Tackling America's illiteracy problem | Unreported World
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 พ.ย. 2024
- Making America Read: This video is from Donald Trump’s America, a man elected on the promise to Make America Great again. But, a big obstacle to America's greatness is the huge illiteracy crisis. Nearly 1 in 5 adults cannot read. Kiki King went to Detroit where 93% of the city’s teens are behind with their reading.
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This Unreported World episode was first aired on Channel 4 on 31/03/2017.
The problem is our society doesn't value education. There are always massive cuts to educational programs and resources. In addition to that, the whole system needs to be revised. When you have communities that are in crisis, economic and social, you can't hold them to the same standards as the rest of the country that don't have those obstacles. You have to create innovative curriculums that honestly look at where the children actually are and then decide what needs to be done to get them to grade level. Instead, there's a one size fits all system. All the pressure is put on teachers who are not equipped to deal with the emotional issues of the students, nor given the equipment that they need. Instead, they are blamed when students come in from the lower grades and are not where they should be. Add to this the pressure of dealing with emotional and behavior issues, is it any wonder why qualified teachers leave? Those who stay are pressured by the administration to pass kids along so the school's scores look good on paper. This is why I retired from the system.
Certainly is.
Americans spend more money per student than any country. We spend twice as much per student adjusted for inflation than in the 70’s. Don’t need to look very far for stupid in America.
TRUTHTEACHER2007 on top of that we don't value each other unless we're able to make a monetary gain off each other. It actually starts from there if people valued one another a lot more we wouldn't have all these cuts/ people sabotaging education. And we can really think about education in this country it is always been to create workers nothing more nothing less. Every time we make a Leap Forward and evolve our education here in this country we go 10 steps back. Why are we still using a formula from 1910???? Now as I said before we have to care about each other but that's something you can't make people understand especially living in this type of world today. But I read a lot of articles and journals about this and many people feel that empathy can be taught. I do agree that certain aspects of empathy are taught in childhood therefore can be there than adulthood if not before taught then.... but remember all this comes down to people not giving a s*** about other people... it's the same with many major issues think about, climate change we are the only great power in the world that doesn't believe it exist.. crazy part is that many of the people that are saying it doesn't exist no it does but are willing to say it doesn't for a price... no one would do that if they gave a f*** about the future of humanity or anyone in general... so education definitely needs to be reformed but we have to fix the mental mindset of Americans and people across the world. All these scary ass people being scared into conservatism just because they're ill-informed and they don't know.... shaking my head it is amazing
I'm from India and my mom graduated from hindi language plus basic english but she still helped me through reading and writing and I made it through and started reading in grade 1 and I'm in med school right now and I remember I used to recite whole english chapters in grade 2. I can surely guarantee you all that here in a developing country like India majority of private school students start reading very early with a very very low budget spend per pupil. All it happens because our parents pay attention to our education even if they are illiterate.
Absolutely!
I don't even understand how you can get through school without being able to read?
Surely you need to read to do... ANYTHING in school, including any testing
they just pass them
anna Theamazing Not state tests
Erica Varnado yeah they just don't make AYP then they lose more funding
Erica Varnado they also fire the teachers change the administration and the cycle continues
Yeti no child left behind.
Those two grown men learning to read and being supportive and understanding of each other was so beautiful.
So brave of them to get help
I don't get how the children can pass a grade without being able to read. In our country you don't pass and just repeat the grade. The children here learn all the letters in kindergarten. And they have to pass numerous test in each grade to pass the grade and move on and graduate.
majority of kids in my college have scholorships yet fail classes constantly idk
SPPOD They're probably lazy. Scholarships rely on your merits.
We make easy tests for dumb kids. It's how we move them along without actually teaching them something.
SuperMyrt I live in on the mid Atlantic coast of the USA idk how these kids are behind I'm 4 years ahead
Keeping a child back a grade costs a lot, so they often pass them on because of greed..
I just don't get it...
How???
Why??
How is it possible to pass a grade and pass exams without knowing how to read?
Bush's legacy- No Child Left Behind
Mind boggling
That policy is implemented in my country too. It's a disaster. Teachers became lazy parents became lazy students became lazy,a complete disaster.
While I do agree teachers can be lazy, there are a lot of teachers struggling to make a decent living and give quality educations. In states like Michigan, teachers reguarly face lay offs, wage cuts, and cuts to education funding. Imagine trying to coordinate teaching students when you don't have near enough material or supplies to do so.
@@katiec2051 I'm not surprised, remember this is the same man who asked "is our children learning" so he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed if you know what I mean
people are easy to manipulate when they are uneducated, which is why half the country will never invest money into the education system.
IneedMONEY fuck MAGA. It's all a con
John Hanifin I thought you'd talk about the stock market
the US spends a considerable amount in their education system (even compared to other countries), but like in healthcare, americans suck at spending money and place their priorities in the wrong place. no child left behind for example is a disaster and teacher unions will always try to keep their teachers in school even if they are doing a bad job.
John Hanifin Well I know you're talking about conservatives, but I would like for you to know that educated people can also be manipulated: by the one educating them.
In Germany university is completely free, in Denmark students receive fund for their living costs like rent and food.
A retired bilingual teacher and reading specialist here. I used to do a home survey about literacy in the home. Usually, the hardest to teach come from poverty. This most likely means no newspapers, books, pencils, supplies in the home. There is a severe lack of literacy modeling in the home. I used to teach parents how to read to their children because they’re the most important model for their children. Kids pay attention to what their parents think is important. How to teach reading is an art in itself. It’s a complicated sequence of coordinated brain, eye and voice action. Kudos to these kids and the adults who help them. God bless.
There's a lot of poorer ppl in Britain buts they can mostly read.. America is failing in the education sector
I, too, am a retired reading specialist. All you stated is so very true.
So at what age is a parent concerned, when *their child CAN'T READ!*
If my child couldn't read by age 8, I would do something. Some of these parents will blame the whole world before themselves.
Picnic I don’t know about in America but in most countries adults can take evening classes to improve their own English skills. America should work on that for all the people who can’t read I think.
I agree. English is my second language and I could read English at 12 because my parents cared.
