Literacy Can Change
America
Senior Service Learning Project
Videos
• Illiteracy in America
• How Stupid Are Americans?
Startling Facts
• Majority of Americans can’t name a single branch of
government
• 24% cannot name the country America fought in the
Revolutionary War
• More than 2/3 of Americans do not know what’s in Roe
vs. Wade
• Nearly 50% of Americans know that states have two
senators
• Less than 50% can name their congressman
• People complain about taxes yet have no idea what
the government spends money on
• The average voter thinks foreign aid consumes 24% of
our annual budget. It is actually only 1%
What is literacy?
• Literacy is the ability to read, write,
compute and use technology at a level
that enables an individual to reach his or
her potential as an adult and community
member.
Facts about Illiteracy in the U.S.
• 30 million people over the age of 16 or
14% of the country’s adult population do
not read well enough to understand a
newspaper story written at an eighth grade
level or fill out a job application.
• The U.S. ranks 5th among industrialized
nations in terms of literacy
Impact of Illiteracy
• Adult illiteracy can be connected to almost
every socio-economic issue in the U.S.
– 60% of all state and federal corrections
inmates can barely read and write
Functional Illiteracy
• Incompetence is basic functions such as
reading, writing and math.
• 24 million Americans are plagued with
functional illiteracy
• 13% of American 17 year olds are illiterate
• Among minorities the number jumps to 40%
• Every year, at least one million of these
functional illiterates graduate from high
school
Who does illiteracy effect
• Begins with children who do not learn how to
read and write in elementary school
• They become teenagers who are passed
through despite not having the academic
skills to progress forward
• Who become adults who cannot read higher
than an 8th grade level who are thus unskilled
• The cycle of poverty continues
How Does Literacy Help
• Improves the quality of life
• A person who lacks a high school income
earns a monthly income of $52 as
compared to $1,829 for those with a
college degree
• Literacy increases access to healthcare
• Literacy will ultimately help to stimulate our
economy
• Decreases the rate of crime
How Can We Increase
Literacy
• Increase participation in literacy programs
• Increase access to literacy programs in
low income areas
• Catch children in elementary school
• Increase academic standards in public
schools