Illiteracy at the Grocery Store

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A well-functioning society consists of well-functioning people. Well-functioning, in most peoples’ eyes, means being a part of the literate population, but for those who aren’t a literate person does this mean that they are not a part of society? When I think of literate people, I think of the normal person I walk by every day. The students I pass in the halls and sit next to in class are all part of the literate population. Most days I don’t think of the illiterate population, which is also the case for most other literate people in our society. But what would happen if we, the literate population, did think about those suffering from illiteracy?

Think of ways we could help illiterate people. It’s as easy as reading a sign for them or the back of a box of cereal. Helping an illiterate person only takes a few minutes out of our day, but the help is very seldom seen in our society. It may not be easy to just spot someone in a grocery store that is struggling to read a label, but think of how hard it is for an illiterate person to walk up to someone and ask for help reading the ingredients on a box of cereal. Not only would it be hard for them to build up the courage to ask for help, but they would also have the fear of embarrassment or getting shut down.

Thinking back to a few months ago, I remember an interesting trip to the grocery store. My mom had called me on my way home from school and asked me to pick up a few groceries for dinner that night. As I walked down the aisles, trying to remember all the things I had to buy, I came across a young woman with a young child in the cart. She had a blank stare on her face as she looked at the numerous shelves of cough suppressants. The thought of her literacy, or lack ...

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...r head, but the thought of getting the wrong help at the grocery store doesn’t strike you until later when you’re at the doctor with your child. The doctor tells you that the flu medicine you thought you gave your child, turned out to only be a multivitamin. Although this did not hurt your child it still scares you and worries you that someone would lie to you, an illiterate person who was only looking for help.

Cases like these happen on a daily basis throughout our society. There are many people out there willing to help our problems with illiteracy, but I’m afraid that there are too many literate people that don’t care and are more willing to hinder the illiterate population. Even though illiteracy may not be on your mind every day, you should know that it is a problem in our society and that you can do something to help our society’s illiteracy problems.

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