Shadow Forest Authors
June 5, 2009 by Lillie
Most authors support literacy programs for two major reasons. First, the altruistic reason: illiteracy is a huge problem for the people who can’t read and for society in general.
In the US, according to the Education Portal:
- 50 percent of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level. …
- 3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read. …
- 3 out of 5 people in an American prison can’t read.
- 85 percent of juvenile offenders have problems reading. …
- Illiteracy costs American taxpayers an estimated $20 billion each year.
Second, the selfish reason: people who are illiterate can’t read our books. We write books to be read, and the illiteracy rate in the US means half the adults in this country will never even have the chance to read our work.
Shadow Forest Authors, the fellowship of authors and supporters for charity, encourages authors to donate their books to literacy organizations. An author can donate a single copy of a title to one of the organizations supported by Shadow Forest Authors (SFA) and be listed on their site as a contributing author. Others who want to support literacy can adopt an author, purchase a copy of the author’s book, and donate it.
I would like to see a wider selection of literacy organizations, and SFA is open to adding more nonprofits. The organization I have supported locally is currently changing its structure or I would have submitted it to SFA. So I chose an organization in another part of the country and sent a couple copies of Dream or Destiny. Most of the organizations listed mystery as a genre they were seeking.
You can join the cause by suggesting other literacy agencies to SFA and by donating one or more books (either your own or those of an author you adopt).
Lillie,
This might be off-topic just a little, but with your mention of literacy rates, I feel compelled to put in my two cents worth with respect to the factors which contribute to literacy problems.
Personally, I can’t help but feel that along with potential deficiencies within education systems, there may well be another problem which may contribute toward problems with literacy rates – the sheer complexity of the English language itself.
In Korea, where, as you are no doubt aware that I am currently living, I’m not sure about the statistics, but I know that the country has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, and aside from those who suffer from mental deficiencies, almost everyone can use their language to communicate in an adequate fashion.
Sure, the homogonous nature of their population is no doubt a contributing factor, as is their grueling education system, but I can’t help feeling that the simplicity of their language itself is a contributing factor. In Korea, the alphabet is not only ridiculously easy to learn, but is entirely phonetic, meaning of course that Koreans can read a word and pronounce it in the correct fashion with 100% accuracy. In addition, their whole language structure seems to be very systematic, based almost entirely upon clearly defined rules, with very little in the way of exceptions which do not follow any form of common sense.
In contrast, the English language seems to be littered with ad-hoc exceptions which do not follow any apparent form of system or common sense. Add to that the fact that our alphabet is not phonetic and that would appear to me to make a language which is extremely difficult to master, thus being a contributing factor to problems relating to literacy levels.
Andrew´s last blog post..Climbing to the top
Andrew,
Your evaluation of the reasons for illiteracy is excellent. I am sure the complexity of the language and the deficiencies of the educational system contribute to the problem.
One of the big deficiencies of the educational system is part of a larger societal problem—expectations and standards aren’t the same for all students. In the zeal to accommodate individuals with problems, way too many kids have been put into special education with lower standards and expectations.
One of our family members attended a high school that was recognized as one of the best schools in the country. He was placed in special education classes and told he wasn’t capable of performing in regular classes. When his parents protested and requested that he be mainstreamed, even offering to get tutoring or extra help if needed, the school administrators scoffed at the suggestion. They told the parents that the parents were expecting too much of their son, and the only reason they didn’t want him in special education was because they were embarrassed that the boy wasn’t as smart as the parents. That wasn’t the case at all—the parents wanted him to get a good education. Also, they recognized that many of his peers in the special education classes were unmotivated to do well (why not? they were told they couldn’t do well) and a number of them were trouble-makers, a bad influence on an impressionable boy.
Unfortunately, the school prevailed, and the young man didn’t get the good education his parents wanted for him. He has spent most of his adult life in prison or in some kind of trouble. A tragic waste of his potential! All because the school would not let him be challenged to reach beyond where he was at, labeling him learning-disabled and relegating him to simpler classes with unmotivated students.
