Literacy is not only the basis of all formal education, but also an essential element in a person´s ability to succeed in the modern economy.

Basic Literacy [offsite link]
Maeve Maddox: The ability to read stories and use text to gain information leads to human happiness. According to Maeve, children who have not achieved basic literacy by the end of the eighth grade should not be permitted to pass into the ninth grade.

Educational Malpractice K-3
In addition to the Common Core Standards created by corporate consultants, additional requirements are being placed on schools by state legislators and political appointees. The latest is the intrusion of keyboarding instruction for children K-3 who should be learning how to write.

Literacy is not a School Subject
Although referred to as if it were, "literacy" is not a school subject. It is a combination of information and skills that enables all other learning.

Misspelling as Warning Signal
Something is not right when the same adults who are able to perform basic math functions and recall song lyrics and sports statistics are unable to spell the words they use in day-to-day writing.

NBC report on U.S. literacy [offsite link]
Sobering literacy statistics about Americans.

Poor Reading Instruction Perpetuates Poverty
It’s no accident that the greatest percentage of illiteracy is to be found in the poorest segments of our population. The cause is related to a method of beginning reading instruction that penalizes the children of the poor.

School Reform Starts with Reading Reform
U.S. schools K-12 succeed in educating only about 40% of the nation's children. The only meaningful school reform would purge both schools and teachers' colleges of the "whole word" theory of reading instruction that dooms 60% of our children to semi-literacy.

Unfair Reading Instruction
U.S. public schools favor a time-consuming method of reading instruction whose success depends upon a child’s advantaged home life. Until a quicker and more equable method is adopted, 50% of entering five year olds will continue to fail to achieve proficiency by the end of third grade.

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