If my child couldn't read by the age of 6 I would be very very concerned... I was able to read fluently at the age of 5 and thought it is the most normal thing.
STBill English was my third language and I could read my brother’s English textbook at seven when he was 12
devilangel777 I work in a day care while I go to college and I've seen 4 year olds that can read. And honestly after working at the YMCA for 4 years many times school is the only place where these children are being read too and having engagement via educational activities
It’s a combination of factors but Parents must play a major role in educating their children.
so if your parents are stupid you deserve to stay stupid?
Mahalia M Wright Parents fault
Blacks have allowed crap to be the standard so this is the result
Educate your kids, make them strive for better
Parents arent stupid. They may have been working labour jobs to provide for their kids to go to school. Words have power so you should reconsider the words you choose to describe peoples situations.
Too many kids don't have anyone at home to teach them anything! Kids are dumb because of inadequate (which may have started in THEIR childhood) parents! It's a cycle though because parenting can be affected by how THOSE parents were raised 💔
it's easy to say that they should have been reading to their kids, but consider that they may have been working 3 jobs just to keep food on the table. the system needs to do better so that people have the opportunity to choose a better life for themselves and their children. and what if your parents are bums? does that mean you shouldn't be given a chance?
This boxing gym needs huge gov funding.
Yeah, we need to teach more Chicago children how to beat up people.
@ercan kilic how? it encourages kids who cant read and aren't interested in academics reading and writing
So, they can fuck it up as bad as the schools? No thanks. Amazing things happen when government is not involved.
@@patwilliam543 he's a troll, bro.
You do realize the reason Detroit is where it is, is because of massive government dependency
Shouldn’t schools make sure kids are literate? They should have separate classes for kids who need extra help.
cjl That’s the issue, there is no funding for such classes.
They do in Canada. I’ve never heard of a middle class school aged Canadian being unable to read after age 6... Our English requirement is the only class mandatory for graduation and you can’t even Apply to colleges unless you have English as a fluent language and passed English 12 with a B. Y’all gotta Change your education standards.. for real. Kids are our future.
In the schools I have been to they put kids who need extra help in separate classes or classes that are at their level and I've only lived in the U.S.
Its called Special Ed. Every American school has then
Their funding is tied to test scores and graduation rates, so the overpaid administrators force the teachers to pass everyone so they can keep collecting a fat paycheck.
Teachers blame parents, parents blame teachers. No wonder nothing happens, no one takes any responsibility.
It’s both of the parents and teachers fault if they blame each other.
in my opinion-parents' fault.
Ohh it’s a hard one. I agree that parents can do more, but it’s swings and roundabouts. What if the parents can’t read or write. We need more teachers and smaller classes. Perhaps more one to one learning. Where I’m from, The parents are pulled in to the school if their children aren’t doing homework or are falling behind 8n a particular subject. Maybe more accountability for both parents and teachers is what’s really needed? It’s hard to sanction though.
It starts at home...teachers can not undo what is done at home. It is always on the parents.
@Lewis C. How so? The unions don't teach the kids nor do they set the curriculum
I had learning difficulties as a kid and now I actually am an electronics engineer. My heart melted when this kid mentioned he wanted to become an electronics engineer at 18:52 I really see myself in him.
I'm from India and my mom graduated with hindi language plus basic english but she still helped me through reading and writing by using English learning and grammar abilities developing books after several years of passing her college and I made it through and started reading in grade 1 and I'm in med school right now and I remember I used to recite whole english chapters in grade 2. I can surely guarantee you all that here in a developing country like India majority of private school students start reading very early with a very very low budget spend per pupil. All it happens because our parents pay attention to our education even if they are illiterate.
Same for my mom :D
I remember me reciting english, science, history and geography answers to her when I was a kid. Also, her checking my maths problems after I've solved them :) As they say, education first begins at home.
Many parents here are forced to work very long hours at multiple jobs to scrape by, and they just don't have the time to help their kids learn.
Indian parents pay lots of attention to their childrens education . My dad used to teach me Math and physics till 12th grade and now i am in a medical school. My dad played a very important role in my education .
It's important to read with your kids before bed time.
No one did that with me, or anyone in my family 😂 we can all read
ya, but it doesn't hurt. studies show the bedtime storytelling greatly improves literacy among dirt poor children :) :) :)
Tress Braga It makes your child fall I live with books.
@@michael-k. It's the same thing with me. I really only read at school when I was a kid. Come to think of it, there weren't any books in my parents house when I was a kid. Although, I did have issues with academic writing when I was in high school.
My mum read to me in the womb, Harry Potter books to be exact. She read to me every single night, and to be honest I do think it has helped me massively with my english.
When the host says that she took her own literacy for granted. That is profound. You never realize how illiteracy can cut someone off from the world.
Don't point your finger at one single person. The whole system is broken. Parents are unable to detect their children's readings problems at an early age because the parents are, more often than not, illiterate themselves. When they finally seek help, schools often lack the resources to address these types of issues.
Exactly. These parents trust that the school will do the educating. The school, in turn, trusts that the parent will work with the child. If the parents don't know enough to help their kids, the whole system falls apart.
@@joslinnick nick it's called communicating with the children. If you don't love your children enough to ask then you probably shouldn't have children if you can't handle responsibility. Blaming a school is just lame
With you living in the richest country on earth no one believes anything you people say. Americans love to blame everyone else but themselves for a problem that they created. In my country the parents sit down with the children and do homework together and communicate with the teachers and school staff. You must be extremely young.
@@kellywashington7766 Unfortunately, the problem is more complex than that. Lots of parents, mine included, did what you describe. The problem is that there is a subset of parents who lack the literacy skills to help the kids learn to read and write. About 22% of the US adult population is considered functionally illiterate. The problem lies both with school AND with parents. The schools don't have the resources to teach kids from those families how to read properly, and the parents can't help the kids with the work they are assigned. The system is broken for those kids because it's designed to work with significant parental involvement. When the parents don't have the educational background to help the kids, you get outcomes like those in the video.
