America Is Facing A Silent Crisis. It's Time To Address Low Literacy via Linked in

America Is Facing A Silent Crisis. It's Time To Address Low Literacy.

Linked in: 5.01.2019 by British Robinson, President & CEO, Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy

Imagine not being able to help your kids with their homework because you can’t understand the instructions. Imagine being afraid to give them medicine for a cold because you can’t read the dosage guidelines on the box. Imagine not being able to fill out a job application, vote in a local election or drive somewhere new because you can’t always understand and follow the directions.

Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE

For the 36 million Americans—one in every six adults—who struggle with low literacy, this is a reality. Coming from a public health background, I often think about this massive number in terms of the major diseases of our time. Today in America, 28.1 million people live with heart disease, 22.9 million have been diagnosed with cancer and 30 million live with diabetes. We’re all aware of those diseases, but literacy—which affects millions more of us—remains a silent crisis that has been largely ignored, historically underfunded and woefully under-researched.

Our founder, Barbara Bush, knew instinctively that literacy is critical to the success of not just individuals, but our nation as a whole. She once said, “If more people could read, write and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation and our society.”  READ MORE >>