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The importance of literacy education
The importance of literacy education
The importance of literacy education
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Literacy is an important key component in almost every individual’s life. Also literacy could be described as one of the most important building blocks of our society. As our world and society becomes more complex, literacy becomes more and more important. Literacy has become so visibly important that sometimes people without proper education are not even accepted by our society. Today, many parents will do anything in order to send their children to the best schools, so their children can be educated the best way possible. Not only literacy makes life for every single human being easier, but it also helps every single person in the world to take care of their own health, and live longer and have a healthier life. Although Literacy is not just the ability to be able to read and write however it involves comprehension and understanding, it enables people to deal with change and with unfamiliar contexts. According to IALS, “While most people can read, the real question is whether their reading and writing skills meet the challenge of living and working in today’s society”. For example every time a person goes to a store in order to buy some food, he or she will notice some labels in the back of the product that states how much calorie, protein, fat, and etc is in that food. But the question is how many of those people understand the meaning of those numbers? Unfortunately, it is a fact that not only in Canada, but in every single country in the world, people with low literacy levels has a major negative impact on their health. As the technical appendix the Report on the Health of Canadians indicates; “self-rated health status is a good predictor of the presence of more objectively measure health problems as well as health care ut... ... middle of paper ... ...jobs with better income. The more the income, the more the ability to spend money on healthy foods that leads to living a healthier life. In conclusion not only that literacy makes the life of many people easier, but it is also proven that the higher the literacy level, the healthier is the life of that person. It was proven that the percent of people who have graduated from a university is twice healthier than those who have not even finish high school. Even those people who lack literacy, could affect their health, with not understanding the safely at work, choosing a bad home environment to live in, or not being able to use their health care. Hopefully, in the close future, as the percent of literacy amount of human being increases, the percent of healthy leaving people will also increase, and will begin to live in an environment with less unhealthy people.
I previously have mentioned, in prior reflection essays, just how important literacy is for a person’s future. Notice how I didn’t say “student’s” future? Literacy fluency effects several aspects of life, not only academically speaking. Ultimately, the literacy level of a child can directly affect their future as an adult. The whole point of Torgesen’s article “Catch Them Before They Fall” is about preventing students with literacy deficits from slipping through the cracks without the best possible, research-based interventions.
Literacy gives courage and provides a positive influence in times of crisis.
As the world advances through the modern age of information and connectivity, having a literate society is crucial to being able to work effectively with the outside world. Jonathan Kozol’s book, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society, portrays the life of illiterates in the modern world and argues that society has an ethical obligation to fix the problem of illiteracy. Kozol believes that illiteracy has the greatest effect on the education of current and future generations, the way food is consumed and wasted, and various economic costs to both illiterates and those around them. Kozol’s main point throughout his book is that society as a whole needs to face the problem of illiteracy, as not one single group or person can do it on their own.
“Literacy—the ability to access, evaluate, and integrate information from a wide range of textual sources—is a prerequisite not only for individual educational success but for upward mobility both socially and economically,” states Sean Reardon (18). Literacy plays a significant role in civilized society. As Reardon mentioned, literacy is an important part of social and economic progression; therefore, it is unsurprising that thousands of dollars are poured into the education system each year to ensure that students can be considered literate. Reardon continues on to claim, “by third grade virtually all students can “read” in the procedural sense—they can sound out words and recognize simple words in context” (20). However,
Today, in the contemporary United States, there are many different influencers to a person’s health, such as poverty and/or unemployment. However, education is the most important influence on health because without a good, thorough education, people are less likely to have access to health care, be able to afford health care and they are more likely to live shorter lives. A lack of education makes poverty and unemployment more likely, which obviously have a negative effect on a person’s health.
