Grim as they are, none of these facts -- which I just came across on Facebook -- should surprise anybody who makes their living from anything literacy-related, whether it's editing, teaching, proofreading, writing...you name it. The reality of the piece is that literacy and comprehension go hand in hand with the bigger skills that you'll need later in life, to do more than just enough to slide by. This is a fact, however much those on the other side of that particular divide try to deny it.
Not too long ago, the Squawker and I were discussing how we were -- quite literally -- raised on reading. at home and at school. I have vivid memories of my mother taking me on her knee, and we'd choose a particular book to read together, and she would have me copy down the heavyweight words -- all those 50-cent and one dollar words, as they call them, presumably those with more than two or three syllables -- and go over with them with her.
My father was exactly the same way. Although he worked in construction, a job that involves hard physical labor, he always made time for reading at home. And by that, I don't mean the potboilers of the day, but pretty heavy duty stuff -- his favorite subjects leaned towards history and politics, from such esteemed historians as A. K. P. Taylor, Will Durant -- The Story Of Civilization was a particular favorite -- and Barbara Tuchman (A Distant Mirror. The Guns Of August), to Ballantine's popular series of black and white World War II paperbacks, and beyond. Of course, he always made time for classics, and whatever popular fiction struck his fancy. though I remember him favoring a bit more of the former than the latter.
Looking back, it's all the more striking, since neither of my parents had a great deal of formal education themselves. My mom got as far as a couple years in business college, which was a prerequisite in the '50s and '60s for women looking into secretarial careers -- which she never ended up pursuing, once the demands of raising children like me came calling -- while I'm not sure about my dad. I'm fairly certain he went through high school; whether he graduated, I'm not sure, but he didn't let it stop him from essentially further his education himself, whether it came on the job, or whatever he curled up to read on the couch.
At any rate, my parents understood the importance of putting a premium on understanding the world around them, and impressed that on me. Growing up in the '70s, as I did, I still remember when schools actually taught critical thinking, instead of what we've done for 30-odd years now, since the madness of No Child Left Behind forced teachers to go against their instincts -- and spend much of their time teaching to standardized tests.
While I'm over simplifying somewhat here, all I can say is, check out the above graphic for yourself, and let those facts sink in a little bit. There's a reason why the bandleader, Woody Herman, joked to his musicians, "Don't forget why they call them the Great Unwashed," and there's a reason why Trump constantly intones, "I love the poorly educated." Need we say more, especially after the fallout of Nov. 5, 2024? --The Reckoner
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