Comments on: Declining Literacy in America’s Graduates http://blog.nodvin.net/?p=135 Commentary from Dr. Stephen C. Nodvin Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:46:47 +0000 hourly 1 By: F. Cichocki http://blog.nodvin.net/?p=135&cpage=1#comment-614 F. Cichocki Thu, 29 Dec 2005 02:34:25 +0000 http://blog.nodvin.net/?p=135#comment-614 Literacy can be defined as the dialog between text and context, not simply the act of pronouncing words. For such a dialog to exist authentic thinking must be involved. Indeed, proficiency in both verbal and mathematical language is essential for effective thought; as goes language, so goes thinking. If so many college graduates (and even graduate students!) are illiterate (insofar as the tests show) that implies that they are (big surprise) to the same degree devoid of the rational thought required for effective verbal and logico-mathematical comprehension. They can barely understand the 15-second sound bite (unless it's a commercial), let alone a college textbook. And, sadly, many of them are registered to vote. Despite the statistics, there is obviously no real accountability in American society for being "illiterate." Not with the individual; not with the schools. If the low US literacy rate (especially that among high school and college graduates) costs the nation "tens of billions of dollars" per year, why don't we end up in the red? No, somehow we actually net tens of billions more. When US business and industry leaders spend "an agerage of $600 million per year on remedial reading, writing and math skills training for employees", this just feeds a compensatory industry that generates far more than that. It's like an environmental disaster that increases theGDP through the now well-developed mitigation industry. As a college professor who has devoted a lifetime to what I believe is genuine education, I'm appalled. Education in this country has become, de facto, the handmaiden of unbridled material consumption. Most of our "education" dollar goes to commercial advertising aimed at bypassing rational thought, hence aimed at the illiterate. For the most part, our schools are intellectually bankrupt. If we really wanted to solve the illiteracy problem, we'd close all the college and university schools of education tomorrow and start over. But then, what's really important? Literacy can be defined as the dialog between text and context, not simply the act of pronouncing words. For such a dialog to exist authentic thinking must be involved. Indeed, proficiency in both verbal and mathematical language is essential for effective thought; as goes language, so goes thinking. If so many college graduates (and even graduate students!) are illiterate (insofar as the tests show) that implies that they are (big surprise) to the same degree devoid of the rational thought required for effective verbal and logico-mathematical comprehension. They can barely understand the 15-second sound bite (unless it’s a commercial), let alone a college textbook. And, sadly, many of them are registered to vote.

Despite the statistics, there is obviously no real accountability in American society for being “illiterate.” Not with the individual; not with the schools. If the low US literacy rate (especially that among high school and college graduates) costs the nation “tens of billions of dollars” per year, why don’t we end up in the red? No, somehow we actually net tens of billions more. When US business and industry leaders spend “an agerage of $600 million per year on remedial reading, writing and math skills training for employees”, this just feeds a compensatory industry that generates far more than that. It’s like an environmental disaster that increases theGDP through the now well-developed mitigation industry.

As a college professor who has devoted a lifetime to what I believe is genuine education, I’m appalled. Education in this country has become, de facto, the handmaiden of unbridled material consumption. Most of our “education” dollar goes to commercial advertising aimed at bypassing rational thought, hence aimed at the illiterate. For the most part, our schools are intellectually bankrupt. If we really wanted to solve the illiteracy problem, we’d close all the college and university schools of education tomorrow and start over. But then, what’s really important?

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