@@joslinnick both my parents couldn't read before they were both pulled out of our home and murdered so stop with the lies. Cut the bullshit okay I'm an adult not 21 okay do you understand. My school had no resources and we made do sharing pencils and books. My parents were learning to read with us in a one bedroom home. Your people are so spoiled that's the issue
Every single thing has been handed to you..... what will you do if the Chinese or Russians took your family from you? What would you do if they took everything from you? Cry about it? Nick how old are you? Seriously I feel like I'm talking to a small child who has no life skills. I joined the army and later went to university and did something with my life because we don't have SSI or food stamps or well fare in my country. We dont have low income housing at all. No one helps and blaming others is just stupid. Immature, irresponsible, illogical. Did you honestly expect people to take care of you forever? Seriously? Do you want to be an idiot like your president who can't form two sentences. ... he's old but God he's an idiot.
@@joslinnick nothing is wrong with the system rich boy. You have classes and books and a lot more then half the planet.
Went to private school up until the end of 8th grade. When I transferred to public, everything they were learning in 8th grade I was taught in 4th grade at the private school. When I went to 9th grade and had an english class I quickly fount out how bad it was when over half my class was still sounding their words out and couldn't pronounce a majority of them.
That's horrifying
Your grammar is still shit.
I used to leave to the hallway, read the text, and then come back because it annoyed me so badly to listen to people painstakingly sound out every word and distracted me from the text. I did this from 5th grade onwards and I swear it barely improved until college. Despite not being an actor, I got a star role in an 8th grade play because I was the only one who could fluently read the script.
As a young child I went to a private school, we already knew how to read and such. We even learned two languages at a time. I moved to america and they were doing fingerpainting
I have a learning disabilities and went to private school my whole life and had C AND D. my last year I attended a public school and got straight A. it was so easy for me. they were learning what I had already learned in jr high school. I remember turning in a paper I got a D on in private school to my public school English teacher who gave me an A 😂 .. it’s not funny now that I look back it, it sad. The other kids really struggled and only 200 out of 700 graduated.
Those same "teachers" who have allowed the children to pass despite they are illiterate must be investigated, as I have witnessed the same problem here in Georgia when I was in the "learning academies." To learn that there are adults receiving payment for not ensuring their students are learning is pathetic on the system, but not a surprise to me. I also blame the individuals who call themselves parents, as a parent will be a child's first teacher in their life, and what reason are those "parents" not investing time to see if their children are being educated?
yeah I'd really like to know how illiterates are passing high school classes
in Detroit kids shoots you if you don't pass them
They kept passing me on even though I had issues in Math. If a kid isn't doing well in one course but is doing well in others (for me it wasn't sports, but that's a common one) or even just okay, they are likely to be passed on regardless.
I don't think the solution is keeping a kid behind, especially if they are a few grades ahead in other subjects (that was the case with me) but tutoring is key, and meeting students where they're at. Grade schools could expand on ESL classes and also have separate classes for math and English.
I finally got assistance in highschool when I was in a class with just a few other students, but even still, my math skills are basic - like enough to do percentages for a budget or multiplying/dividing for a recipe. I started working around that time, and just being able to multiply to use a cash register (like "10, 20, 30. okay that's 3 dimes, or 3x10") was like a "wow" moment... I couldn't imagine navigating society not being able to read, since that is a skill that you use a lot more than numbers.
RareEnigma™ We have been saying this for years and it goes back to Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation. This allowed social promotion of students up to the next grade level regardless of academic level and performance.
Teachers do have a responsibility to all of their students. However, when you are working with the minimum amount of teachers in an “integrated needs” system where teachers have to get second jobs to afford school supplies, they just might not have enough time to spend with each child in class. Reading isn’t easy. That is why there are lessons sent HOME for the child to read. I understand moving your child to a new school or complaining about a teacher can improve the situation , but how the hell do let your kid stay illiterate? Read with them or get their caregiver to.
I was an English tutor at my college in mi, 2/3rds of the papers I looked at were at a 6th grade level or below, and most were from suburbs, no idea how these people graduated high school
I once peer-reviewed a fellow student's essay in college and was shocked by his writing skills. He literally ended a sentence with "and stuff."
@@JW-uy2on Hey at least he was literate. All jokes aside I do not think people are verbose enough. Nothing wrong with using proper language.
This guy with the "books before boxing" - programme really has the right idea. He gets them interested and focused. After all: A sharp mind is often the best weapon in life.😉
Nah a gun is better
@@butterwantschoclate9364 no, you cannot solve illiteracy problems with gun (without creativity involved, so you need sharp mind and gun)
@@paddlesaddlelad1881 lol it was a joke
@@butterwantschoclate9364 i know
I am not gonna lie, this is Bush's "No Child Left Behind" policy from way back...
Añuli Okoye-Oyibo Thanks you seem to be the only one to mention this. Everyone else is *soooo political* but has forgotten this piece of legislation. 😑
No Child Left Behind was a good idea in theory. But the effort to help failing kids was too much. It's just easier to pass them.
Yeah. The neocons were evil on purpose. Trump voters are accidentally dumb.
Ya and Obummer totally helped the situation after 8 years
Kevin shut up. You're dumb and just repeating the anti Trump hive mind bullshit. You cant seriously think you're intelligent when you just regurgitate the MSM rhetoric.
Bush’s no child left behind does the exact opposite it leaves the children behind. I was one of those children, I have dyslexia but wasn’t diagnosed until college despite the fact that I was reading and comprehending 2 grades below what I should have been. I was instead diagnosed ADHD and put directly on Ritalin because my brother was already diagnosed and successfully treated. But you know what when adhd isn’t the problem Ritalin doesn’t help so they just pass you along to the next grade.
I’ve never met an illiterate adult in real life. I don’t get how this happens.
Pretty easy. Im from Detroit and theres a HUGE issue with there not being enough teachers, teachers not having adequate materials for their kids, or teachers having like 40 kids in their class. Not to mention that MANY of these teachers are not being properly paid. Some teachers are even owed back wages that they are not getting. Recently, the State of Michigan ruled that Michigan teachers must be paid $550 Million in wages that were never paid to them...a LOT of these teachers are in Detroit.
There's just not enough resources for teachers, yet teachers are being told they are responsible for the failure of students regardless of the poor state of the schools. Its really bad.
