This article, Literacy and the Politics of Education written by C.H Knoblauch was written to express his feelings on how America is becoming illiterate ever since a new era of technology was introduced in 1960. Knoblauch believes that the few who are literate will succeed in life, and that the rest of general society who are illiterate will have trouble finding success in their future endeavors. He has taken on this subject because of his frustration on his fellow peers, and their lack of motivation to excel in literacy. He uses repetition to stress the fact that we need to become more literate to succeed in today’s society. Knoblauch uses articles from various writings of other literate authors to help get his point across. He goes into detail explaining in order for society as a whole to succeed in life that it starts with the success of each individual’s literacy. Knoblauch explains how other totalitarian countries keep their strength by keeping the majority less knowledgeable about literacy. Dictators, of such countries are literate, and keep that privilege from the citizens of that country, because if the people of the country were as literate as the dictator himself/herself then the people would have the power to over through such dictator. Knoblauch uses all of these examples to point out and stress the importance of literacy and writing in the world today, and stresses that without the know-how of reading and writing we will not…
Many passages have been written on the issues of the importance of proper education. One very relatable passage would be “ The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol. This Passage is all about things that can not be done when you are not properly educated. Most understand that if you can not read…
In the story of “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” Jonathan Kozol reasons the negative effects of being illiterate. American illiterates are being shut down by society in a world where becoming a successful that seems uncertain for illiterates. Kozol shows to the reader the many risks that an illiterate American has to face on a daily basis and the dangers that results from it. “They cannot read traffic signs and, while they often learn to recognize and to decipher symbols, they cannot mange street names which they haven’t seen before” (256). This confirms how American illiterates are in danger of getting lost or not knowing how to get back home. They need…
Literacy and education plays an important role in America. More than 4 percent of the adult population does not know how to read or write. (Literacy Partners.) Education is the basis of all jobs, governmental structure, and even society itself. Recent events and documents state the emphasis on the importance of a basic education. The rate of illiteracy is growing at an alarming rate, and nothing is being done about it. Illiteracy is a big problem today because it is directly associated with poverty, crime, and costs the government more money than budgeted.…
Jonathan Kozol’s essay on The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society (1985) claims that based on the beliefs of Socrates and James Madison, illiteracy is a moral dilemma. Kozol supports this claim by speculating what a number of tragic outcomes could be as a result of illiteracy. His purpose is to show how a person’s daily life is affected negatively by being illiterate in order to prove that illiteracy in a broad sense is a moral dilemma. Kozol’s intended audience in writing this essay would be the public.…
The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol, is an article which illustrates the reality for millions of Americans, and the impact illiteracy has on the overall population and that individual and their family. Kozol draws emotional and personal stories which impact the reader as well as allude that the lack of literacy is in direct correlation with Democracy and how illiterate people will vote, if they even do at all.…
People that are illiterate can't function on a day to day basis like we can. Like people that live in the middle of nowhere with no education or common sense would not be able to adapt to stuff like we can. Also they wouldn't be able to comprehend the books that we read or even understand them the same way we do. That is why literacy plays a big role in everyone's lives.…
Jonathan Kozol discusses in depth the negative effects that illiteracy has on everyone. Illiteracy is unfortunately a common problem today and usually is more prone in lower income families and is passed down through the generations. When your parents can not read or write, you grow up without the importance of being taught these skills and then the cycle of illiteracy continues. I can only imagine the shame and discomfort someone feels in not being able to read or write. When signing documents you have to trust that the person reading it to you is honest, or you will be signing something you do not understand. “A submerged sense of distrust becomes the consequence to a constant need to trust” (233), because you don’t have a choice.…
4. If an illiterate person ever gets lost and is alone, they have no way of seeking help. Their illiteracy would deny them the ability to read their location and tell others where they are, perhaps a cop. In any legal problem or courtroom complication arises, not being able to read documents and explain their case to a cop or a judge poses as a setback.…
This essay was adapted from a talk given by the author and translated from German, which I took from Harper’s Magazine.…
In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, written by Jonathan Kozol and published in the Reading for Writers, New York, 2013, the author is raising awareness of illiteracy in the United States and the effects it has on society. He describes the impact that such a large amount of illiterate people can have on voting and the choice of the president. Mr. Kozol uses statistics from the 1980 presidential vote to argue his point, stating that Ronald Reagan likely would not have been the president. Aside from a political view, he provides personal stories to show the difficult obstacles that an illiterate person may encounter on a day to day basis. Furthermore, he explains the health and death risks that the illiterate are faced with…
In “The Human cost of an illiterate society,” Jonathan Kozol attempts to convince his reader that illiteracy is extremely harmful to a society, and that it is the ultimate destruction of a human being’s life. He explains with great detail how being ignorant (unknown) at something so universal like being able to read the directions on a medicine label, can lead to a lifetime of hardship and long term agony. Kozol develops his reasoning by contributing meaningful but real world examples on how being illiterate is dangerous and fatal. For example He uses not being able to explain where you are if something fatal was to happen, and not being able to understand the dangers of a cigarettes label with a surgeons warning on it. After giving a plenty load of examples, he then brings the discussion back to his central argument on how being illiterate can be costly. When a person does not understand what they have wrongfully done it can be difficult to prosecute or judge that person. If he is not able to read then that person might not be aware that giving a child too much aspirin could result in overdose which can ultimately lead to death. The question that still remains is should that person be held accountable. According to today’s society the answer is still unknown but to protect the people of this society from that illiterate person, the answer is yes that person must be limited. What this ultimately means is that, he must be kept from society so that he won’t cause harm for his on ignorant habits. He will have to be watched, fed, and kept in an environment where he will always be stable. This top of living can cost a lot of money and this is the financial burden that cost a society so much money. In a way this is unfair…
In Jonathan Kozol’s essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” Kozol relies on tugging on the reader’s heartstrings rather than presenting the statistics that would prove his point without a shadow of a doubt. In the end readers are left thinking “why should I care so much about the illiterate?” That being said, Kozol strikingly relates to the reader the many things that an illiterate person cannot do on a day to day basis. His accounts of illiteracy are shocking and heartbreaking to read about, but without the solidity of facts and statistics, the reader has a great emotional response but does not know what to do about it.…
America, the most technologically advanced and affluent of all nations on the earth, seems to have an increasingly larger illiteracy rate every year. This has become and continues to be a critical problem throughout our society as we know it. According to the National Adult Literacy survey, 42 million adult Americans can't read; 50 million are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level; one in every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of the students who graduate, one in every four has around an 8th grade education. Why? You ask. This problem will never fix itself and will take quite a bit of time to overcome. We need to make sure that everyone is aware of the social problems, poverty and lack of family interaction that occurs everyday in many, if not all, communities throughout America…
The consequences of this rise in literacy standards are: (1) older generation have difficulties with the new literacy standers. (2) Literacy can change fast between generations or in same generation such as Lowery had struggle against a rise in literacy standards. There are big different between standards when he began until he retired. (3) There are huge economic competitions in the literacy between individuals, and between…