OPINION: The Need to End Childhood Illiteracy, Not Just Fight It

By Niharika Chibber Joe

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

As of 2011, the United States was the only free-market OECD country where the current generation was less well educated than the previous. The number of adults who are classified as “functionally illiterate” is climbing by 2.25 million each year. Forty two million American adults cannot read at all, and 50 million adults are unable to read above the fifth grade level.

Enough studies have shown that literacy is by far one of the best predictors of a child’s future success; and the number of books in the home directly forecasts reading achievement. Children who grow up with books in their homes reach a higher level of education than those who do not. But, we also know that in some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children. This is a staggering statistic, given that even one book for every three children is unacceptable. And with the current widely published research, we know that a child with no access to books is already predisposed to poor educational, employment and health outlooks.

In non-industrialized countries, populations with the lowest literacy rates have the poorest health status. While there is no published research in the United States that suggests that illiteracy alone might have an impact on the health of an individual, we know that many children and adults who are illiterate or have low literacy skills will not graduate from high school, will earn barely enough to stay above poverty levels, and will be more likely to engage in criminal and anti-social behaviors.

The social problems that arise from illiteracy are not restricted to certain communities alone. They affect society as a whole. According to recent reports,

• Nearly 85 percent of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime.

• More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate and three quarters of Americans who receive food stamps perform at the lowest two levels of literacy.

• Ninety percent of high school dropouts are on welfare.

• Teenage girls ages 16 to 19 who live at or below the poverty level and have below average literacy skills are six times more likely to have children out of wedlock than girls their age who can read proficiently.

• Low literacy directly costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year.

Researchers have estimated that children in ‘professional’ families hear approximately 11 million words per year; while children in working class families hear approximately six million, and children in families receiving public assistance hear approximately three million words annually. By the age of three, children from wealthier families have typically heard 30 million more words than children from disadvantaged households. New data continues to demonstrate that children from low-income families have one fourth the vocabulary of children from wealthier homes. Hence, by the time these children enter kindergarten, they are 12-14 months below national norms in language and pre reading skills.

Moreover, the gap between racial/ethnic groups is wide – while 42% of Asian-American and 41% of Caucasian fourth graders score at or above the “proficient” level, just 13% of African-American, 16% of Hispanic-American, and 18% of Native American fourth graders do the same.

Still, these problems can be solved. Access to a diverse supply of high quality books is a necessary resource, which is essential to overcoming illiteracy, and is missing for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Price is the overwhelming barrier to book ownership in the United States, and teaching programs generally have limited funds. In fact, it has been documented that nearly all teachers pay out of pocket to provide books for their students. But there are several high quality nonprofit organizations that are working hard to ensure that access to books does not remain a barrier to literacy.

Investments in early childhood learning remain vital to the success of our country’s youth. Extensive research has shown that early childhood programs significantly increase a child’s chances of avoiding the prison pipeline; and studies clearly demonstrate that investments in quality early education can produce a rate of return to society significantly higher than returns to most stock market investments or traditional economic development projects.

There are many options when it comes to supporting early literacy programs – individuals and organizations, both public and private, may look to supporting comprehensive early literacy programs that begin at birth and provide services to both parents and children, as well as programs that provide children with meals and access to preventive health care services. Adult and parent education programs that have home visits and that train and encourage parents, relatives, and other adults to talk with, read to, and work to build children’s early literacy skills through one-on-one reading and instruction are particularly helpful in addressing the issue of literacy.

As children increasingly use technology to read, and as formats and technologies change, children from disadvantaged backgrounds will continue to need access to rich and varied content. In order to confront this change, nonprofits in the literacy space are working with their partners so that children can benefit from new technologies and flourish as readers. Meanwhile, high-quality literacy programs are offering instruction that allows children to practice their early literacy skills often, motivate them to read, and build their self-esteem around reading.

Yet, public funding for education is often inadequate, making it necessary for nonprofits and private organizations to stretch their budgets by emphasizing community engagement, coordination, and pooling of resources and services.

The jury is in. There is more than enough data to support the fact that early childhood literacy is critical to the future success of a child and that children from disadvantaged homes are more likely than not to receive little or no literacy by the time they reach kindergarten. With the literacy figures amongst AAPI communities running higher than others, and with Washington, DC being ranked the most literate U.S. city for the third year in a row in 2013, AAPIs in the DC Metro area are in a position to make a significant contribution.

Research Credits: First Book, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, DoSomething.Org, Children’s Defense Fund

Niharika Chibber Joe is General Manager at Tata Sons Ltd. where she heads CSR for North America. Since 2007 Tata companies in the U.S. and Canada have given more than 225,000 books to disadvantaged children to elevate educational opportunities.