The next issues is that the school board is super corrupt and a lot of the money the district gets is not going to the kids. So many schools in Detroit have closed down which has made the issues I stated at the beginning of my post even worse. Pretty much what you are left with is a huge system full of kids who cant get extra help if they have learning disabilities. They literally get left behind. The system wants to blame the teachers, some of these teachers actually care but they physically cannot keep up when they have no books, no materials, and a class over 30+ kids.
you probably just didnt know you were meeting one..
There’s several, they hide it well
Madelynn King the only illiterate person ive met was legally blind and couldnt but then there was this older lady that couldnt and had full sight
Simple. Homeschool in whatever way you can. It’s better than this. I did!
Confused european here: How does one get in High School only by beeing "good at sports"???
Another European here: I have no idea
Because here sometimes that takes you farther in life in that is sad
High School sports coaches like to pretend they're actual professionals, and sports ticket sales bring in a lot of funding for the school, so the school board is willing to put up with them keeping students moving up through the grades who should have flunked.
American here: I don't know either.
You don't have to apply for admission to high school in the US. You just go from 8th to 9th grade automatically.
Raynard might be dyslexic. Unfortunately, a lot of poor kids have it and develop a fear of reading because the condition is not addressed.
Also, his mama needs to stop eating, its obvious why she had heart problems.
They both need to go on a ketogenic diet ASAP!
that's what I thought, as soon as he said the words on the page would get blurry.
*stop eating*. just stop. never eat again.
thanks random internet person. i bet she NEVER thought of that!
He wouldn't die if he fasted even if it where for 2 months his body would burn his fat as energy.
Dyslexia isn't caused by poverty, and with 93% of students being behind it is very unlikely that it would be a significant factor. The problem in essence also lies in the fact that students apparently can move to a next grade without having passed any of the curriculum of the previous year. That alone makes that they cannot repair anything because the material will be too advanced for them anyway.
I volunteer on weekends as an adult English teacher and I'm really impressed by the students. It takes a lot of courage as an adult to say "I can't do this really basic thing that little kids are supposed to be able to do" and drag yourself to class on the weekends after working a full time job or desperately job-hunting.
Takes a lot of humility and, of course, wonderful teachers like you, who don't make them feel stigmatized.
Oklahoma has a serious problem with our teachers leaving the state to teach elsewhere due deep budget cuts to our education system and teacher pay. they have closed numerous schools in the bigger cities and crammed these students into overcrowded class rooms. our teacher student ratio is 20/1 could be more since the last time I checked. our Governor and the legislation have essentially single handedly gutted our funds for education. I found out yrs ago when my children were younger that all four of them were not even reading at their appropriate grade levels. I read to my children nightly and was shocked to find out the teachers were just moving kids to their next grade levels even though they couldn't pass a test to be able to advance. I LITERALLY packed up my family and moved to a small town 2 hours away and enrolled my children into a school system that took education seriously, my children were all tested and it was confirmed they were at least 2 grades behind in reading. I felt like I and the education system at their last school failed my kids. they are now grown and all have and still are attending college, they thrived academically when we moved because they had the same teacher thru each grade and an interest was taken in their success as students. it's going to have a huge impact on the next generation of kids and I'm scared about their future if Oklahoma doesn't speak louder about what's happening here!!
Margaret Anderson this is an old comment, but agreed! oklahoma has some big problems on it's hands. i'm currently studying to teach english as a second language as well as to the mainstream american secondary students, and i definitely want to be the kind of teacher who invests themself into helping each student succeed, as all teachers should. maybe an impossible goal, but, we shall see. it's great that your children were so successful!
I'm from Lithuania, a small dying country next to Russia. Due to lack of money our teacher to student ratio on average is 35 to 1. Not everyone even has sitting space or desks sometimes, however I did not know a single kid that failed being able to read. There must be something else wrong, not only lack of teachers.
Somehow I haven't faced this issue in my town inside Oklahoma; even tho my school wasn't the gradest
@@mirta000 How well are the teachers paid in your country? Are teachers made out to be the enemy of the student and parents? Do a lot of your teachers have to work a second job just to put food on the table? Is funding for your schools being drastically cut? Do you have books and supplies for your students? I remember having to share text books as a child, and sometimes other kids would refuse to share which made following along in class difficult . In high school my math teacher only had one text book (that was outdated), and she had to photocopy lessons from her book every single day for the entire class. Despite all of this, I was able to go on to and graduate from College so I was fortunate. But overall, the United States government doesn't care about public education. If you can't afford to pay for your child to go to private school, or you live in an area with low property taxes then your child could fall through the cracks at school and be left behind.
Parents need to take a role in their child's education. Read to your kids!
If only those children had parents... the elephant in the room is the destruction of the family structure, which replicate generation after generation of baby-mommas and deadbeat thug dads.
In Canada you have to pass a literacy test in order to graduate. I think USA would benefit from a similar test....
We used too. Black people complained basic testing was racist. So they removed it
We do, we have finals every year from the state. In Florida at least, you gotta pass a reading test to graduate. Those that Can't read dropped out
In my country you can't move to grade 2 if you cant read.
@@DaytonaRoadster proof?
@@DaytonaRoadster stop that’s not true
I live in Milwaukee, north of Chicago. This is a massive issue here. I didn't' learn anything in school. I had to learn everything after I graduated on my own with a lot of hard work and dedication. This is a very sad and real issue in our country.
My Middle school could not even afford toilet paper. They did not care about teaching us anything.
The extent of poverty is always underplayed in the US.
I live in North Philadelphia and practically everyone here is poor. Conditions here are the same if not worse than in many third-world countries.
Not the problem.
As a teacher, it pisses me off that these teachers want to only blame the kids and their families and not the school sysyem or other educators. Yes, in a perfect world parents will read to their kids and be educated themselves. But that's not the only problem. Sometimes the system is a problem. Unqualified teachers are a HUGE problem. These families are doing what they can to survive and trusting teachers to help their babies. The least you can do is Try.
I bought a small blackboard, chalk and an ABC book when I started having kids. It was fun, they knew how to read before starting school, even the neighbors kids stopped over. It is easier for two parents to teach two or three kids, than for a teacher to help over 30 kids in one class. The neighborhood came together as a community, We saw it as our responsibility to prepare our kids, and helped with homework and after school lessons.
