The ability to be able to read and write are skills that not everyone has obtained, and it is shocking for me to find this to be true. I was oblivious to the high illiteracy rates in America when I was in high school, and assumed that everyone was taught to some extent how to read and write. However, this is definitely not the case. There are many different reasons behind high illiteracy rates. These include high school dropouts, teen pregnancy, and coming from a foreign country. I used to have a babysitter named Lilia that was from Mexico, and she was illiterate in English. I never stopped to think that it was extremely difficult for her to do anything in the United States because reading and writing is integral to society. If I were to see through the eyes of Lilia, I would see many hardships due to illiteracy. There are two main challenges that would be tremendously difficult for Lilia to overcome, obtaining a job and helping her daughter with school.
Lilia had a child, which means she had to find a job to support her child, but this could have been difficult because of her illiteracy. Fortunately my mother knew Spanish and was able to give Lilia a job. The inability to read and write could have blocked Lilia’s chances in obtaining employment. Firstly, she would not be able to create resumes and cover letters. Secondly, she would not be able to read whatever the employer wanted her to read. Thirdly, she would not be able to communicate effectively during the interview because she could not speak English. That creates a huge communication barrier here, and it would make it extremely difficult for Lilia to find work in an established business.
Lilia’s child attended school here in America. Children often need help with their homework, which Lilia could not help with. Parents are almost always the first resource for a child in grade school to go to when they need help academically. Typically the parents are literate, and are able to help their children, although this was definitely not the case for Lilia. She could not help her child in school because she herself could not do the homework. This lack of help for her daughter would impact her daughter’s education negatively in the long run. Of course there are other resources for her child to go to, although those resources are not always present like a parent. Due to Lilia’s illiteracy she was not able to help her child succeed in school, which must have been devastating for Lilia to experience.
Illiteracy is rampant in the United States, and there are many reasons as to why. Lilia was a statistic in the high illiteracy rate in the United States, and this could have impacted her harshly when she was trying to find a job. In addition, she was helpless when it came to her daughter’s education because she was not able to understand her homework. Illiteracy can impact many parts of people’s lives negatively, although being literate is not always a choice.
I see your point, being literate is very important and it must have been very hard for Lilia to go through. And I wonder how Lilia not knowing how to read and write, must of affected her daughter. Not to be offensive but we are all able to learn.
ReplyDeleteLilia could have made time to learn to read and write especially because her not knowing restricted her life here. I am not just talking about Lilia but about anyone who is illiterate. Both of Parents came to America as teenagers and knew that learning the language was vital. My father did learn a bit of English back in his country so that gave him a stepping stone to the road of learning how to speak English. My mother in the other hand learned English when she moved the states.
My Parents will always have accents but they are able to read and write and communicate in English. Both of their families, brothers and sisters were all able to manage and do well in their new lives here. I think the problem with people that come from foreign countries, is that they might be scared to learn.
I being a bilingual person, have translated for many Spanish speaking people. I have sometimes asked them why they have not learned their new language yet. I hear the older people explain that they think they are too old to learn and others are not confident enough to try. I hope that one day these people will try to better themselves. Education is power and they are powerless.