Illiteracy in both children and adults is a silenced issue in this country.
In fact, the U.S. Department of Education found that the literacy rate in the country is no better than it was 10 years ago.
And in many states, over half of fourth-graders are not at a proficient reading level, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
But not many people are talking about it.
And when they are, many myths, misconceptions and stereotypes are employed.
Here are four common misconceptions surrounding illiteracy.
If a child cannot read or write, his or her parents must be poor.
This is not true.
Many illiterate students' home lives may be a factor, but socioeconomic status and/or parent's literacy levels are not always to blame.
Kiri Chaboud, an intern for Ready for School, Ready for Life, says that while poverty may be a factor, that does not matter when it comes to a child's reading.
"While poverty plays a large role in limiting certain resources such as childcare, education and access to learning tools, a lot of literacy development starts with simple communication in the home," Chaboud said.
She says parents just need to talk to their children more because talking leads to word association and vocabulary skills.
"No matter the socioeconomic status, if a parent is able to surround their child with a steady flow of conversation, this can develop a strong basis for future literacy skills," Chaboud said.
Kaitlyn Reaves, a first-grade student teacher in Maryland, agrees, saying that there are no economic boundaries to learning and literacy, just social ones.
"A family showing interest in a child's school work will directly increase the student's success in school," Reaves said. "If a family does not provide a child with the foundations of learning to read, a child will enter kindergarten farther behind a student whose family has invested time in their learning."
These foundations of learning to read include talking to kids daily, reading to them and working on learning the alphabet and letter sounds.
No matter what a parent or family's socioeconomic status is if they take the time to talk and read to their child, literacy is right ahead.
They're never going to do well in school if they can't read by ____ age or at a certain rate or speed.
While many people acknowledge that being different is great and that the world would be boring if we were all the same, somehow that message becomes skewed in school.
We expect all students to be able to read the same thing and be on the same skill level by a certain age.
Chaboud recognizes these disparities and how they help form this myth.
"People often believe that strong literacy skills are tied to the speed that one can read or write," Chaboud said. "This is a huge misconception and a lot of this is due to the manner in which schools are required to or go about testing literacy."
These tests can include seeing how many words a child can read in a 60-second time span.
"Literacy skills come from so much more than speed," Chaboud said. "It's the ability to question, infer, read with voice and fluency and think critically and creatively."
Reaves also points out how reading is not the end-all, be-all of literacy.
"It is important to remember that reading is only one aspect of language acquisition," Reaves said. "Reading is often the last step of language acquisition in a child, preceded by comprehending verbal language, phonemic awareness and phonological awareness."
Every child is different and learns at his or her own pace. Because of this standardization, this sentiment has been lost.
They must be stupid or lazy if they are illiterate.
Literacy does not equal intelligence.
Chaboud sees this all the time.
"While literacy aids multiple dimensions of learning, it does not mean that these people are incapable of learning or holding other skill sets," Chaboud said. "And often these people desire the ability to read and write."
This desire also debunks the assumption that kids and adults that cannot read are simply lazy.
Reaves has many students who are not native English speakers. They struggle to read and write in English and translate in their heads. But the important this is that they do try.
"My class contains 11 students out of 25 who speak English as their second language," Reaves said. "However, these students have brilliant minds and work twice as hard as an only English-speaking student."
She says that at this age, students minds are open to learning all new things and maintaining such information. So even though these students may not have English down perfectly, their brains are working hard and taking in everything.
"Students at this age have a higher capacity to learn a second language than adults or older students," Reaves said. "In this way, students who are 'illiterate' are actually using more brain power than the average English-only student."
Learning disabilities also play a huge role in when children learn how to read. Katherine Donnelly studied early childhood education and says people do not realize the tremendous impact.
"People get really concerned when they see their very young children writing letters and numbers backward," Donnelly said. "But dyslexia can't really be diagnosed until age seven."
Reaves sees this in her student teaching and acknowledges that it does not mean the child is not smart.
"Dyslexia does not cause an individual to be unable to read, or to be any less smart than another student," Reaves said. "This simply means the student will need more accommodations, patience and work in order to read on grade level."
It is important to recognize how each student learns and work towards their strengths, instead of using the same assessment on every child. Instead of utilizing skills they have, it points out weaknesses leading to harmful misconceptions.
Learning to read in one's native language will make it harder to read and write in English.
Many parents believe that teaching their children their native language will not allow them to be on the same track as an English-only student or that it will confuse them.
It all goes back to parents talking to and interacting with their children. If a child gets that interaction, it aids in developing all of the literacy skills that come before fully reading and writing.
Parents believe that sticking their child in front of a television will help them learn English and be successful in school, but the crucial interaction is missing.
Reaves has experienced this in her current student-teaching position and past internship. She found ways to use the students' native language and relate it to English.
"By showing children how their home language relates to English in a variety of ways, the child can feel confident in their use of their home language and English," Reaves said.
Reaves would encourage her students to say words and phrases in both English and Spanish so that they could practice connecting the two languages.
"The most important thing we're taught is to value and respect their home language because it is part of their identity and they should never feel ashamed of it," Reaves said.
Moving Forward
People do not realize the immense impact these misconceptions can have on children learning to read and write.
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| Source: Kaitlyn Reaves |
Looking forward, Chaboud wants people to know that learning never stops and does not discriminate.
"Everyone is capable of learning; it is never too late to develop these skills," Chaboud said. "You don't need the highest quality education to be literate, use what's around you and practice every day."
She has one last thing for everyone to remember: "Being illiterate means nothing unless you let it."
Related Stories:
6 Myths About Kindergarten Literacy Instruction
Seven Myths About Literacy in the U.S.
Leveled Reading: The Making of a Literacy Myth
