ILLITERACY

Good reading skills pivotal
to success of individuals, society

Working together, we can become part of solution

If you can read this, you're probably not part of the problem.

In fact, you could be part of the solution.

Jeff Bruce

The problem is illiteracy. It is an affliction shared by a surprisingly large number of adults in the Greater Dayton area.

Daily News reporters Tom Beyerlein, John Keilman and Lynn Hulsey have spent the past few months researching illiteracy here. `Opening Doors: Literacy in the Miami Valley,' is the title of the five-day package of stories they have written that begins on today's front page.

The series of articles shows that the negative consequences of illiteracy on our community are pervasive and significant.

People who have difficulty reading find it harder to get good jobs. They make it more difficult for employers to expand their businesses and, as a result, are a drag on the economy. Illiterate people, finding it difficult to make a good living, sometimes turn to crime.

All told, the social and economic costs of illiteracy are far too high.

JEFF BRUCE is editor of the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached at 937-225-2335 or at jeff_bruce@coxohio.com

Part of the problem, clearly, is that the bar has been raised.

It wasn't that long ago that a person could make a good living as an auto mechanic or a factory worker or in some other occupation where reading skills were not a critical job requirement.

All that has changed dramatically during the past few decades.

Auto mechanics, as one example, must be able to read volumes and volumes of highly technical manuals and be facile with computers and other sophisticated tools.

Making a good living requires strong reading skills. The average household income for people with good reading abilities ranges from $46,000 to $55,000. In contrast, people with poor reading capabilities typically earn $14,700 to $17,200.

That's a huge gap. And it is a gap that is likely to widen as we enter the millennium and our society becomes more centered around information-based technology.

In Montgomery County, nearly one in five people age 16 or older are functionally illiterate.

Another quarter of the county's population is rated by experts as only one step ahead of the functionally illiterate.

The upshot is that more than 40 percent of the county's residents over the age of 16 - that's about 170,000 people - read below the level of a high-school freshman, which many employers consider the minimum skill level necessary for employment.

Put it another way: A recent study released by Wright State University showed that Miami Valley employers have nearly 50,000 jobs to fill, but can't, because there are not enough qualified workers.

Those kind of numbers cry out for a solution.

Part of the answer may lie in how we educate our children. Too many schools still operate on a one-size-fits-all model that's been around since dirt was invented.

Some literacy experts advocate year-round schooling and other educational reforms. There has to be some merit in rethinking how we teach when a quarter of the adults in reading programs already have high-school diplomas.

(And, by the way, this costs money, folks. But considering the consequences of illiteracy on our economy, it would be money well spent.)

Another piece of the answer is less complex.

There are a number of groups in our community dedicated to helping people learn to read. They need volunteers to help with tutoring.

During the course of this week, you'll learn how to become involved in these programs. They are worthwhile, and they make a difference.

And if you've read this far, you're probably qualified to help out.