Unemployment is now between 9.2 and 9.5%

 Annual salary comparison:  No HS diploma: $444 per week x 4 weeks = ?  HS diploma: $626 per week x 4 weeks = ?  Some college: $712 per week x 4 weeks = ?  Bachelor’s degree: $1,038 per week x 4 weeks = ?  Professional degree * : $1,610 per week x 4 weeks = ?

 Average rent in the USA = $824 / month 1  Average house payment = $1,514 / month 1  Average grocery bill = $ / month 2  Average restaurant costs = $71.67 / month 2  Estimated utility costs = $ / month 3  Estimated cell phone bill = $100 / month 4  Average car expenses = $ / month 5  Average entertainment expenses = $210 / month 6  Estimated health care cost = $100 / month 7 Will you have enough education/literacy to get a job that can support your lifestyle? That comes down to your choices.

All expenses based on recent national data.    3 (I based this estimate on a small 3-room housing unit with minimal appliances.)  4 (Average of high and low annual payments divided by 12)   6 (Estimation based on cable [$60], movies x 2 [$30], “night out” expenses [$50], video games/music [$50], and miscelaneous [$20])  7 Finding an accurate measure for this is extremely difficult. I based this on an assumption of one perscription ($20), two office co-pay payments ($40), and an additional $40 for over-the-counter medicines or insurance payments. If you have medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, etc. or you don’t have health care through work, your costs will be much higher per month.

 What conclusions can we draw from all of this data?  Final thought: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance roll in on the wheels of inevitablilty…This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.