by Amanda Lay

Created on: January 28, 2009   Last Updated: January 01, 2011

I was inspired by President Obama's Inaugural address. I, too, believe in the opportunities that the United States has to offer for all people, regardless of the social class or educational level of a person.

The United States of America is one of the wealthiest, most well-educated, most affluent nations in the entire world. Despite this fact, the Washington DC Metropolitan area has the third highest rate of illiteracy among adults in the entire United States of America. As a volunteer adult literacy tutor in the Washington DC area for nine years, I am truly saddened by such a statistic. In my opinion, it is truly shocking, appalling and shameful that those who are dedicated to serving the unique literacy needs of adults in the Washington, DC area do not have the resources to serve adult learners more effectively.

Functional adult illiteracy is a serious social problem not only in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, but across the entire United States of America as well. The problem of adult illiteracy is not only a solvable one, but it is also my belief that tackling the problem of functional adult illiteracy effectively will require a wide and unique array of creative, out of the box, multifaceted solutions.

The problem of adult illiteracy will not be completely solved by an increase of funding alone. If I were asked to recommend viable solutions to President Obama, I would begin with this idea. As taxpayers in the United States of America, we have both a moral and a social responsibility to ensure that all adult learners have an equal opportunity to get an education, pursue their goals and make contributions in their communities. To do this effectively, our educational system, educational practices, technology and resources must be updated and in some instances, modernized and made more flexible to meet the unique and changing needs of adult learners.

An educated, literate adult does not need to turn in times of desperation to a lifestyle which has the potential to include negative aspects such as crime and drug use. Adults who are literate and educated often feel a special sense of pride. Educated and literate adults are proud of and humbled by the obstacles that they have successfully overcome, the goals that they have achieved, the ways that they have changed and often, improved their lives, and the ways in which becoming functionally literate enables individuals to attain gainful and meaningful employment. Employment utilizes their many valuable skills and talents, and makes the dream of contributing to their families, communities and country a reality in their lives.

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