Jonathan Kozol discusses in depth the negative effects that illiteracy has on everyone. Illiteracy is unfortunately a common problem today and usually is more prone in lower income families and is passed down through the generations. When your parents can not read or write, you grow up without the importance of being taught these skills and then the cycle of illiteracy continues. I can only imagine the shame and discomfort someone feels in not being able to read or write. When signing documents you have to trust that the person reading it to you is honest, or you will be signing something you do not understand. “A submerged sense of distrust becomes the consequence to a constant need to trust” (233), because you don’t have a choice.…
Many passages have been written on the issues of the importance of proper education. One very relatable passage would be “ The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol. This Passage is all about things that can not be done when you are not properly educated. Most understand that if you can not read…
Only after reading the short story “The Human cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol, did I realize that 1 out of 5 Americans is illiterate. Kozol points out several examples in his short essay of how many Americans have suffered because they cannot read. Many…
In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, written by Jonathan Kozol and published in the Reading for Writers, New York, 2013, the author is raising awareness of illiteracy in the United States and the effects it has on society. He describes the impact that such a large amount of illiterate people can have on voting and the choice of the president. Mr. Kozol uses statistics from the 1980 presidential vote to argue his point, stating that Ronald Reagan likely would not have been the president. Aside from a political view, he provides personal stories to show the difficult obstacles that an illiterate person may encounter on a day to day basis. Furthermore, he explains the health and death risks that the illiterate are faced with…
As I type this essay I am using one form of communication available to those of us who are literate. Sadly not all of us have the ability to do what most if not all of us who are lucky to be literate, take for granted. One such article, "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society?" elaborates on the issue of illiteracy, which is utterly apparent in America. This essay is written using exemplification to show that knowledge is indeed power and those who are illiterate are almost powerless in today's society.…
Jonathan Kozol’s essay on The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society (1985) claims that based on the beliefs of Socrates and James Madison, illiteracy is a moral dilemma. Kozol supports this claim by speculating what a number of tragic outcomes could be as a result of illiteracy. His purpose is to show how a person’s daily life is affected negatively by being illiterate in order to prove that illiteracy in a broad sense is a moral dilemma. Kozol’s intended audience in writing this essay would be the public.…
The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol, is an article which illustrates the reality for millions of Americans, and the impact illiteracy has on the overall population and that individual and their family. Kozol draws emotional and personal stories which impact the reader as well as allude that the lack of literacy is in direct correlation with Democracy and how illiterate people will vote, if they even do at all.…
If the literacy develops, the economy will develop too. The development of the economy leads to earn more benefit and power.…
This is a huge problem we have here in the United States because “according to a study that was conducted by the Department of Education, 32 million adults in the United States cannot read, that is almost 14 percent of the population, in addition another 21 percent of the people can only read below a 5th grade level, and also 19 percent of high school graduates cannot read.” This rate have not changed in the past 10 years and that is unacceptable because there are so many opportunities that we can take advantage of and we do not just because we tell ourselves “I do not need this”, which is not true, we need as much education as we can so we can have a better society. In addition to this the article also mention that, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure” Many people think because they do not know how to read or write that gives them an excuse to commit different crimes but that is not true, you can better yourself if you really want…
This article, Literacy and the Politics of Education written by C.H Knoblauch was written to express his feelings on how America is becoming illiterate ever since a new era of technology was introduced in 1960. Knoblauch believes that the few who are literate will succeed in life, and that the rest of general society who are illiterate will have trouble finding success in their future endeavors. He has taken on this subject because of his frustration on his fellow peers, and their lack of motivation to excel in literacy. He uses repetition to stress the fact that we need to become more literate to succeed in today’s society. Knoblauch uses articles from various writings of other literate authors to help get his point across. He goes into detail explaining in order for society as a whole to succeed in life that it starts with the success of each individual’s literacy. Knoblauch explains how other totalitarian countries keep their strength by keeping the majority less knowledgeable about literacy. Dictators, of such countries are literate, and keep that privilege from the citizens of that country, because if the people of the country were as literate as the dictator himself/herself then the people would have the power to over through such dictator. Knoblauch uses all of these examples to point out and stress the importance of literacy and writing in the world today, and stresses that without the know-how of reading and writing we will not…
Illiteracy affects everybody in America but especially the poor, in which already struggle to get by with everyday life. The rate of people that live in…
People that are illiterate can't function on a day to day basis like we can. Like people that live in the middle of nowhere with no education or common sense would not be able to adapt to stuff like we can. Also they wouldn't be able to comprehend the books that we read or even understand them the same way we do. That is why literacy plays a big role in everyone's lives.…
Many will argue that this issue only affects the individual who happens to have a low level of reading skills or illiteracy, or that individual’s immediate family; this is not the case. Low literacy levels affect the nation as a whole. In our democratic society we rely solely on the people, so while not everyone needs to be a scholar, our citizens should be educated and informed to contribute to…
Illiteracy: People don’t have enough education and that means they can’t do most jobs. People struggle to communicate effectively if they don’t have education needed. This means that people that have innovative or great ideas can’t share them or put them into action because they don’t have the education that they need to accomplish that. The Central Connecticut State University did a study which showed that South Africa is one of the most illiterate countries in the world. The rankings are based on 5 categories that are used as indicators of the literate health of nations: newspapers, libraries, education inputs and outputs, and the availability of computers. South Africa was ranked as 56th overall. (BusinessTech, n.d.).Research shows that 58% of Gr 4 learners in South Africa can’t read and 29% are completely illiterate. (Help2Read, n.d.). When looking at wealthy countries, the illiteracy rates of those who have completed Gr 4 are low. England has 5%, the…
Without reading, communication would not be as easy. Information would move slower around the world. An important part of school is learning how to read. But in Chicago a study said “ Reading levels are the lowest in the poorest schools. In a survey of the 18 high schools with the highest rates of poverty within their student populations, Designs for Change, a research center in Chicago, notes that only 3.5 percent of students graduate and also read up to the national norm” (Kozol 58). If students are not given the opportunity to read then they later on will find difficulties getting jobs, etc. Research has also reported that “ The researchers find there’s a very strong correlation between family income and cognitive skills” (Researchers). In poor areas, like Chicago, key skills and information are not being taught in the public education system. The lack of learning may be from inadequate teachers, lack of funding, or lack of resources to teach.…