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[Joey Carr <joey AT metalab.unc.edu>]

There's a huge difference between being able to read "The cat played with
the ball of yarn" and being able to understand literature that uses a
larger working vocabulary.  Access to most basic needs depends on the
first, but advancement beyond that depends on the second.

A word like "juxtaposition" is on the *advanced* vocabulary list in a lot
of middle schools.  That means that it only gets taught to the advanced
students, e.g. the ones who can already read "the cat played with..."  Is
"juxtaposition" really a word that you could live without in your daily
life?  Lying behind the word is the idea that some abstract thing comes
into existence when two objects are observed in a specific arrangement,
and the idea that the abstract thing can be named and discussed.  That's a
huge lesson for anyone who needs to *think*.

Comprehension and articulation are inextricably linked with our concept of
intelligence.  (IQ tests have been constantly repudiated since their
inception on grounds that they are irreparably biased toward those with
linguistic and cultural savvy, yet they're still supposedly acceptable
evaluative tools)  Illiterate does not mean dumb, except that most people
don't bother to check if it's one or the other.  And then people bitch
about the welfare state because it only supports the dross of
society--people who got to be the dross because they were systematically
denied access to things like literacy training.

So [stepping down from soap box], yeah, 36% sounds absolutely realistic to
me, if I think about literacy in broader terms.

-Joey


On Thu, 8 May 2003, Maria Winslow wrote:

> Can this really be true? Do they mean in English?
> 
> >
> > Here are some facts about literary in Wake County, NC:
> > *       36% of Wake County adults do not possess the necessary skills and
> > reading levels for a high school diploma.  They have difficulty securing
> > livable wages, caring for their families, and obtaining health care.
> >
> 
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