Christopher Braden

76-100o Argument

Prof. Sauer

05/02/97

For many learning to read is not easy. It is something that that those of us who do read take for granted. There are often many reasons why people have a difficult time learning to do something which is considered by most to be elementary. In today's society one would think that it would be impossible to survive without being able to read, but there are literally millions of people who do it everyday.

It is incomprehensible to realize what these people must go through everyday. They can't read signs, newspapers, notes or anything that most take for granted. Is this because of their parents? Did mom and dad not give their child the right kind of support when they needed to? Is it because of the schools? Are America's schools in such poor shape that they are no longer, that is if they ever were able to, produce a literate and productive member of society? How did this get to where it is today?

The fact of the matter is that no one really knows how things got to be the way they are today, they just did. It is pointless to put blame on one group or another. Doing that does nothing to solve the problem it only leads in circles. So whether it is parents or schools or society as a whole it makes no difference because once you figure out who's fault it is then what do you do.

The only sure thing is that this is a definite problem and needs to be addressed. Whether it is at a local or national level makes no difference America needs to fix this

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problem and the sooner the better. Many experts write on the topic of literacy and most make valid points. However, these experts oftentimes do not take a proactive roll in addressing the problem.

While it is very important to have some research done in the field it is possible to over do it. Now that the problem has more than been identified there is a clear need for people to address it in a productive manor. While it is known that literacy is a problem it is not known what is causing the continuation of this problem. Many of the experts have their own solutions but really there is no one solution because you can not address this problem in a uniform manner.

There are a multitude of problems to deal with. From the pre-school through to adulthood there are infinite variables that can have an effect on the development of one's literacy skills. Many times problems like dyslexia and other learning disabilities play a role, but more often than that the educational system is failing to provide what is needed. Students need to be made to learn the material and not forced to progress through school without ever learning the basics. The question of literacy levels being below acceptable levels is not alone. American youth do poorly on the arithmetic portions of the same tests that say they are illiterate when compared with the rest of the world.

Much of what contributes to a child's reading level occurs before he or she arrives at school so it is important for parents to establish a firm foundation for what is going to happen, or what is supposed to happen, in school. This is exemplified through the dividing of students according to their reading levels almost immediately when they start

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their formal education. According to Connie Juel's study, Learning to Read and Write: A Longitudinal Study of 54 Children From First Through Fourth Grades, the time that language and reading is most critical is before the student even enters the educational system(437).

According to Juel there is a direct correlation between a child's socioeconomic class and their comprehension levels in school. She sites a British study whose subjects were ages 4 months to 3 years which said:

(a) that there is a strong relation between children's early knowledge of nursery rhymes and the later development of phonological skill and (b) that phonological skill predicted early reading ability. Both were found after controlling for the effects of IQ and socioeconomic status(438).

In the perfect instance a child will be able to read something and understand it as if it were read to them.

Children who come from homes in which language is used almost exclusively for direct (i.e., instrumental) communications may have difficulty with the decontextualized nature of communication in books and in school. On the other hand children who have experienced decontextualized language by having been read to, by hearing language used for purely conceptual discussions, or in other abstract contexts are better prepared for the language used in classrooms. Such children are also likely to be familiar with story structures and complex syntax and have richer vocabularies and developed concepts that will foster reading ( as well as listening) comprehension of books. There is evidence that suggests minority and low socioeconomic status children are more likely to lack extensive experience with decontextualized language (Heath, 1983; Sow, 1983). As measured by standardized tests, the children in my research were below average in school language and listening comprehension at both the beginning and end of first grade(438).

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If a child comes from a low socioeconomic Black or Hispanic family it is more likely to have worse phonnemic awareness than an Anglo child(Juel 437-8). Why is this? Some experts have said that the teachers needed to adjust their teaching style in the classrooms to suit the needs of those students who meet that profile(Ogbu 130-2). As the discussion on literacy unfolded many different theories came about.

Initially it was thought that there was something wrong with blacks because of the way that they spoke. The dialect they used was viewed as a handicap that was holding them back from reaching "acceptable" standards of English(Ogbu 130-1). The next step was the attempted use of dialects in the classroom in order to help the students understand(Ogbu 131). Then in the seventies scholars said that students could not relate to the teachers and vise versa(Ogbu 131) as time goes on there seems to be more and more excuses for something that may not even be a problem.

It is obvious that students from the lower end of the socioeconomic scale have greater difficulty learning to read at the same level as their counterparts at the other end of the scale but this is nothing new. One of the biggest references for statistics is the SATs. Granted the verbal scores are going nowhere but if you look closer they really have increased. In1980 the average was only 424 in the mid 80's scores went up marginally but in 1990 the average was back down to 424(Fowles 729). While these statistics are factual they are very misleading. They fail to account for the fact that more and more students are taking the SATs because they are getting more chances at going to college. In 1980 only 32% of graduating seniors took the SATs in 1985 that figure rose to 36% and in

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1990 it increased to 40%(Fowles 729). As the number of students who are able to go to college rises so does the number of students who take the SATs and as that rises it brings in students who have less natural ability not ones with more because they were taking the test in the first place.

