When people think of a handicap or disability the last thing they are thinking about is Illiteracy. It has become a huge problem in our country that has developed over many decades and effects every age, race, ethnic group, income levels, and educational level. Those who can not read and write may not realize how harmful illiteracy could be to both themselves as well as others. Some will not be able to read the instructions on a prescription bottle, warning signs on the road or even a bedtime story to their own children. There are many reasons for illiteracy including the lack of education, a failure in the education system or even from the child's own parents. How do these people make it through life and even graduate from high school but still do not know how to read and write?
Many people suggest the fault lies with an inadequate educational system. Due to many of the schools being over crowded, there are not enough teachers to go around and the student body does not get the specific attention it needs to learn properly. Sometimes the teachers are the ones who lack the education needed to instruct. Many do not even realize when there is a reading or learning issue with a student. There could actually be a serious learning disability such as Dyslexia or other difficulty that may be effecting the child's ability to learn. Many of the educators just look the other way as not to be burdened with the problems.
The educational system must keep a certain number of children in schools at all costs. Sometimes the system is not concerned with the performance of the students as long as they are in school. If teachers graded the way they should, the failure rates would be much higher than they are today.
Some of these students are star athletes and recreation becomes the primary factor in their lives. It has been set into their minds when they were young by their parents and piers. Early in their lives the child is taught the importance of being the best and nothing else matters. The school system now comes to realize how important this athlete has become to the school team and grades are given to keep the student on the team, and problems are just pushed aside.
Kevin Kumashiro has many topics in his great book that explains why the school system is the way it is and why is not being changed in many ways. He shared his experience teaching in another country and how he realizes that the school system was bad in both countries. The common sense of what is the academic education needed for the students to know is how to read write, and do math and many other courses do not have a lot of value in our school system. There is more subjects than math, writing and reading that should be important to our society. His writing talks about how standardized testing is just making the teachers have to teach what is in the test and not actually teach the students the necessary information and skills needed to succeed in their lives.
Attendants of Adult Literacy Programs in Germany - Reaching Functional Illiterates Introduction Alphabetisation and literacy programs have gained importance in the last decades. The last PIAAC study exploring adult skills in OECD countries showed that there are relatively high numbers of people with only the most basic level of literacy or below. Germany also has a high number of illiterates (Grotlüschen & Riekmann, 2012, Rosenbladt & Bilger, 2011, Schneider & Ernst, 2009) and below average performance of literacy (OECD, 2013). As this phenomenon has been present for some time, there are many traditional literacy courses as well as anonymous online learning platforms. Nevertheless, these courses are only attended by one percent of the illiterates in Germany (Schneider & Ernst, 2009).
Many factors have led to students not being able to learn. Lack of money, improper learning facili...
The realm of education tends to shine a negative light on younger generations labeling them as menace to society and ultimately excluding them without fair opportunity. Every child is different; some may require more attention from teachers than others. Schools tend to forget this unique characteristic of human life once standardized testing and grading comes into the equation.
They don't think about paying for the sport they are going to play. This can make students second-guess themselves about playing and make them not want to play their sport. Schools should want more and more students to play sports. These reasons are terrible for students to stay in active and not play any sports. “Taxpayers are saying, ‘Let’s get rid of sports. We don’t have to pay for them,’ School boards are saying ‘Hey, it’s not mandatory to offer these programs.’ What we’re saying is, ‘Well, we still have something to offer that is very important in this country.’” (Popke, 2007, p. xx). Sports teach to students a lot in their life, it's a great deal of responsibility. So when students aren't playing sports they can be missing out on important lessons in their life. “While these programs are important to the students’ educational growth, the bills inevitably add up.”(Cerling & Herman, 2007, p.
n Addition to this with sports in high school student athletes need to keep up their grades in order to play the sport. Some people may say that when you participate in a sport, it takes away from your studying time and then makes you not as academically inclined as others. I believe that that statement is further from the truth in a recent article written by Daniel H. Bowen and Colin Hitt “High-School Sports Aren 't Killing Academics” from The Atlantic Bowen and Hitt state that “We would expect to see a negative relationship between the commitment to athletics and academic achievement. However, the University of Arkansas’s Daniel H. Bowen and Jay P. Greene actually find the opposite. They examine this relationship by analyzing schools’ sports winning percentages as well as
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?
Also many students may have their basic deficits in language and reading, which effects how they learn in the
In our country, we are not challenged enough in our school systems. Our schools often get us to graduation and do not go above and beyond standards. The blame falls equally on the students as well. The students are not trying to challenge themselves as they should be, or as other students are in different countries. The students in other countries are working very hard because they know that is how they will be able to have a better life for themselves. Here in this country, students are raised up being content with what they have and realizing that they will not be struggling too much if they just do the minimum and get by. An interesting article, on the topic of our education system that I found, was published by PBS.org. This article sta...
Student athletes live very busy lives. A typical school day runs from 8:00-2:30, add in a two- hour practice or game, score a part time job, dive into some family time, a grand slam of homework and catch a little bit of sleep. Students are more stressed due to the many activities they are a part of. This issue affects a lot of people not only in this school district, but most other high schools throughout the country. All student athletes exercise more than other children who are not involved in an extracurricular sport. In school athletics, the players are called “student athletes” meaning that school activities come first. There are strict rules for student athletes, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. In physical education
Success isn’t given, it’s earned on the track, on the field, and in the gym with blood, sweat, and the occasional fear” -Unknown. This is relevant because it is hard for students to want to play sports but also to do well in school. If high school students can’t find the time to keep their grades up or to keep a certain GPA, they should not be allowed to play sports. Students need to prove themselves to be able to play any sport and still be able to do well in school. Also, having good grades shows the coach maturity and may earn them more playing time if they are working hard in school and in practice.
Sports can help many at- risk youths. In order to participate in sports you need to be committed and willing to work hard. You also have to learn to respect others and accept that winning isn’t the only measure of success. Losing can build character as well. When youth participate in a sports they enjoy, they are less likely to engage in behaviors that are harmful or dangerous to themselves and others. It is for these reasons schools should strive to maintain athletic programs for their students.
Sport is supposed to be a fun for a student who likes it, but when the student is forced to play a sport he or she doesn’t want to, it ends up not being fun and kids become unhappy. Being unhappy means not enjoying life. Why kids should be under excess constraints? Instead, why not allow kids to do something that interests them and is enjoyable to them. The way to success is to do what you enjoy and like.
He sprints up and down the court, as sweat pours down his face and on to the hardwood. The player’s legs are in severe pain, and he is out of breath, yet he continues to run, utilizing every last portion of energy that he maintains. He desires to better himself, not necessarily for his own benefit, but for the benefit of his team. He knows that every single member of the team, including himself, must work as hard as they possibly can on the court to reach their potential and achieve success. Organized sports teach athletes some of the most powerful moral values and life lessons that any individual can attain. Despite the opposing opinion that students who take part in organized sports suffer academically due to time deprivation and focus misdirected away from the classroom, involvement in sports teaches young men and women to maintain imperative values, such as hard work, selflessness, and commitment, which ultimately improves student-athletes’ academic performance.
We can look at the above factors in determining the reason for the high level of illiteracy, and other reasons as well.