At least 40 million American adults need stronger literacy skills to take advantage of more lifelong learning opportunities (Knowles 12). Low literacy limits life chances, regardless of how it is defined or measured. According to The Random House Dictionary literacy is defined as “the quality or state of being literate, esp. the ability to read and write.” Another breakdown of the word, from the same source is “possession of education.” Basic skills and literacy abilities are widely viewed as necessities for lifelong learning and the development of success among individuals, families, communities, and even nations. Better knowledge about literacy is an essential condition for improving it. Helping children improve their literacy skills can help them develop the capacity for lifelong learning, keep pace with changing educational expectations and rapid technological change, and achieve their life goals. Today in society there are many adults with poor literacy skills who lack the foundation they need to find and keep decent jobs, to support their children’s education and help them mold a literate future. I have taken one small step towards this problem by tutoring at two schools. The more time people put towards helping the youth of America is the more literate our population can become. Every small action can help, even if it is just tutoring at local middle and junior high schools. To determine the literacy skills of American adults, the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) used test items that resembled everyday life tasks. The NALS classified the results into five levels that are now commonly used to describe adults’ literacy skills. In Level 1 almost all of the adults can read a little but not well enough to fill out an application, read a food label, or read a simple story to a child. Adults in Level 2 usually can perform more complex tasks such as comparing, contrasting, or integrating pieces of information but usually not higher-level reading and problem-solving skills. Adults in levels 3 through 5 usually can perform the same types of more complex tasks with increasing length and subject matter (Knox 37). Very few adults are completely illiterate; they simply fall into the lower levels of literacy. Between 21 and 23 percent of the adult population or approximately 44 million people, according to the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS... ... middle of paper ... ...lar choice of activity and I feel this project helps our community run in an unending circle of assistance. Through volunteer work such as the activities that I have participated in the past semesters, I foresee the solution of the illiteracy problem in the country. There is hope for the future of this problem because people like myself work for this cause. If others get involved, illiteracy will continue to be reduced. “Literacy is at the heart of a nation’s future . . . and the family is at the heart of literacy. The home is a child’s first school . . . a parent is a child’s first teacher . . . and language is a child’s first subject.” -Unknown Works Cited Klevins, Chester. Materials & Methods-In Adult and Continuing Education. Los Angeles: Klevens Publication Inc., 1987. Knowles, Malcolm S. The Modern Practice of Adult Education. Chicago: Follett Publishing Company. 1980. Knox, Alan B. Helping Adults Learn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1986. Merriam, Sharan B. An Update on Adult Learning Theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993. Stein, Jess. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Random House, 1966.
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.
In the 21st century, the range of Barbie’s available is higher than its ever been before in previous years. As popular cultures throughout the decades alter with societies acts, it, in turn, causes Barbie to change. The Barbie doll was introduced in 1959 by a woman named Ruth Handler. The figure has been an influence on fashion, body image and a female’s stance in society. The Barbie is no longer just a toy but used as role models for young children. With a range of body types, skin tones, eye colors and hair styles available, Barbie is still popular after all the years its been on the market. Barbie was said to be unrealistic and not a good toy for children to play with as it was promoting and creating a false image of body ‘standards’. However, over time in recent years, Barbie has become accustomed, modifying dramatically not only physically but also the way it is depicted socially.
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 Barbie doll, a toy significant of many childhoods, made her first debut in 1959. Often representing the latest fashion trends, Barbie could be seen as a symbol for the evolution of pop culture and its many different phases. Her clothing represented that of the times that she lived in, constantly changing as the years went on. Barbie was also used as a symbol that depicted certain beliefs and interests. As society developed and women’s careers changed from that of housewives to women in the work force, Barbie would also would pick up work related interests and outfits. Barbie is a toy that has never gone out of fashion, she evolves with it, therefore is less like a fad and more like a fashion.
As a young girl, I was not very interested in playing with baby dolls. I preferred playing with my many stuffed animals or the only doll I did like—Barbie. With my animals, usually I was rescuing them from some horrible disaster such as a flood or a forest fire. I was their heroic savior and benevolent protector. But with Barbie this was decidedly not the case. Sometimes my Barbie did normal Barbie things, such as get dressed up for an exciting date with Ken or go shopping with her little sister, Skipper. More often, however, I subjected Barbie to strange, sadistic acts of my imagination. Frequently Barbie, in her pink dune buggy, would have tragic head-on collisions with my brother’s dump truck, or the brakes would suddenly go out on her pink Barbie scooter, sending her careening off a steep mountain cliff. Barbie also had the unfortunate tendency to be sucked from her Barbie plane by her lovely long blonde hair while flying at 30,000 feet. Since in every other way I was a normal child, psychoanalysts might interpret my play patterns with Barbie as childlike manifestation of women’s frustrations at the disparate images popular culture presents for women. Most women I know also experience this love/hate feeling towards Barbie and the mixed messages she represents, especially when their daughters start begging for Barbies of their own. While mothers do not want to encourage the unrealistic beauty expectations that Barbie represents, they also fondly remember Barbie as their own favorite toy. These many women, and their daughters, have made Barbie the most successful toy for girls since 1959, despite Barbie’s many contradictions. Barbie embodies American popular culture’s attempt to respond to women’s changing roles in the era since...