Jib Fowles makes several interesting observations in his article Are Americans Reading Less? Or More?. First he explains that there is no "textbook" definition of illiteracy. The Educational Testing Service puts the figure at a shocking 96%, but Jonathan Kozol a respected scholar in this field puts the figure at 65%(Fowles726). Who do we believe? Nearly every scholar has a different number in mind and that is often reflected in the type of writing they do.

Despite what you may think reading levels have gone up. More Americans buy books go to libraries and subscribe to magazines than 30 years ago. In 1970 Americans spent $2.9 billion on books and in 1988 they spent $9.8 billion. The statistics show that as a whole book sales grew 29% per-capita in the years surveyed. In the time between 1977 and 1989 borrowing books from libraries increased by 25%(Fowels 727).

The public is actually reading these things too, not just borrowing or buying them. A Gallup Pole in 1962 revealed that only 21% of those asked read a book the day before but in 1988 that figure was 37%(Fowles 727). These statistics not only reflect well on the literacy levels of Americans but also on the status of the American publishing market.

According to a study released by the National Assessments of Educational Progress there is virtually no difference between students age 13 between 1988 and 1971.

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As far as those who say that things are worse today students aged 9 and 17 read at a significantly higher level than their counterparts in 1971 according to a 1988 report(Fowles 729).

Many may claim that Television is the downfall of society but it may not be the evil that some portray it to be. While more people do watch Television today as indicated by a 1988 Gallup Poll, 91% of those asked said that they had watched Television the day before which is up from the 77% that said yes in 1962(Fowels 729), Americans are still reading more than ever before. As evidenced by other polls which asked if the responder had read the day before all indicated increased levels of reading in the past 10 or 15 years(Fowles 727-9).

Still literacy is a problem, some argue that this is so because the average person's command of the written and spoken word is painfully inadequate(Botstein 57). According to Leon Botstein in his article Damaged Literacy: Illiteracies and American Democracy there are what he calls "pseudoliteracies" which Americans have been mistaking for actual literacy. Botstein says that as a society we have become too accepting of lower levels of literacy. In order to make things look nicer we have adapted the definition of literacy to fit the needs of statisticians(Botstein 56-7).

Botstein also remarks on the school systems in America. He feels that because they are required to cater to all children that it detracts attention from what needs to be addressed. Botstein claims that most colleges have compromised in order to meet public

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expectations. It is this compromising that Botstein blames for the decrease in the American Technological supremacy in the economy(57).

Many of these points are valid. Today teachers concentrate on making sure that their students will do well on multiple choice exams rather than making sure students can communicate at an acceptable level(DeParle). Many of today's classrooms have this focus. The student may be able to read and write at what is considered an acceptable level, but are we just trying to sugarcoat a serious problem facing society? At least 50 years ago when one went to school they really learned to read. Not like today when students get a lighter version of the real thing. Perhaps 50 years ago less people went to school but those that did go actually got an education.

Botstein also raises the argument that Immigrants from after the Civil War planted a seed for what has been happening today(62-5). According to him immigrants put too much stress on doing well in school in order to allow for upward mobility in society(64). In many Immigrant families undo stress can be placed on children to do well but there is also the problem of those who are unwilling to work at all in school.

Many generalizations are wrong. In Louis Alvarez's video Yeah You Right he shows how it is possible for people who may sound unintelligent may really know their stuff(Alvarez). Alvarez's point was that some people do not feel comfortable speaking in a professional manner for countless reasons but typically they are weary of what their peers will think. It can work in the reverse as well. If somebody of high social standing

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was talk below their everyday level in order to be understood the may reconsider based on what their peers will think.(Alvarez).

Millions of Americans are illiterate, and millions more are not really 100% literate they have some small and sometimes large voids in their abilities. It is next to impossible to compile accurate figures that actually reflect the way it is in the real world. The problem of illiteracy is self perpetuating. It will constantly snowball from one generation to the next. Many of the experts in the field can see this as a problem. There needs to be a point at which things cant get any worse. Hopefully it will not need to reach that point before the situation is rectified. As things stand now ther is no reason that things should need to progress to the point of no return.

There is a direct correlation between your upbringing and how well you do in school that is not to say that there are no exceptions to the rule but the first situation prevails more often than not. There are reasons that certain social groups have trouble making their way to the top. In order to make it anywhere in the world you need to have a good foundation on which to build. This foundation is the ability to read, grasp, and communicate. A person who possesses all of these basic skills has definitely got a firm foundation to build on.