What are some hazards that can result from illiteracy? Illiteracy seems to be vanished from the community, but it’s still out there dangering many people. Illiteracy was present many years ago, where most of the population was illiterate, no one could read or write. After the invention of printing press and translation of Bible into several languages, Protestants started teaching how to read and write. The invention of the bible could be considered as the main reason behind the high rate of literacy that is present now. Illiteracy is enough for the destruction of this society. As, the society is looking for perfection, no one wants to afford any illiterate for the destruction of excellence. Illiteracy has become a poison in our society that …show more content…
Illiteracy, can be the root cause of the destruction of America’s future politics as it undermines the democracy. For example, Illiterates do not vote, they don’t have the knowledge of how the country runs and how he or she can contribute to be part of it. Illiterate people might even have difficulty defining the word politics and how it’s all about contributing and choosing what an individual wants for this country. The lack of knowledge in these topics, will lead a person not to vote and not to care about the country. As, the recent research states, a huge number of people are backing out from the responsibility of voting. Illiteracy makes the number huger, as they have no knowledge of what they are not being part of. Also, even if they vote, it is not by political platform or ideology. Even though being an illiterate some people tend to vote and contribute, but it’s never by the political ideology or the knowledge of what each candidate wants to do for the country. Being an illiterate makes it harder to interpret ideas and …show more content…
As an illustration, illiterates are afraid of the fact that, the humiliation they should face of being an illiterate. The world is not that easy, the judgments and criticizing is really hard to endure. As the country is progressing day by day, being an illiterate can cause an individual a lot. The ignorance in public and the verbal comments passed by people are really hard. The community is building up that way that it’s really hard to stop the criticism. As the progression happened the illiterates also disappeared, but the people who are still out there didn’t move with the progression are the ones who have to endure this. Similarly, Illiterates have the inability to travel, the fear of getting lost will always haunt them. Traveling is part of everyone’s daily life. Going to work, going to a restaurant or just going to a place to visit a family member. The fear of getting lost is terrific. Being an illiterate will make it harder to identify signs on the road and directions to get to the destination. This fear will always trouble an individual making it harder to travel. As the roads are all set up with signs and directions, but if a person can’t read, how can him or her deal with this. The humiliation is all they get as no one would waste time trying to help a person who can’t even read signs or follow directions. Moreover, illiterates have difficulty understanding medicines and
For instance, Menand writes, “The fraction of the electorates that responds to substantive political argument is hugely outweighed by the fraction that responds to slogans, misinformation...random personal association.” Mass voters mostly pursue the wrong or irrelevant information that are irrelevant to the election; thus lead them to vote for the candidates which they do not really want. Their choices mostly lack rationalities. Many voters who are slightly informative think that they are participating in a certain issue and considering the value of the candidates; yet most of them do not have adequate information and knowledge in understanding the meaning of political terms. Voters lack judgment on their government and candidates, their minds are easily being brainwashed by a small amount of people who has informative approaches in participating governmental issue, and affect their
On the national civics assessment, “two-thirds of 12th graders scored below ‘proficient’…and only 9 percent could list two ways a democracy benefits from citizen participation” (O’Connor and Romer 4). The information provided clarifies just how little students know about democracy. Without education on the subject, they are unaware as to how their government contribution is beneficial and why it is needed in the first place. The students, because of their lack of understanding, therefore choose to not take part in their government and fail to carry out their duties as a citizen. The authors provide more research that shows “the better people understand our history and system of government, the more likely they are to vote and participate in the civic life” (O’Connor and Romer 8).
It continues to be a big problem with the ranks swelling each year. Although safety nets are everywhere, illiteracy is still abundant. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 1998, ten million children between seven and eleven years of age performed below the most basic level of reading achievement.
His utilization of quotes from James Madison and also Socrates, helps him look more professional and intelligent. His stature continues to be built up and supported by quotes of illiterates themselves, which have gone through this on a daily basis. One woman from Washington D.C. reports “I couldn’t understand the bills, and then I couldn’t write the checks to pay them. We signed things we didn’t know what they were.” (34) By giving the perspective of someone who knows first-hand what illiteracy can do, Kozols message is much more reliable and worthy of being
Literacy gives courage and provides a positive influence in times of crisis.
In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury demonstrates why illiteracy can lead to a dystopia. On the contrary, the short story The End of the whole Mess written by Stephen King reveals why having too much literacy can be horrific to the world. Steve jobs once said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” In both the novel and the story people try to set up certain rules or are born with talent that is driven to change the world for good, nevertheless they end up in dystopias.
Among the many ways Americans can participate in politics, voting is considered one of the most common and important ways for Americans to get involved. The outcome of any election, especially at the national level, determines who will be making and enforcing the laws that all Americans must abide by. With this in mind one might assume that all Americans are active voters, but studies show the voter turnout is actually astonishingly low. With this unsettling trend it is important to know what statistics say about voter turnout as was as the four major factors that influence participation: Socioeconomic status, education, political environment, and state electoral laws, in order to help boost turnout in future elections.