The company explained that the new dolls will be a better reflection of what girls see in the world around them. Not only will they better represent the diversity seen in real women, they may also help girls develop a more realistic body image. Mattel believes they have a responsibility to girls and parents to reflect a broader view of beauty. Parents should make informed decisions about which toys they give to their children and consider carefully how those toys might affect them. The new Barbie dolls offer increased options for parents. Parents can introduce their children to a range of body shapes, sizes, and colors through these new dolls. Parents can choose to give their children dolls that do not promote an unrealistic or even unhealthy body image, such as the new Barbie’s offered by Mattel. Parents can give their children toys other than dolls. Parents can also discuss the messages toys convey with their children. Even young children can begin to develop a critical eye towards these things if provided with some guidance in that
The author of “Illiteracy: The Downfall of American Society” cautions that illiteracy is linked to low employment rates, low education rates, and a higher crime rate. Illiterate adults fail to complete everyday tasks, which can lead to serious problems. They do not have the ability to read road signs or emergency alerts and are not aware of the dangers that are close by. The United States Literacy Decade (USLD) reports that one in five adults cannot read or write. The United Nations are working to minimize illiteracy with the help of the citizens in order to help the economy expand. People can promote literacy by volunteering to tutor around their neighborhood and advertising book clubs. They can even donate unwanted books to local libraries or suggest reading programs. Illiterate children will grow into illiterate adults. Therefore, it is vital that literacy is encouraged at the youngest age possible. It is suggested that literacy is made fun for young audiences so that they can grow up to enjoy it. In conclusion, illiteracy should not be tolerated, especially for young
Since 1959, Barbie’s lifestyle has served as a template of how young girls should live the remainder of their life. Certainly, Barbie is just a plastic doll, but she stands a plastic queen. Consequently, Young girls obliviously see her as an idol, and every doll that was made after Barbie is a carbon copy of her. Being that Barbie’s image remains impossible to acquire, some mothers do not allow their children to play with her; they do not want their “baby girls” thinking they are not good enough. Barbie has influenced young girls into thinking that the only way to be perfect is to grow up striving to be just like the blonde hair, blue eyed white woman with the perfect body figure.
Literacy is a catastrophic problem around the world. With the information age coming in at blazing speeds, literacy is needed among every one in the nation. To solve literacy’s problems must effectively the United States must go the roots of where illiteracy begins. When this starts to happen nation wide, all able will be able to have the ability to read. How else would a nation survive in a literate world with out being literate itself?
To start out with what is an information system? I stated that information systems have been around for a long time, and found information systems defined as “(1) A set of people, procedures, and resources that collects, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization. (2) A system that accepts data resources as input and processes them into information products as output.” (Management Information Systems) Information systems therefore were originally people gathering information and processing it into useable data through a set of defined steps. For many companies, IS is the name of the department responsible for computers, networking ...
Studies show that the toys they play with do have impact children. Therefore, it is important to understand that Barbie is not just a toy for children to play with. Barbie dolls mimic the female figure and have been impacting the female body image for years. Barbie’s teach girls and boys that it is desirable to be tall, thin, white and blonde. These dolls convince young girls that this is the way their bodies should look and has them striving for an unrealistic body image.
Literacy is an important part of life; whether in school or on the job, words are all around. Today, fourteen percent of the United States population does not know how to read (The U.S. Illiteracy Rate Hasn’t Changed In 10 Years). Though fourteen percent seems trivial, when put into a number it is equivalent to 5,460,000 people who cannot read at a functional level in the United States. For literacy rates to rise, our country needs to take a more active role in homes, communities, and in schools. To solve this problem, literacy must be defined, statistics need to be examined, issues which arise due to illiteracy must be recognized, diagnostics of reading problems need to be understood and acknowledged, and solutions should be brought to the
An anthropological approach to the analysis of food in culture would be to isolate and identify the food variables, arrange these variables systematically, and explain why some of these variables go together or do not go together. Generally people who have the same culture share the same food habits, that is, they share the same assemblage of food variables. Most of the major cities in the world contain varied societies, encompassing of a wide range of individuals from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Ethnicity refers to a social group, which shares particular distinctive features, for instance; language, culture, physical appearance, religion, va...
In the world america ranks as number 22 in literacy(http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?c=us&v=39). According to (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literacy) literacy is the ability to read and write. While most of the people in america are literate they vary according to how literate they are. What is elementary to us may be surprisingly difficult to someone else. In America although the literacy rate is 99%(http://www.reference.com/motif/society/literacy-rate-in-america) 3,109,120 people in America or 1% of the population is unable to read and write. Texas itself has 3 out of 5 of the least literate cities in America! No wonder people think being from texas makes you stupid. (http://time.com/9549/the-5-least-literate-cities-in-america/). Out of 75 cities Corpus ranks number 74 in literacy. That means that we are next to last not second place. According to Wall Street Corpus is almost the most illiterate in America.
One day children will become adults and become our future; children can become presidents, doctors, teachers, police and other things. All parents desire for their children to excel as well as to become successful adults. Unfortunately, some do not have similar opportunities. There are three major income classes: low, middle, and high, so I will be discussing how low socio-economic children are more likely to encounter difficulties when it comes to their education, especially in literacy. Not helping these low socio-economic children will create a repeating cycle of poor readers, therefore creating poor or low-income adults.