Hi Lillie,
I would certainly say that the parents who you mentioned would certainly have a right to feel somewhat miffed about the conduct of the school in this case.
Having taught English for the last four years, I can certainly understand the need for special classes to cater for the needs of lower achieving students. When planning the lessons, I always make every effort to ensure that the level of difficulty is appropriate for the class, but inevitably, with the vastly differing levels of ability within each class, it is very difficult in a mainstream class to cater for the needs of every single student, and no matter how hard I try to help the lower students, there are some who, for whatever reason, just cannot handle it. These students would be better served in a much more basic class, where they could proceed at a much slower pace.
But that said, special classes are appropriate only for those students who suffer from fairly extreme learning difficulties. I do not believe these classes are merely for student’s whose level of achievement is merely below average. They are only appropriate for severely disadvantaged students in my view.
Andrew´s last blog post..Climbing to the top
Andrew,
I admire teachers and recognize it must be very difficult to make classes interesting, understandable, and meaningful for all the students.
The boy I mentioned was adopted about fifth grade. He was behind in school because in the orphanage he came from he didn’t get encouragement or help to learn. But he was very bright and could have caught up if he was encouraged and helped. The family was willing to get extra help if needed so the teacher wouldn’t have had the problem of trying to adjust the class to meet his needs.
It’s too late to do anything for him, but I wish all kids could get a good education and develop a love of reading and learning.
There are simply too many ethnic town/city in the US. If you are Chinese and live in LA, you pretty much don’t need English. In fact, you pretty much live in Asia depending on where you are in LA.
ryan,
If people are able to function where they live and work, that’s one thing. It’s the people who try to live and work in society and can’t function well that really need to become literate. Anyone who interacts with the larger society needs to understand and speak English.
the fact that 85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading breaks my heart because it only adds to the issues they already have.
C,
I’m not sure what is the chicken and what is the egg. I believe the illiteracy may be part of the foundation of a life of crime. Young people who are unable to function in society can’t get a job because they can’t even fill out a job application. They have low esteem and nothing productive to keep them occupied, so they are easily led astray (or go astray on their own).
Curing illiteracy certainly won’t eliminate the crime problem totally, but I believe it will make a big dent.
These stats are probably not only the result of poor education, I’d guess that it’s also because reading is thought to be “boring” and therefore avoided. I recently asked somebody if they’d read a non-fiction book since they left high school, and the answer was “no”. He’s 26.
Simo,
That’s very true. I don’t recall the specific percentage, but I’ve heard how many adults have read any book since they finished school, and the number who have read nothing is appallingly high.
There’s an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal from a few weeks ago about how the e-book is changing the way we read and write: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123980920727621353.html
There are good and bad elements of the change, but one major factor of the change is that we will read more in bits and pieces, like book chapters, articles, etc. and less in long documents like books. I wonder if more people will read that way … it would be better than not reading at all.
Illiteracy is the bane of the modern society. a lot of information and tools for education out there–free and easy— but somehow they are not utilized.
Michael,
I think people who are not literate may be afraid they can’t learn and embarrassed to admit that they are illiterate. Rather than correct the problem, they try to hide it.
I have breakfast most days at a Huddle House where I have accumulated a lot “friends” who are not very educated. We have had discussions about the value of reading. Most of them said that they don’t have time to read. When they are not working, they prefer to be “distracted” by something that works faster than reading. As children it seems that they were taught the mechanics of reading but were not introduced to the “magic” of reading.
Hugh,
Reading is magic, and it’s a shame more kids and adults haven’t been introduced to the magic.
What a great post, Lillie. I hadn’t heard of this group. It sounds like a great plan. Both of my kids are big readers. I think reading has made a big difference in their lives. I can’t even imagine what they would be like today if they had been unable to read.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Helen Ginger´s last blog post..Visual Writing Prompt 6-7-09
Helen,
I can’t imagine not being able to read, either. I have a friend who ran a literacy agency until she developed health problems that kept her from working. I learned a lot from her about the devastating effects of illiteracy, and I helped her with some fundraisers through the years.
