Literacy Can Change America Senior Service Learning Project

Videos Illiteracy in America How Stupid Are Americans?

Startling Facts Majority of Americans can’t name a single branch of government 24% cannot name the country America fought in the Revolutionary War More than 2/3 of Americans do not know what’s in Roe vs. Wade Nearly 50% of Americans know that states have two senators Less than 50% can name their congressman People complain about taxes yet have no idea what the government spends money on The average voter thinks foreign aid consumes 24% of our annual budget. It is actually only 1%

What is literacy? Literacy is the ability to read, write, compute and use technology at a level that enables an individual to reach his or her potential as an adult and community member.

Facts about Illiteracy in the U.S. 30 million people over the age of 16 or 14% of the country’s adult population do not read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at an eighth grade level or fill out a job application. The U.S. ranks 5 th among industrialized nations in terms of literacy

Impact of Illiteracy Adult illiteracy can be connected to almost every socio-economic issue in the U.S. –60% of all state and federal corrections inmates can barely read and write

Functional Illiteracy Incompetence is basic functions such as reading, writing and math. 24 million Americans are plagued with functional illiteracy 13% of American 17 year olds are illiterate Among minorities the number jumps to 40% Every year, at least one million of these functional illiterates graduate from high school

Who does illiteracy effect Begins with children who do not learn how to read and write in elementary school They become teenagers who are passed through despite not having the academic skills to progress forward Who become adults who cannot read higher than an 8 th grade level who are thus unskilled The cycle of poverty continues

How Does Literacy Help Improves the quality of life A person who lacks a high school income earns a monthly income of $52 as compared to $1,829 for those with a college degree Literacy increases access to healthcare Literacy will ultimately help to stimulate our economy Decreases the rate of crime

How Can We Increase Literacy Increase participation in literacy programs Increase access to literacy programs in low income areas Catch children in elementary school Increase academic standards in public schools