I find this utterly amazing! I taught my five kids to read without ever sending them to school. All it takes is 30 minutes a day and a touch of patience.
Joseph Higgs if that isn’t the truth then I don’t know what is. My son will be 5 next week. He hasn’t begun kindergarten yet but I though him how to read. I buy books at thrift stores.
Damn dogg that a lot of kis. You coulda taught one kid 5 times better son
I applaud you for raising your kids right! My mom taught me how to read.
It was my father who taught my 10+ cousins, siblings(4) and me how to read, write and do basic math. He is the most patient person in the whole world!
Holy cow it's real scientific journal said 52% of US are at basic or below basic reading skills. Btw basic and below basic reading mean
"Most of them can sign forms, compare ticket prices for two events and look up shows in a TV guide. Most cannot find places on a map, calculate the cost of office supplies from a catalog and compare viewpoints in two editorials." what the journal said.
I remember in eighth grade, our school librarian took me aside one day. I was a kid that managed to skip class to sneak into the library, I loved it so much, that the librarians knew me too well. She said that a boy was struggling with reading but he really wanted to get better and they needed a reading buddy for him.
So, I don't quite remember how long but, J and I basically ended up slowly but surely reading a short ghost-horror chapter book together. He read slowly and I guided/helped. It was fun. He would stop to be like "oh wait, so this is what's happening" and make theories as to how the story progressed and him enjoying it really made me like the entire experience all the more. I believe I thought the story itself was okay, but a bit juvenile for my level back then, but I genuinely enjoyed him liking the story.
I wonder what ever happened to J. I moved abroad for highschool... No idea
I grew up on the Canadian border with Detroit. The difference in education is night and day. Here in Ontario, being a teacher is a highly prized and extremely competitive job, with an equally high wage (And a very strong union). This results in the best people becoming teachers. The best people doing the teaching produces the best/most successful students. You need to make the job one that people aspire to. You do that with money, plain and simple.
Parents hold some responsibility, but so do teachers. Growing up lower middle class, my mother read to me and my parents bought me reading books and programs from a young age. However, what I learned in my time as an education major is that if that hadn't happened a teachers role is "in loco parentis" meaning in place of parents. If the parents failed it IS LITERALLY now the teacher's job. If a teacher can't handle that, they should move to a more affluent area where kids are primed for learning instead of pretending that they, the teachers, have nothing to do with the education problems.
"In the nearby city of Kalamazoo" that's a 2 hour drive across the state
In the south, it's an issue too.. but perhaps for different reasons. The systemic issues with the school systems and constant underfunding have led to a structure which promotes illiteracy. Add in the fact that previous generations had totally different schooling and you have a huge generational gap in learning that will take decades to fix.. if anyone even tries to fix it. But there were other issues too, as I've personally talked to a 78 year old black man who didn't read because he watched.. as a kid.. a man get hung for reading a street sign. Welcome to Mississippi in the late 40's, early 50's....
satsunada there were manY than could not read in the 60’s & 70’s. in the South.
No. America spends more per student than any country on the planet. In fact we spend twice as much in inflation adjusted dollars than 50 years ago. You’re plain wrong.
Archer, um, no... Asian and Spanish countries spend so much more but I understand where you have been lead by your government to think you're the best... My info is fuzzy but I think its Singapore and Spain I'm referencing.
Most of our money goes to defence...
Archer If so, that only goes to show that spending is highly inefficient and that just nobody cares to fix it. You can give a company a billion dollars, but if there's nobody who cares to find out where spending would be most efficient.
You've also got the most expensive healthcare system in the entire world and the government is spending insane amounts of money and still there are millions of people without proper access to healthcare, while other countries still spend less money per capita, even though they give you universal healthcare and allow almost full access to healthcare.
Arielle Alexander The notion that most of the US federal budget goes to defense in nonsense. Defense is half of discretionary spending in the US, and discretionary spending is about 18% of the yearly federal budget. So about 9% of the US federal budget goes to defense. Also, most funding for public education comes from the state, so this is irrelevant anyways.
The problem isn't money, the problems are the educational structures in the US.
Jerry reading to his adorable granddaughter was so heart-moving & touching, nearly teared up.
I learned how to read in first grade...my mother took time out with me. Their parents need to be more involved (if they’re not illiterate themselves).
Meanwhile in Europe, most kids know a second or third language before they graduate high school
To be fair, that's a different issue altogether. I do have a lot of opinions on the American second language learning system, but it's separate from English classes.
Yea because they have too. No one is speaking Estonian out of Estonia
From UK: Most is a big number , most government schools have Special needs classes. Others have learning difficulties. When i was inside I helped many illiterate inmates fill forms or read legal paperwork.
100%. My fiance is European (Lithuanian specifically)and he speaks English better than most Americans. The state of American education is pathetic compared to Europe.
My grandmother was illiterate, and when I was young we would learn to read English together... "sally has a ball", "sally bounced the ball", let me say we were both excited when we read it together.
I'm 32 years old I suffer from some form of dyslexia on occasion I can read just fine but my writing skill is very poor I don't know how I can improve my reading and writing as the stigma and shame it difficult to seek help or even to admit that you have a problem I actually finish High School in the military I just used to memorize the letters in my head but now I'm getting older I can no longer hide my problem.
I did try to fix my problem but no one seem to believe me is does feel like a handicap when you cannot write properly or unsure what you are reading is correct.
SpeedWolf you’re ok in grammar, just put periods
I don't officially teach but I read well idk I could give you some tips I think
Don't most children start reading before they go into school? :/
Can't believe the U.S is classed as a first world country.
starlight this is a world wide issue.
Because the second and third worlds’ literacy rate is worse than the US.
It's certain cities and states. Every state has different regulations and different issues. I went to one of the best schools in my state. My state doesn't have any of these issues...
