With somewhat more than functional readings skills at my disposal I may not be wiser than I was yesterday but I am smarter. The article I was able to read advised me that I need to add a pinch of salt to the eight glasses of water that I drink a day in order to replace the electrolytes my body needs. As well as being an interesting tidbit, that piece of information could make a big difference in my day-to-day health. Imagine though if I hadn't been able to read that article and instead of seeing words that made sense, I saw only black marks scribbled across the page? That is what it is like for 19% of Canadians according to an IALS study. It also says that 47% in total can't read at a level for everyday living.



Imagine having a prescription bottle that could save your life, but you couldn't make sense of the instructions. Functional reading is more than a gift of words that opens up the world to us, it is as basic as food and shelter. Generally the better read you are the better you are able to do in life overall as you have a good idea of what people are talking about and making reference to. Reading can bring you joy through fantasy and more importantly keep you current with what is going on in the world around you. It is important to be able to converse intelligently with your friends, family or co-workers around the proverbial water cooler. Being unable to read English would be like trying to read a newspaper in Dubai. If it is Spanish or French I might be able to figure out some of what they are saying but an Arabic or Japanese menu would be beyond me completely. Far too many people around the world struggle with this every day of their lives. Hiding their literary ignorance would take its toll on them day after day. It would be like being thrown into the middle of a chorus line and expected to know the steps and do your part without ever having been given a lesson. Imagine the stress they would carry! What would that do to your prospects for getting a decent job let alone excelling in business? It would be difficult to continue like that for very long.

We take reading skills for granted when learning and literacy are promoted in our homes. Bedtime stories were something we looked forward to as kids. Literacy meant nothing to us then but the magic of reading by ourselves was so enticing as youngsters. Those books took us to other worlds and exotic places. Each level that was presented to us kept us learning more and reading more as the words took on new meaning. It seems bizarre to some of us that others don't have this ability to read. How unfortunate that they have to stand at the window of reading and can only watch us without having the opportunity to indulge in the flights of fancy and words of enlightenment that we enjoy. While many illiterate adults may have given up on the idea long ago, there are projects like Partners for Adult Literacy that are available to help them. Adults shouldn't miss out on learning to read but how much more should it be offered to children? We grow up not even thinking of literacy because it is as natural to us as breathing. How can we make sure everyone gets the chance? It may seem like an overwhelming problem but we need to keep searching for an answer. Let's make sure that our children's children have never heard of illiteracy.