Political philosopher and social theorist Thomas Sowell has once said, “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” It is inevitable to meet an ignorant person around each corner that one turns. It is up to the victim to either let the ignorant person corrupt him or to let the victim become smarter. One of America’s greatest activists, Martin Luther King, believed that “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” With this in mind, “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all” (Kennedy).
Having an understanding will determine whether or not one will have an indulgent of language. As Berry states, “illiteracy is both a personal and a public danger. Think how constantly "the average American" is surrounded by premeditated language, in newspapers and magazines, on signs and billboards, on TV and forever being asked to buy or believe somebody else's line of goods.” If a person reads a newspaper and can’t understand what’s written, it’s definitely going to be a personal danger. Now when that person is asked a question about the news spread or what a product does that is shown in a magazine, if one can’t understand what’s scripted that same person won’t able to clarify it and that’s public danger. Even if the product looks good in a magazine or billboard, but if one can’t understand what the product does than he or she won’t be able to purchase the item. Majority of the Americans watch debates on TV and if one person doesn’t understand anything that the candidates are saying, then that person will have a hard time conversing with family members or even colleagues. Being illiterate will have a toll in a person’s ordinary ambiance, but having knowledge will make it easier for a person to have discussions about their understandings on what’s written, seen, read, or
Austin Ranney does not dread that low voting is hurting American democracy. Arend Lijphart believes that democracy is meaningless without voting. The fact that to many people do not vote for Presidential or Congressional elections concerns him. With numbers like 49 and 55 percent of the eligible population voting on Presidential elections, Lijphart questions the actual democracy in America. Low voting turnouts is giving large groups more control over government ideals. Lijphart thinks the best way to solve this problem is to raise turnouts in a variety of ways. Things like weekend voting and easier ways of acquiring absentee ballots will increase the number of voters. Also, having multiple elect...
I am responding to Micheal Schudson’s essay titled “America’s Ignorant Voter”. He makes several arguments against whether America having relatively ignorant voters poses a problem to our society, and whether it’s becoming worse over the years. One of the arguments he poses as to why Americans seem so clueless about political matters is due to the complexities of our nation’s political institutions.
Last school year, I took a college class that required hours of field experience in a high school English class. I was able to observe different English classes and different high school grade levels. What made a big impact on me was to hear some of those high school students struggling with reading more than the third grade students I was teaching that same school year. These students were expected to read and comprehend grade level text when they were reading at an elementary level. Illiteracy “is considered the blackest mark of a person’s finally in school and the greatest failure in the American school system” (Tchudi, and Tchudi 75) and there are around twenty-five million functional illiterates in the United States (75). Why are our middle school and high school students still struggling with reading? What can English/Language arts teachers do to help these struggling readers?
“Once dyslexia is identified, and a child gets the right type of help, they can finally reach their potential” says a mother, named Susan Barton (Bright Solutions). Many people around the world have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a condition that is inherited and makes it extremely difficult to read, write, and spell. The cause of dyslexia is genes and neurological differences (Bright Solutions). Dyslexia makes life more difficult. Although many people think dyslexics people see things backwards that is not true because dyslexia is not from seeing it has nothing to do with your eyes it is all in the brain. According to Bright Solutions, “People with dyslexia do not use that part of their brain, and there appears to be no consistent part used among
The cycle of low scholastic achievement is so prevalent in poverty stricken communities is the benefit the political system. The politicians continue to keep their jobs and political power and education is power. This is accomplished because illiteracy inhibits the knowledge required to vote for a qualified candidate for office. “Economies with low or high levels of education can escape the poverty trap, and inequality plays a key role in determining whether this occurs through a change in institutions or an expansion of education”Eicher.Garcia-Penalosa and Tanguy van Ypersele,p207.
In today’s society a vast number of people are well educated. They have the equal opportunity to choose their own path in life by getting an education. A primary educational aspect of every human is to learn to read. Being able to read is a primary goal of people in human society, as well as important in itself to society; it takes people far beyond their wildest dreams. A person who is literate has few limitations on what they can do; the world is an open playing field, because a person that is literate has the ability to become very successful in life. On the contrary, a person that is illiterate has many limitations on their life. The limitations can consist of any disadvantage that can stop a person from becoming successful in their life. For one of many examples, illiteracy has a significant impact on the economy, because it affects the jobs and basic living skills that people need to survive. Mental disorders can possibly ensue in an illiterate persons’ life. In some cases, it is like they live in a world of their own and alienate themself from other individuals. The only thing an illiterate person has to rely on is themself and the things that they hear from other people. This is especially true in A Judgment in Stone by Ruth Rendell, where the reader encounters a significant notion about evil in the mind that a disadvantaged person can acquire, as well as how fragile the mind can be.