I go to a public school in one of the worst ranked education states and have never seen an illiterate kid
Most children in poorer areas dont learn to read until they reach school...and chances are they're only supported by their teachers...that's not enough and they fall behins
I feel like before you go to school, youre home. This shit starts at home. Raynards mom can read the perm box but cant teach her son how to read...yeah makes sense. I'm 17 now but i remember when i was 4 i knew how to read well because my mom always took me to the library on weekends (we lived in poverty)
I am a Kenyan secondary school teacher of biology and chemistry and this is what I can say. Unlike in US and UK, most countries kids know how to read and write English earlier because that is the medium of giving or receiving instructions in school and if you cannot read or write in English a student is assumed stupid, thus each kid puts more effort in English to prevent this stigma of being seen as a fool.
What school do you teach in? I'm also from Kenya.
you're an awesome person jerry and thank you for being proud to learn to read, and not ashamed. it gave you the key of confidence and perseverance to achieve what you want. you made your bond with yourself and your granddaughter stronger and have made some wonderful memories
It amazes me how different cities and education systems in the same country differ so much from one another. I live in New Jersey, I'm a 7th grader and I am currently reading at 12th grade level. While in the same country people my age are reading at third grade level. What a shame on how the education system has failed my generation.
I’m Australian and I could of easily been one of these people but I was lucky I went to a small primary school that cared about my learning problems and went above and beyond to help me but as soon as I went to high school I fell through the cracks and no one cared. I don’t know the people in this video but I’m so proud of them.
Korean kids: spend every waking hour studying
American kids: can't even read
🤡
Hello! A teacher here that can vouch for the mess America's education system! I use to work in Early Childhood Education, and I am now studying a MEd in Elementary Ed just so I can receive better pay than an Early Childhood teacher. The issue is America fail to recognize Early Childhood Education. Early Childhood Ed is the foundation, and a good beginning will ensure a positive Elementary and beyond school career. There have been tons of research that ECE helps students succeed in higher grades however the teachers are low rated. If ECE was regulated like elementary and secondary education, then I guarantee students will have a higher chance at succeeding in school. Secondly, parents also have to help the teachers out too because there are so much that we can give the students in the day.
I don't know if its as common as this documentary says it is, but its still a giant shame. I didn't neccessarily go to the best schools, but as far as I knew everyone knew how to read whether good or bad. This is just pathetic, not on the part of the individual but on the society as a whole .
Me personally thought I was behind because I couldn't read in the 2nd grade. In America no one would think of literacy as being a massive privilege.
I commend Rashawn and Jerry for taking the gallent initiative to learn to read. That is commendable.
Seeing this made me so grateful that my parents would read to me almost every night when I was young. The first actual novel I read was with my dad (harry potter) when I was 7 and it made me love to read for the rest of my life
This is still happening in America,a country that claimed to be "best in the world" is beyond my belief 😳
Bravo to those that never give up to learn,never too late to learn
I applaud this boxing coach - literacy is a basic skill everyone has a right to. Education, real education, can only open doors to better things.
I have noticed that poverty is often blamed for illiteracy and the public education just put their hands up and say they can't do much. Yet, take a look at the world as a case study, how did India and China that used to poor are now the top students of the world? Proportionally they used to have to have high illiteracy rates, now that is being improved. Katherine Birbalsingh has proven that inner city kids can succeed in England. Many charter schools in inner city America are churning out students that are comparable to schools in affluent neighbourhoods. My own mother could not speak English, plus, I do not come from a rich family, I am literate and love to read. I thank my teachers that taught me phonics. Even in this documentary, the boxing school is teaching the kids to read. Why is the public school system not taking responsibility of their failure and making changes?
The parents must educate their children, first and foremost. A teacher has 20, 30, 40 kids in class and sees them for a couple of hours a week. How much can you do in 10 minutes max. of individual time you get per child? Parents see their kids every day; children also learn from copying their family. So if it's TV 24/7, than the kid will not start reading for his/her own entertainment, it's just not in their picture. You need to read (for fun) at least an hour a day to learn to read fluently, and there's no way a teacher can provide that. Also, parents need to read aloud to their children. But if the parents cannot educate their child for whatever reason, special tutoring, projects, additional classes, reading events at a library etc. must be available regardless of income to compensate for that. But still, sadly, nothing can replace a parent (or a guardian/mentor) dedicating a lot of time to their children.
@@timotheatae And it's this attitude why so many kids are failing. The biggest difference between kids who fail and kids who have good grades are parents who are involved. There were studies on this. And in black areas, most of the parents are single parents. The VALUE of education is started in the home. I don't care if this is something that parents don't want to hear. They need to hear it because it's the truth. That is where it starts. Teachers can only do so much on their end. If a kid comes to school and constantly disrupts class, never pays attention, never does homework, and doesn't care. Nine times out of ten, they come from a home where the parent doesn't care enough to get involved, and the cycle continues. Kids change teachers whenever they move a grade, but parents are always there, and because parents are the closes people in a kid's life, they have the biggest impact. Teaching them values so that they can function in academics and society is parents job. When a kid comes from a home that values education, then they will do better. That's just the truth.
The reason we pass the kids who can't read is because literally all of them would fail if we marked them on grade level. The school would be closed down otherwise. Passing them, in my opinion, is in now way the lesser of two evils here. There just aren't enough administrators on the kids' side. They're on the school's side. Keep the doors open. That's all they want.
How is this Trumps fault? He's not even been in office that long. This shit has been going on for decades ffs.
Timmity3 Also trans and bisexual ;)
Timmity3 Why is that an issue anyway? Who I support politically doesnt really change who I am?
Would you hmmmm less if i said i support Hillary?
Timmity3 ? Are you suggesting trans people force people to have sex with them?
What even is this comment thread rn
Timmity3 Oh yeah okay yeah. Sorry the way you worded it was a bit awkward heh
But yeab i understand peoples choices if thats the case. It's all dowm to.personal preferemce and attraction. I wouldn't expect anyone to sleep with me unless tbey wanted it
Timmity3 We werent before?
I'm a Special Education teacher who moved to Philadelphia and it's sad! A lot of these children CANNOT read!!! They don't even know at least 10 sight words. I blame both the parent and school administrators!!! There are a lot of evidenced-based practice reading, writing, spelling, and math programs. Not 1 fits all!. If a strategy doesn't work you have to use something else that may work! It's like a doctor prescribing medicine or making a treatment plan if it doesn't work then they try a new medicine. Same thing with education.
It has nothing to do with Trump.
