by Leola Washington

Created on: August 25, 2008   Last Updated: September 13, 2010

In order to determine the possibility of a literate nation, we need to first determine why it has become so possible to have an illiterate nation for so long. I believe that it would be possible to have a literate nation, but only if a major lifestyle change and social movement takes place.

Grab and Go
The convenience of the modern world and the speedy, grab and go lifestyle of this nation has created almost insurmountable obstacles to literacy. Reading takes time and in today's world, time is a precious commodity we can't easily spare. Because class sizes are so large, children become statistics. If 80 percent of a first grade classroom can read, then the school is viewed as successful. The other twenty percent of students are shifted on to someone else or swept under the rug. They become adults who can't read well, and join the large segment of society who scorns reading because they never learned how. By changing the time requirements and emphasis on speedy lifestyles, we can have the foundation for a nation of literate adults.If all children could not leave school unless they read well, and if we as a society never gave up trying, no one would be illiterate in our nation. Handicapped or otherwise impaired individuals would have the time and individualized attention they needed to succeed and all who had the mental capability would become literate.

Money
Because there are so many jobs that don't require a high degree of literacy, many people are able to live comfortable without needing to read. The day laborers, and minimum wage earners of our nation don't need to read to earn and the rich individuals can just pay people to read for them and make them richer. As a result, literacy becomes irrelevant to their standard of living. In order to have a literate nation, every job and every lifestyle should require literacy.

Social Attitude
You know the type very well. Those cool kids in high school who said only geeks like to read, end up turning into adults who perpetuate the dumbing down of our nation. These are the people who only look at pictures in magazines. They are the members of the successful business class, who pay assistants and lawyers to read for them. Once the stigma is removed from reading and literacy, it will be more possible to have a literate nation. Harry Potter and Stephanie Meyer shouldn't be the only reason children are reading. And being cool should not exclude literacy.

Shortcuts
If we burned all the cliff notes, summaries,television sets and shortcuts in effigy, there might be rioting in the streets at first. But then literacy might have its moment in the sun. Granted this is a drastic exaggeration, but some measures need to be taken to make life harder for non readers and to motivate non-readers into learning how to read better. If there were as many reading drive throughs as there are McDonald's, our nation could have a real shot at becoming completely literate.

Overall, the possibility of a literate nation will always be waiting in the wings, ready when we are ready to pave the way for its arrival. I refuse to believe that complete literacy is impossible.

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