World Read ALoud Day





Every important social issue that impacts the quality of our lives is affected by our levels of literacy Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing! Social issues include our ability to earn a livable wage to support ourselves and families, having the ability to understand and utilize health care information to stay healthy, the ability to participate fully in society to make valuable contributions, like voting and advocating for social services and governmental policies that enhance our society. 

World Read Aloud Day was created in 2010 by the New York City non-profit organization Lit World to promote international, literacy efforts, acknowledging that every human being has the right to learn how to read, write and acquire the adequate language skills necessary to understand and to be understood. It is now celebrated in over 173 countries, annually. 

Are the USA’s Literacy Rates Good Enough?
 
    In the USA, 43% of adults with the lowest levels of literacy rates live in poverty while 70% of adult welfare recipients have low levels of literacy.

      Children of parents with low levels of literacy skills have a 72% chance of also being in this same category.

    More than $230 billion dollars per year in health care costs is linked to low adult literacy because they don’t have the ability to be informed and to understand what health decisions should be taken, and this inevitably leads to higher health care costs.

    Low literacy costs the U.S. at least $225 billion each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
 
    Every year, one in six young adults—more than 1.2 million—drop out of high school. 

 
    About 50 percent of the 2 million immigrants that come to the U.S. each year lack a high     school education and proficient English language skills.


    Seventy-five percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school or can be classified as low literate.This research also shows that inmates who are educated are 43 percent less likely to return to prison.  

Sources:
1.   National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
2.  The National Institute for Literacy
3.  American Journal of Public Health
4. National Council for Adult Learning (NCAL)
5. Center for Immigration Studies, National Commission on Adult Literacy
6. U.S. Dept., of Justice, Rand Report: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education
7. Pro Literacy: Member Statistical Report
 


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