Edit: Trump didn't start the problem be he's made it a hell of a lot worse
Yeah he's only cut tens of billions of dollars in education funding to pay for a stupid border wall.
@@JW-uy2on what border wall? The 900km fence you mean? Also most of the money in the states will be heading directly to israel anyways
@@JW-uy2on yeah, and America is already top-1 country by spendings. Don't see anything good happens with that. You Americans just do not respect education and this is not Trump or teachers problem (in some cases it's teachers problem, yeah), this is problem about fucking flower generation that was defended from being educated. "All you need is a freedom" and "America is great" things are just terrible excuse of "make no effort" policy
The wall existed beforehand and it's been an issue since long before Trump was elected. I don't see why some people insist on blaming all their problems on him
@@JW-uy2on I don't even remember making this comment but I can tell you I've changed my beliefs since then. Trump has made it so much worse.
As someone who suffers from dyxlectia. this kind of stuff really hits home, the world of difference basic support can make is astounding. I was fortunate enough to have been born in a wealthy middle-class family. Education is key, but getting there without the resources is impossible.
I've met an illiterate adult. It is honestly shocking knowing that he is not able to decipher meaning from even simple text.
"world's biggest economy"
China: Am I a joke to you?
Yes, yes it is... As proven by their current situation
At least on the bright side there trying their best to read instead of doing nothing about.
The reporter is a very nice person. Very beautiful and empowered woman yet at the same time also very kind natured
they should change the title to "another problem with Detroit"
This is a great channel
If education is not stressed in your culture, it's an uphill battle. I'm Asian and I had a Tiger Mom..
I felt joy for a moment as Raynaurd started to read so well. More of that please!
"Nearly one in five"?? That cannot, absolutely cannot be right.
It's not. U.S litercery is 99%
@@DaytonaRoadster “lifercery” lmao and do you realize 1 in 5 being illiterate would mean we would have about a 80% literacy rate, not 99
@@DaytonaRoadster I've heard this repeated often but apparently it is in fact 79 percent. Honestly sad I've never head anything about this
@@DaytonaRoadster 99% of US adults are literate by what threshold? remember, people can absolutely use accurate data to tell you bullshit
You can buy $3 children workbooks from Amazon that focuses on grammar, math, history, etc. You can purchase those that are within their grade. You can stop at your local Barnes and Nobles and various other places and purchase some workbooks also. Make it a priority to sit down with your children at the dinner table to assist them in completing their workbooks. Before TV, the Xbox, the video games, etc-make it a requirement for your kids to finish their assignments. Be consistent. Be assertive. Be mindful. As parents, it’s our responsibility to guide our babies.
I'm so glad I live in Europe...
Same here. I think we have the best continent and you can travel within Europe on the cheap.
Trump didn't do this. Last Republican mayor elected in Detroit in 1957.
Hint, Detroit is still part of the US which has been fucked really hard by republicans.
You can have federal policy impacting local problems, hard to understand i know.
Just like detroits gun laws are beyond irrelevant, because its surrounded by america, swimming in guns.
Come back when Detroit has 5m Border walls and thorough checkpoints, maybe then their laws will matter in the slightest.
How has the US been fucked by "republicans?" As far as I can tell it's been by politicians who hold office for life and take bribes not generally those with terms.
Ae Norist So it looks like you agree with Trump's border wall.
Bri Lar you are right! ABSOLUTELY
+Ae Norist WEIRD how specifically Detroit is fucked, when executive orders affect all of America. Fwuck Dwumpf though, haha xD!
If being educated is everything.. do not let that school ruin your children's future. Parents.. WAKE UP! Educate yourself and educate your children. It is not just the teacher's job.
A lot of parents in these communities work long hours or hard jobs. They also have other responsibilities to deal with. So staying up late to help with hw is to much for them. That is the teacher’s job. There’s a reason why America is rather horribly amount other countries. In math we are ranked 31st. So it is the teacher’s or the district’s fault. Like that one kid’s mom is a single parent. Everything is on her. So many teachers are unqualified or the schools are underfunded, so the students suffer.
When a small country like Barbados has a literacy rate of 99.60, that shows that America really needs to do something about this crisis
17:51 "Literacy is a direct correlation to the present population. Being educated is everything."
*prison
This was a good, short, documentary. The one thing I was still wanting to find out about is the perspective of teachers leaving inner city schools, where students apparently need more attention and support to make it through high school. I liked hearing the perspective of teachers still working at high schools, as they were careful to say it's not one problem, that it's a multitude of issues when the reporter was trying to label someone to point the finger to. But I still wanted to hear from teachers who had left those schools, as they had talked about. If we found out why teachers left so often, we could figure out what could be changed to keep them in those inner city schools, which I feel would help the students there more than unqualified teachers.
The so-called " first world country" what a shame!
The US hasn't been a first world country for years now.
Instead of blaming each other, I hope that people find a way to fix the issue. I'm glad that the issue is tackled and hope that the situation improves. I hope the best for these people!
Not the America we know and see on TV surely......
I do not fault me or others in this position. In my native language (a mix of polish and English). In that, I can fly. In English I suffer so heavily and people just passed me along. I didn't stop. I kept going. I have always been multilingual so I learned English like I learned anything else. I can read now as a high school student. 6 languages. Even if I'm not the best I know I can succeed by continuing.
I don't understand how teachers pass illiterate students. I clearly remember one student who went to my school who read just a bit better than Jerry and that was in year 10 (15 years old), he should have read better than that before leaving primary / elementary school. I'm sure there were other students I didn't notice who also struggled. I read well early (mum started teaching me before school started). I really think the teachers seemed to focus on the good students like me and leave those who struggled behind. I'm learning to read and write a second language now which is totally unfamiliar and not similar to English (Korean) as an adult so I feel for Jerry learning at his age, it's a challenge. For anyone struggling with illiteracy in their native tongue I feel for you but you can do it!! :)
See I have been on the gifted and talented register for years but they still don't do anything extra with me, I think they focus on medium students not on the top or the bottom
In Kentucky, it took a lawsuit and the court declaring the education system to be unconstitutional. This triggered the Kentucky Education Reform Act. This was around 1990. The kids that are schooled today are so much better educated than when I went thru the system in the 1960's and 1970's. I estimate it will take another two generations to achieve parity. There is cultural inertia that must be overcome as well. When I was in school the saying was: "Thank God for Mississippi, so we'll never be number fifty!" Kentucky was almost at the bottom of the Fifty States back then.