Literacy, or the capability to comprehend, translate, utilize, make, process, assess, and speak information connected with fluctuating settings and displayed in differing organizations, assumes an essential part in molding a young's persons trajectory in life. The ability to read speaks to a key factor of scholarly, social, and financial success (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). These abilities likewise speak to a fundamental segment to having a satisfying life and turning into an effective worker and overall person (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated that low reading skills lead to critical hindrances in monetary and social achievement. As stated by the National Center for Education Statistics, adults with lower levels of reading skills and literacy have a lower average salary. Another study evaluated that 17 to 18 percent of adults with "below average" literacy aptitudes earned less than $300 a week, though just 3 to 6 percent of adults with "proficient" reading abilities earned less than $300 a week (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
The textbook definition of “literacy”, is the ability to read and write. However, in my opinion, the true definition of the word depends on what literacy means to an individual. In today's society, being literate is almost always required to get any type of decent job. Literacy is definitely the first step of many to be successful in today's society. However, that is not the only means of importance that literacy holds. The fact that literacy has different definitions ties into the fact that literacy has had different effects on certain people throughout their lives. Most people in today's society seem to take literacy for granted because they view it as a hassle or obligation. I do not view literacy as that because of how it has helped me get through the toughest times in my life. In reality, you should love to read no matter what genre it is, and you should write until your hands go numb. Throughout my life, literacy has been a backbone of sorts throughout the struggles I've been through. By using literacy as a form of support, it has allowed me to grow a strong connection to reading and writing and truly appreciate it. To me, literacy means hope. Literacy has helped me heal and has helped me connect with people from all over the country who have changed my life forever.
However, health literacy is more than just read and write; it is the ability to understand and able to use health information to make choices about their health (Benyon, 2014). Low health literacy can have detrimental effect on the health of the client because it may cause misunderstand of the medical label or health information. According to McMurray & Clendon (2015), health literacy divided into three different levels which are functional, interactive/communicative and critical health literacy. As for functional levels, it is the most general and fundamental level for the general public because individuals need to receive and understand the information of health such as risk of health decision, consent forms, health instruction or medicine labels. (McMurray & Clendo , 2015) Turning to the next level, interactive/communicative health literacy, mainly involved personal skills to spread health knowledge to the community, and also , people are able to influence social norm and help others individuals to develop their personal health capacity. Because of this, understanding of how organization work and resounding communication skill which can help to support others and knowing how to get different health services other individuals need (McMurray & Clendo , 2015). The third level is critical health literacy, mainly divided to
Pinto, L., Boler, M., & Norris, T. (2007). Literacy is Just Reading and Writing, isn't it? The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test and Its Press Coverage. Policy Futures in Education, 5(1), 84-99.
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 being 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.
As studies have show those who are not health literate are more prone to getting greater emergency hospitalization, bigger medical bills and errors in the medication you are given. Health literacy was used in 1974 by k. simonds, he wrote a paper on the subject for grade K-12. Goals about the importance of knowing how to determine your health and keeping it up to date, even though that open doors and people started to slowly ponder on the article written it was not until years later it slowly started being a need instead of a want. As time passes very few including the government started analyzing the importance of health literacy.
People with more education have better physical and mental health; also education helps improve the overall quality of people’s lives. By helping people get better jobs, it reduces financial worries. It builds self-esteem, feeling of being in control; it also makes them critically aware of media messages about health. It contributes to health behaviors, such as moderate drinking, anti-smoking, according to the Institute of education at the University of London (Dec. 2004). As stated earlier, education reduces inequalities, creates intolerance, build social cohesion and boost the health of whole communities.
Being literate defines who I am, and forms an integral part of my life. From the practical to the creative, it aids, and enables me to perform in the tasks that modern society dictates. I shall explore the many aspects of my life that are affected by literacy. Through this, understanding in greater depth what it means for me, to be literate.
Literacy should be considered a key principle as a person 's literacy and/or health literacy can impact
The importance of literacy is how it opens up the world to the reader, or writer. Through literacy, we can shape our thinking on certain topics or create original thought. The vivid detail inside of writing can allow the reader to picture the writing through their own mind without pictures, or any outside help. Malcolm X, who wrote “Literacy Behind Bars”, a literacy narrative about his time in prison, described how the world opened up to him through his readings, and how incredible his life was thereafter through his learning to read and write. Literacy enables you to formulate thought, thus allowing you to formulate opinions about certain social, political, or any other range of topics from an education in literacy.