“The new data on illiteracy rates is a cry out for help to our
school systems, policymakers, funders, and community members. Nothing short of
a very strong investment in literacy through funding, diverse community
partnerships, grassroots efforts, additional recruitment of qualified faculty,
volunteerism, and allocation of other resources will help turn these numbers
around in Prince George’s County."
-Tony Johnson,
Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Prince George’s County, Maryland
More than one-third of American children enter kindergarten
without the basic language skills they will need to learn to read. Those
critical early literacy skills include recognizing the letters of the alphabet,
understanding that books move from left to right, and being able to understand
and tell stories. Despite the billions of dollars Americans have invested in
remedial reading programs, those millions of children who enter school
unprepared are highly likely to never catch up. In fact, 88% of first graders
who are below grade level in reading will continue to read below grade level in
fourth grade (Juel, 1988). In addition, reading difficulty contributes to
school failure, which increases the risk of absenteeism, drop outs, juvenile
delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy - all of which perpetuate
the cycles of poverty and dependency.
So What's the Connection?
There is a correlation between poverty and illiteracy. Statistics
show that on both a national and global level, nations with the lowest literacy
levels are also the poorest. Poverty leaves many households struggling to stay
afloat. In worst case scenarios, children of those struggling households are
forced to drop out of school to work and help support the family. This,
unfortunately, keeps many illiterate people stuck at the lowest levels of the
work force and thus they remain in poverty. Through this cycle, illiteracy
reinforces poverty, and poverty is cyclical in families.
Growing Statistics in the County and State
According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics, the basic literacy rate in Prince George’s County, MD for adults
(parents) jumped from 12 percent to 22 percent between the early 1990s and early 2000s making Prince George's County home
to the largest number of adults in the state and the metropolitan area who are
unable to perform simple and everyday literacy activities. The January 2009
report puts the below basic literacy rates for Washington, D.C., Arlington County, VA,
Baltimore City, MD and Montgomery County, MD at 19, 17, 16, and 11 percent
respectively.
A study conducted at the end of 2011 by the Census Bureau
confirmed that Maryland hit a poverty rate of 10.8 percent, the highest in
nearly two decades. While these statistics are well below the national rate of
about 15 percent, the state’s poverty rate increased 12.5 percent from 2009 to
2010 and continued to rise in 2011. In December 2010, Maryland was named the
wealthiest state by the Census Bureau. However, research shows that pockets of
suburban wealth help to conceal the rural and urban poverty that really exist in the state
thus putting a blinder on the reality of state-wide poverty. A regional study
from early 2011 showed more than 7 percent of Prince George’s County residents
were living in poverty, the most of any Washington-area suburb.
A combination of a rapidly growing foreign-born population in
Prince George’s County, decreasing graduation rates for African American and
Latino students in county schools, and insufficient educational resources
likely contributed to these growing rates.
County Poverty by Race
What is also interesting is the growing percentages of poverty
among individual races. Take Hispanics for example, who make up a dynamic
portion of the county and state population. For the first time since these
statistics have been gathered, there are more Hispanic children in America
living in poverty than white children. In the DC area, about 130,000 young
people live in poverty, with blacks accounting for half of those numbers and
Hispanics about a quarter, but moving up quickly. That number amounts to nearly
40,000 young people in the DC region. Thirty percent of poor children in Prince
George's County are Latino, about the same number as in Montgomery County, MD,
Fairfax, VA and Prince William, VA. Statistics are even worse in Arlington
County, VA, where 40 percent of poor kids are Hispanic.
Prince George’s County Council member and Chair, Andrea Harrison (District
5) of Springdale has said that the county is very much aware of the statistics
of poverty within the region. In her opinion, county reps should be stressing
that more be done to equip non-profits that provide social
services. In an economy that has shifted greatly from manufacturing to service,
businesses cannot find the secretaries, clerks, bank tellers, and other
entry-level employees they need because too many applicants cannot read, write
or add well enough.
Poverty is, in most cases, generational as well. Adults who felt
forced to drop out of school are less likely to reinforce the value of an
education in their own children, who probably face the same economic and
educational hardships as they did. As a result, these individuals may not value
the importance of academia, scholarship and literacy, and are often less likely
to flourish. Children whose parents consistently set high standards work harder
and do better in school.
Current education and literacy programs in Prince George's County –
like Prince George’s Community College and
community-based organizations like Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church of
Suitland, United Communities Against Poverty of Capitol Heights, and Glenarden
Apartments – only scratch the surface of the problem.
Before any change can come, we have to have a collective
understanding of how damaging illiteracy can and has been for people all over
the world, even those who are not illiterate themselves. The problem affects
everyone. Becoming literate is not a direct path from illiterate to
semi-literate to literate, but a messy process of acquiring skills without
formal and consecutive learning. However, with the efforts of parents, educators,
community organizers and even someone like you, who is simply reading this
blog, illiteracy can be overcome.
Coming in March, Part III and the final installment of the Generational Illiteracy series.
Helpful Websites:
ProLiteracy Worldwide
Eldis Literacy
Literacy.org,
World Education
First Book
International Reading Association (IRA)
Joining Forces
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL)
Raising Readers
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)
Sources:
www.nytimes.com www.wamu.org
www.riverdalepark.patch.com
www.washingtontimes.com
www.eric.ed.gov
www.reachoutandread.org