I never suspected that the U.S. there still people that cannot read
I hope in future all people can read. because can reading is the key of better future
blogging (if you read the note above the comment box, you will see that I ask you to include a name, not just a keyword—if you write YourName@Keyword, I can address you as a real person, and you will still get your keyword link),
The number of peole who can’t read is appalling, and we need to do all we can to change that.
That is such a great post. I never knew about that. It’s really sad to see people who can’t read… Reading has brought so much to me that I can’t even imagine how life would be without me sitting in a corner with a book.
I really hope I can participate in this program when I move to UK. I don’t think we have this here.
Nussaibah´s last blog post..Old habits die hard
Nussaibah,
Those of us who are readers can’t envision life without books and reading. People who can’t read lose so much pleasure from reading, but, even more important, they can’t function effectively in life. Filling out a job application is a problem, much less performing job duties that require reading and writing. So they are limited to the lowest-skill, lowest-pay jobs—and it just goes on from there.
Hi Lillie,
I sent you an email. You’ll need it in order to visit my personal blog.
Bluestocking´s last blog post..The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Thanks, Bluestocking. I got it, though it ended up in my junk mail.
So I’m glad you alerted me to look for it.
It is so kind of u that you are giving so importance for illiteracy. A country can only go ahead is all are properly literate.
Dexter,
I’m glad to spread the word about the problem of illiteracy. It’s a serious issue around the world and so important that something be done about it.
Lillie, I’ve encountered with several special students before, where they’re having the dyslexia problem! Well, honestly, it won’t be easy to teach them to read, but after a hard and continuous effort, they’re managed to read and graduate as well.
Nothing is impossible, as long as we have will on it, isn’t it?
wilson´s last blog post..Make Sure Your Children’s Clothing Are Not Too Sexy!
wilson,
I understand that dyslexia creates a serious hardship in learning to read, and I commend teachers who persevere to help their difficult students.
The statistics you wrote about are really concerning. I think illiteracy is a smaller problem in most of European countries (for various reasons), but still, a big problem it is. Even if only 1% of population can’t read it’s a problem. Without reading capabilities you can’t be a confirmed member of the human society. Lately speaking English is almost as important to be fully integrated.
Andrej,
I’m not sure why illiteracy would be more of a problem in the US than elsewhere.
Your point about English being so important is interesting. On one hand, those of us for whom English is a first language have the advantage of not having to learn two languages equally well. On the other hand, because of that advantage, too many of us (me included) don’t expand our knowledge and experience by becoming fluent in other languages.
I grew up in south Texas near the Mexican border where Spanish was the first language for many people. My father spoke fluent Spanish from growing up with Spanish-speaking friends even though he never studied it. However, when I was a child, English was the only language allowed to be spoken at school (thought at the time to be the best way for students to learn English as a second language). Consequently, I was never around people speaking Spanish all the time and never became fluent at it, even though I studied it in college.
Interesting fact: North Korea – one of the worst dictatorships in the world – has one of the highest literacy rates in the world.
I was quite suprised when I found that out.
It made me do some reading and I found out some of the least free nations boast the highest literacy rates. Not because of fiddled stats but because of heavily enforced and ideological literacy programs.
Doug,
That is interesting. I hadn’t known that, but it makes sense that dictatorial regimes would demand that the people be educated and indoctrinated. Where people have more freedom, they also have more responsibility for their own success.
I love reading, there’s actually a magic behind when you got to read a lot. I hope all people especially the kids would appreciate how magical reading is.
isabella345´s last blog ..Build a Small Chicken Coop – What Designs or Plans Should You Go With?
isabella,
We feel the same way about writing and our wish for everyone to get the same pleasure we do from it.
Responses to this post: