Illiteracy in America

Hello everyone, please allow me to introduce myself before going on to the topic at hand. 

I am currently a senior attending high school in North Carolina.  I am a white male, born and raised in the United States.  I will add more as I continue to add blogs, as I'd rather not ramble.

http://plaza.snu.ac.kr/~ur2big2/composition2/illiterate.htm  This is the article I will be talking about today.  The essay is written by Jonathan Kozol, and deals not only with what illiterates go through; but how it affects everyone else living in America.

We recently had a discussion in class about how the class felt about this article.  I was shocked to find that most didn't like the article, some feeling little pity for those unable to read.

Much like capital punishment, illiteracy is something that generally has two distinct sides.  Either your "glad" illiterates suffer this way, since it is their fault.  Or, you believe that it is strictly the school systems fault for not supporting these people all the way through.  It becomes a bit of a stalemate....who is really to blame?

 Everyone.

That's right.  We all play a part in the problems these illiterates suffer, some play larger roles then others.  I'm fairly sure we all know the American "way of life"; regardless of your nationality.  Anyone who is illiterate is branded by society, and cast away from this "dream" we all seem to chase.  This humiliation suffered is shocking.  The examples found in the article are a real wake up call to anyone that has been oblivious to this problem.

That isn't to say the illiterates aren't to blame as well.  Though many had to drop out to help with the family (60's-70's), many people are just lazy.  They don't recieve the full amount of learning needed to function in a society that is heavy on reading.  As humiliating as it is, continuing to stay illiterate is far worse then not going to try and fix the problem.  Many adult education programs have been setup.  I will never be able to fully understand the hardships they go through.   

 I'm not trying to glorify these people into something greater, however, no one deserves to go through this.  I also don't believe that they should be pardoned from complete blame, and that though embarrassing, fixing illiteracy can be solved easier then many of todays other universal conflicts.

 I hope that I haven't continued for too long, I'm still getting used to this.  I would love to hear anyone's comments on the article, who you believe is to blame, etc.  Thank you for visiting, I hope to have another blog out soon.

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