Illiteracy is a State Not a Fate
BY LINDA K. JOHNSON, Ph.D. - NOV 8, 2021
The reasons that adults cannot read vary widely: some were not taught to read in school (whether new to the country or a native) and others didn’t receive a diagnosis of a learning difference like dyslexia and the resulting supports needed. One thing almost all low-literate adults do share is significant shame.
The pioneer researcher on shame is Dr. Gershen Kaufman. Educated at Columbia University and the University of Rochester, he is Professor Emeritus in psychology at Michigan State University. In Shame: The Power of Caring, he writes:
“adults who have not learned how to read and write will feel acute shame over their deficiency. When faced with situations likely to expose their illiteracy, they will hide it because hiding is a natural response to shame. Exposure is the essence of shame. And the shame experienced over illiteracy often matches, in intensity, the shame experienced over incest” (Kaufman, 1992, p. 199).
Time after time our staff and volunteer teachers have observed this in the adults we serve. Often adults believe that theirs is a unique situation. However, in Dallas County 33% of adults—as compared to 22% nationally—are at the lowest level of literacy. Adults at this level may only be able to understand basic vocabulary and struggle to find information. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/skillsmap/
At Aspire we have taught tens of thousands of adults to read since 1961. We train our incredible volunteer teachers on national curricula that meet or exceed adult literacy standards. Our partnership with Dr. Joyce Pickering and the Shelton School has helped adults with learning differences to learn to read and write. The pandemic opened new avenues of learning and many adults now select online literacy courses that fit their busy schedules.
We are currently seeking additional volunteer teachers who are able to teach from February through May. Aspire provides the training. If interested, please visit https://www.aspiretolearn.org/volunteer. Because learning helps us give the best of ourselves to our communities.