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Seeking Remedy: America’s English Literacy Decline Produced by American Literacy Council Staff: Free for public use in support of English Literacy Part One: What the Numbers Tell Us. In Six Parts. This is Part One.

1992 Arby’s Restaurant Place Mat 1 in 10=10% illiterate 1 in 8 =12% illiterate 1 in 5 = 20% illiterate 1 in 2 = 50% America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

Definition of “Functionally Illiterate” Short: one who is unable to read a Help Wanted ad, get to the place where the job is offered, and fill out the job application form. Long: the inability to write, read, and comprehend texts on familiar subjects, and to understand whatever signs, labels, instructions, and directions are necessary to get along within one’s environment. Hunter and Harmon, Adult Illiteracy in the US., 1979 America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

Viewed Globally, the Illiterate Are: “Campaigning for Literacy” Bhola, Unesco, 1984 Desperate Poor Hungry Often jobless Abused Exploited Powerless Ashamed Self doubting Migrant “Speech makes us human, writing makes us civilized.” America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

Video Clip: 1’ 10” “Bluffing It” Showing: Showing: The personal tragediesThe personal tragedies that result from illiteracy. that result from illiteracy. Literacy can be a life Literacy can be a life or death issue. or death issue. America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

The 1993 National Adult Literacy Survey Largest Study of Functional Literacy in the US 26,000 People Interviewed in Depth Formal Government Study: 1993 Thursday, September 9, 1993

The Test: can you write a letter to clear up a billing error? write a letter to clear up a billing error? calculate the length of a bus trip from a bus schedule? calculate the length of a bus trip from a bus schedule? The four year study was conducted by ETS, the Educational Testing Service, under contract to the Department of Education. Adolescents under age 15 were not interviewed. Released Sept The report was released by Madeline Kunin, Deputy Sec. of Education America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

Video Clip: 2 Minutes McNeil-Lehrer Report: Sept Total Population: 185 Million when Test was given In m lowest 50m 2nd lowest 61m moderate skills 20m adequate 20m highly literate Cannot: Calculate total of a purchase. Find a street on a map. Understand which price is lowest. Cannot: describe a newspaper article. Write a summarizing paragraph. Distinguish antibiotic from vitamin. America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

States With More Than 1 to 3 million Adults With No High School Diploma More than 3 million 2 to 3 million 1 to 2 million Less than 1 million With no high school diploma, 3/4 earn less than $7,000/year “Adult Illiteracy in the United States”, p 37 America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

ElectricityTelegraphPhonographRadioAutomobilesMovies Auto Factories AirplanesRadarAntibioticsTelevisionComputersRobotsSatellites Until 1920, printed matter was virtually all that was available. Print had very little competition. Workforce Complexity Literacy 90% Literacy Print’s Competition America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

Simply Stated Eighty Years Ago: 90% of the population could write and read complex material. Today: 1/3 to 1/2 of the population cannot fill in job applications or read medicine bottle labels. The work place requires the use of computers with complex instruction manuals. Literacy continues to decline despite massive campaigns and massive dollars. Technophobia: VCR’s Answering Machines Car radio Digital Clock Microwave Fax Machines Cellular Phones America’s English Literacy Decline- Part One

Five Factors are Alleged to Cause the Literacy Dilemma. I. History: “We were Always a Nation of Illiterate Immigrants and Farmers” II. Schools: Experimental New Teaching Methods III. Society: Breakdown of the American Family IV. Government: Lack of Uniform Standards V. English: Our Erratic System of Spelling Are these the causes? Who or what is to blame for non-stop decline? What solutions are offered to increase literacy? How can we deal with non-reading populations? What failed programs could we avoid?

Continue to Part Two: “We Were Once A Literate Nation.”