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"Each one teach one"
HOW CAN I HELP?
Doors remain closed to an illiterate
population...
Stop and think what life would be like if you
couldn't read a simple message. The smallest of tasks would
become a major burden. The following are just a few of the tasks
made more difficult by the inability to read or write:
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understanding medication dosages, hazards
and instructions
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reading a bus schedule
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telling time
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counting money
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understanding safety rules at work and in
public buildings
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understanding warnings on chemicals, poisons and
household cleaners
Illiteracy affects the entire community. It
affects the individual's ability to secure a job with a livable
wage and increases an employer's training costs. It affects the
individual's ability to help his or her child with school work.
It has an enormous effect on the individual's self-esteem and
his or her interactions with others. It is estimated that 60
percent of people in U.S. jails and prisons are functionally illiterate.
The societal and economic costs of illiteracy run into billions
of dollars each year.
Illiteracy is a fundamentally solvable problem.
It will take a combination of public awareness, additional
funding for literacy problems, development of new
instructional approaches and support for needed research and
teacher training.
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