Literacy Notes

Relevancy:

The relationship between musical ability and literacy skills

1. Sheila Douglas^1,* and
2. Peter Willatts²
3. 1. ^{Research has shown that a relationship exists between phonological awareness and literary skills. It has been suggested that a structured programme of musical activities can be used to help children develop a multi-sensory awareness and response to sounds. The relationship between musical ability and literacy skills was examined in a study that showed an association between rhythmic ability and reading. A further pilot intervention study showed that training in musical skills is a valuable additional strategy for assisting children with reading difficulties.}

According to the literacy fast facts from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), literacy is defined as "using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one�s goals, and to develop one�s knowledge and potential."

"One measure of literacy is the percentage of adults who perform at four achievement levels: Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient. In each type of literacy, 13 percent of adults were at or above Proficient (indicating they possess the skills necessary to perform complex and challenging literacy activities) in 2003. Twenty-two percent of adults were Below Basic (indicating they possess no more than the most simple and concrete literacy skills) in quantitative literacy, compared with 14 percent in prose literacy and 12 percent in document literacy."

Literacy statistics worldwide

• According to UNICEF, "Nearly a billion people will enter the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names and two thirds of them are women."

Literacy statistics and juvenile court

• 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
• More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate.
• Penal institution records show that inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000 per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders.
• Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level.

Many of the USA ills are directly related to illiteracy. Just a few statistics:

• Literacy is learned. Illiteracy is passed along by parents who cannot read or write.
• One child in four grows up not knowing how to read.
• 43% of adults at Level 1 literacy skills live in poverty compared to only 4% of those at Level 5
• 3 out of 4 food stamp recipients perform in the lowest 2 literacy levels
• 90% of welfare recipients are high school dropouts
• 16 to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts.
• Low literacy costs $73 million per year in terms of direct health care costs. A recent study by Pfizer put the cost much higher.

Teaching reading skills is one of the best ways to save an aging brain

"Carlson is running a study called the Experience Corps Trial, in which older men and women volunteer to teach reading skills to kindergarten through third graders in Baltimore city schools. Using brain-imaging studies, Carlson and her colleagues have shown that after just a few months, people who volunteer show beneficial changes in their brains similar to those that other research teams have seen with exercise."

Stats from http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html

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Why is Reading Important?

1.  Reading is fundamental to function in today's society.  There are many adults who cannot read well enough to understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.  That is a scary thought - especially for their children.  Filling out applications becomes impossible without help.  Reading road or warning signs is difficult.  Even following a map becomes a chore.
2.  Reading is a vital skill in finding a good job.
3.  Reading develops the mind.
4.  Reading is how we discover new things.
5.  Reading develops the imagination.
6.  Reading develops the creative side of people.
7.  Reading is key in developing a good self image.  Non-readers or poor readers often have low opinions of themselves and their abilities.
8.  Good reading skills improve spelling.  
9.  Ideas written down have changed the destiny of men and nations.
10.  The power of written ideas communicated through reading is a foundational reason why some governments oppose free and honest communication.  Illiterate people are easier to control and manipulate.  They cannot do their own research and thinking.  They must rely on what they are told.

Words are the building blocks of life.  You are, right now, the result of words that you have heard or read and believed.  What you become in the future will depend on the words you believe about yourself now.  People, families, relationships, and even nations are built from words.  Think about it.

Why is Writing Important?

It seems like a silly question, but it is very important to be able to express yourself well.  Our writings precede us, or introduce us.  For example, when we apply for a job or to enroll in a school, we need to submit a resume and sometimes a cover letter, or when sending e-mails to someone we don’t actually know well or haven’t met yet (work partners, customers, or even responding on behalf of the company you work for).  If we make a bad (or illegible) impression, the outcome for us may not be favorable.

Poor writing may cost a lot; it may lead to misunderstanding and misconstruing due to sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling problems.

We need to write well for the following reasons:

-        To translate, communicate, and materialize our ideas and thoughts into accessible documents that are useful to ourselves and others

-        To report our work in informative, concise, and professional formats

-        Another important reason is that when writing, we are sending a message to our readers about who we are.  Therefore, we need to be clear, focused, and accurate so as not to be misunderstood, underestimated, or ignored.