Kalamazoo is not very close to Detroit, it's across the entire state actually
Jack Laskowski they said it was three hours away.
I grew up in a village near Stonehenge in Wiltshire UK. We lived on a council estate. There were 8 of us including our parents in a 3 bedroom house. My Dad worked full time and part time. The wages were very low in that part of England. My Mum was a dressmaker working from home. We didn't have central heating or fitted carpets or a colour TV. We had loads of books and a good education. It was strict at school quite right too. There are bad schools in the UK in run down areas. Where the parent/s don't give a crap. No discipline at home or in school.
Parents are responsible
true but the illiteracy agenda is from high up!
😩😩😩It all starts at home! What percentage of PARENTS in Detroit can't fkn read❓❓
notice that a lot of the illiterate children are black. America has worked tirelessly to disenfranchise black people from the roots of the slave trade to now. the best way to rob someone of power is to take away their right to education. I agree with you that parents should be helping their children! I'm lucky that mine taught me to read and write. but the issue needs to be addressed on a greater systematic level and not just on a personal level.
Agreed, I don't need money or a teacher to teach my children to read
Nena When you say "America" do you mean white people? Because prosperous blacks have been no less guilty throughout history taking advantage of the poor and ignorant. I do not think this is a race issue, sorry. It is bigger than that. Money corrupts people with greedy hearts, regardless of their race. The issue is the system, indeed, where taxes are paid and stolen by those who fail to do their jobs. Simple as that.
My parents worked so much they didn't have time to help with homework but they voiced their expectation that I would one day go to university. I remember learning to read. The kids were attentive and we took things slowly, doing little alphabet, phonics and spelling exercises every day, then writing words and sentences. No pressure. Then we were given reading time with simple readers. I enjoyed it so much I took home higher level readers and read my older siblings' novels while still in primary school. Everyone could read and we did so because we were told to respect our teachers and therefore we were attentive. In turn the teachers didn't need to waste time disciplining us and plan fun things for us to do which made us happy to come to school. I think it's the parents' role to give authority to teachers with the mind that they are the experts in their field. I see parents and their children have no respect for teachers and this makes their job highly stressful and demotivating. Then of course the big issue is what the government provides for kids. I don't know the situation in the United States, but in Australia most schools offer good education regardless of where you live.
Lolz ...i was born in Africa moved to the Us at 16 ..i always found it hilarious to hear my classmates in the Us couldn't read nor write they stopped making fun of my accent once they realized i had better results and teachers started to really love me literally coz i was speaking and writing more than 5 languages
Je parle francais bien sur depuis ma naissance
I stated being fluent in English after my first year of high school
Yo hablo espanol ...si senor yo puedo entender lo que tu dices
Dama wakh aye lebu .ndakh mome la nampeu sama yaye
I also speak serer my fathers tongue but its a language wich is not easy to write too many onomatopoeia...
At first i use to be ostracized but at the end i was the one tutoring some of those who use to annoy me 🙂
Go away you donkey. Nice grammar and speech! Trying to promulgate that you are educated through your supposed "ability," to be fluent in 5 languages. You are an idiot
Starts and ends at home. You read to your child in the womb.
As an outsider, I'll say that I can see a few things that could cause an
adult in America not to be able to read:
1)Parents not paying attention to their kids. (maybe cos they need to work numerous jobs, or they don't just care)
2)Children starting school late in America (in my country you start pre school (Kindergarten) at 1 and nursery school at 3)
3)Teachers who couldn't care less to teach, and also being the sole provider of education for children
4)No value for education. (where I come from we pay a huge amount of money for school and we walk far distances to get to school and we knew that without school we will be poor)
5)Poverty and illiterate parents coupled with poor or non existent family values.
6)Poor educational systerm
kole ivy It's easy to control people who aren't educated. That's what America wants.
In my time we stared school at 7 years old and yet literacy rate in Ukraine is 99,4%, so starting school later or early doesn't play a role. Most kids learnt how to read at home before this age, but we were not required to know how to read or write in order to start the school. However, I agree with other points
thank you. compassion is all needed.
Renyard seems chill, I really hope he succeeds/
Fr... Hope he goes far... That boxing gym is a life saver, props to the trainer
Teachers account for only one third of the child's outcome, the other two thirds are determined by all the things the lady mentioned; time spent reading to the child, books in the house, domestic violence, stress levels, poverty. . . The most effective way to improve educational out comes is to improve the home. Financial out comes in the home can be improved by ensuring that everyone gets a universal basic income or UBI. Andrew Yang proposed $1000 a month to every adult in the US. Can you imagine how that would relieve economic stress in the household? Then may be one of the parents would only have to work two jobs instead of three or one job instead of two and spend more time reading to their children, helping with homework or getting the literacy help they need themselves.
It would be well worth trying. I’m a little worried the economy will adjust itself to a new level, still leaving people with only a UBI at the absolute bottom barely able to afford anything, but the current solution of just letting people struggle is not doing a lot of good either.
3:13 can someone explain me how 5+32 is 29
It’s an example of guess and check to solve 5+(-8)n=29. The top part demos guessing correctly, and the bottom shows that guessing n=-4 doesn’t work.
I was under the impression that 99% of adults in developed nations would be able to read. This isn’t the 10th century...
Well we also live in a world where rich, first world countries also happen to have extremely poor and struggling cities, and if you live in one of those, whether in Britain or America, you're at a huge risk of being illiterate.
Mostly a poverty and social inequality problem..
''No child left behind''.. remember the time when everyone started getting golden stars? This has beem the process for almost 20 years now, so I dont see how this is Trumps america? Trump just got elected to captain the sinking ship.. You can still see this token ideology that everything is an achievement in this doc aswell: a MAN gets AWARDED for dedication to learn to read..
I’m so thankful, I learn to read young books for my escape from bullying and depression as a child I learned about other places, and I joined the military and all out of poverty