The moral
injustice of illiteracy
Detroit
News: 7.04.2018 by Bankole Thompson
With some
of the worst test scores for reading and math in the nation coupled with a
calamitous adult literacy rate, Detroit’s illiteracy is so alarming that
something must be done about it.
Why?
Generations
are cut off from the mainstream because they cannot access opportunities to
better themselves for lack of understanding and speaking the language of the
economic life of society.
That is
a moral crisis.
The 2007
financial crisis that heavily affected Detroit was in part also due to the fact
that some homeowners could not read and understand the fine print of their
mortgage contracts. The devastating results rendered them victims of the
subprime mortgage fiasco.
That too
was a moral crisis.
A
significant number of people are cut off from employment today because they
cannot read or complete a simple application form. Many don’t even know how to
write a cover letter or develop their resume.
Illiteracy
remains one of the greatest tragedies in Detroit.
Tackling
the issue requires laying the foundation of literacy in the schools.
That is
why the right to literacy lawsuit, which was recently dismissed by a *federal
judge, was a crucial step to address this grave moral crisis.
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It is
hard to imagine the degradation of the Detroit school system under state
control, which began in 1999, could have happened in a rich, suburban, white
community where they have access to key educational resources for literacy.
“Children
from affluent communities in Michigan do not attend schools lacking teachers,
books and safe and sanitary conditions, and children from less advantaged
communities are entitled to no less. READ
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