what is the world coming to?

[linkinjen2001]

i read something the other day that blew my mind. 35% of the people in the city i live in can't read past the first grade level!
i couldn't believe it 35%!!!! that's almost half of the city! how is it in this day and age that people could reach adulthood and only be able to read at a first grade level?

[JohnDalglish]

i how is it in this day and age that people could reach adulthood and only be able to read at a first grade level?

Hi,

Yes indeed, aren't our various educational systems letting so many down?

Long days and pleasant nights

[freud1977]

i read something the other day that blew my mind. 35% of the people in the city i live in can't read past the first grade level!
i couldn't believe it 35%!!!! that's almost half of the city! how is it in this day and age that people could reach adulthood and only be able to read at a first grade level?

Our public school system in the US is a disgrace and a failure. But, I better not start. I have already been denigrated on this site for my libertarian and somewhat conservative views.

[aptpupil]

Interesting fact, Jen, although as they say, there are lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics.

What does 35% of people actually mean? Is that 35% of ALL people, because a significant percentage of your city's population will actually be children. If you then throw in mentally impaired people etc, then 35% isn't hard to achieve.

If you're saying only 35% of "normal" adults, then it is a damning statistic for sure, and more in keeping with a Third World city than one in the USA.

But very little truly surprises me anymore. I think that the Western world has been "dumbing down" in many ways for decades now.

[Moderator]

Our public school system in the US is a disgrace and a failure. But, I better not start. I have already been denigrated on this site for my libertarian and somewhat conservative views.

It's been my experience that oftentimes it's not what's being said but how.

[Spideyman]

The No Child Left Behind Program may have contributed to the problem. When I went to school there were no free passes. You learned to read , then moved on.

[wally wonder]

Our public school system in the US is a disgrace and a failure. But, I better not start. I have already been denigrated on this site for my libertarian and somewhat conservative views.

well, let me be the first? to say thankya...although when everyone is in step it does make for a pretty parade...whutchewdo is make a kindof hop-skip to get back in step, a little trick i picked up in boot camp....that said, with what the fashionable intelligence is providing for in the way of reading material...outside of sk, of course......and fwiw, the underground history of american education~john taylor gatto, is well-worth pursuing

[Becks19]

It's been my experience that oftentimes it's not what's being said but how.

Oh how true! I had a bad experience this morning at my daughters school, with a teacher screaming at the top of her lungs for the students to shut up! It wasn't so much what she said, but HOW she said it.....Rage, Red Faced With Spittle Flying! I have heard that she does this all day long; so tell me how could a child learn to read in an environment like that?? I do agree that teachers are under paid and under appreciated. My daughter's teacher is superb, she goes above and beyond in her effort to teach....This other woman on the other hand is an example of everything that a teacher should not be.

[staropeace]

We have a ninety five percent literacy rate in Canada,so we arent doing too badly. Thing is, society has taken the word"failure" our of the school system. A child will get put ahead and coddled even if they fall short of the theory being taught. In attempting to not hurt their little feelings,the system is giving them a life of illiteracy. If a child doesnt perform at tasks like studying and doing classroom tasks they should FAIL their grades. We arent doing them any favors with our politically correct words. The real world will not be handling them with kid gloves and that is for sure.

[linkinjen2001]

i believe the percentage included adults only not children