The Importance of Literacy
Try and imagine our society without a common language. This could be quite
a hard idea to fathom. Allow me to assist you. If this hypothetical idea were
in fact true, a typical conversation between two individuals would be as
follows: one of the two would begin the conversation by making noises
representing their language, the other person would not understand these noises
and respond with unrecognizable noises to the first individual. As you can well
imagine, this would get quite frustrating. Rita Mae Brown describes literacy as,
"a social contract, an agreed upon representation of certain symbols" (420). If
the symbol's (letters) meanings are not agreed upon by those attempting to
communicate, then interpreting one another becomes difficult. Simply stated,
literacy is very important. Society has proven time and time again, it will
reward those individuals who are competent and impede those who are not, whether
expressed in terms of employment opportunities (job success) or just on a social
level.
One need look no further than their everyday activities in order to
realize how important literary skills are. Without adequate literary skills one
may not be able to identify on a label the correct amount of medicine to give a
child, or read and interpret a sign giving instructions on what to do in case of
a fire. These two examples bring perspective to literacy's importance.
Nevertheless, recent surveys have indicated that, "4.5 million Canadians,
representing 24 percent of the eighteen-and-over group, can be considered
illiterate" ("Adult Illiteracy" 5). Illiteracy is truly a problem within Canada.
Although many groups are working to render the problem of illiteracy, much work
still lies ahead.
As our society moves on into the next century literacy is proving vital
to economic performance. Without basic literary skills in one's possession they
will become lost in our rapidly changing society. The modern worker must... [continues]
Try and imagine our society without a common language. This could be quite
a hard idea to fathom. Allow me to assist you. If this hypothetical idea were
in fact true, a typical conversation between two individuals would be as
follows: one of the two would begin the conversation by making noises
representing their language, the other person would not understand these noises
and respond with unrecognizable noises to the first individual. As you can well
imagine, this would get quite frustrating. Rita Mae Brown describes literacy as,
"a social contract, an agreed upon representation of certain symbols" (420). If
the symbol's (letters) meanings are not agreed upon by those attempting to
communicate, then interpreting one another becomes difficult. Simply stated,
literacy is very important. Society has proven time and time again, it will
reward those individuals who are competent and impede those who are not, whether
expressed in terms of employment opportunities (job success) or just on a social
level.
One need look no further than their everyday activities in order to
realize how important literary skills are. Without adequate literary skills one
may not be able to identify on a label the correct amount of medicine to give a
child, or read and interpret a sign giving instructions on what to do in case of
a fire. These two examples bring perspective to literacy's importance.
Nevertheless, recent surveys have indicated that, "4.5 million Canadians,
representing 24 percent of the eighteen-and-over group, can be considered
illiterate" ("Adult Illiteracy" 5). Illiteracy is truly a problem within Canada.
Although many groups are working to render the problem of illiteracy, much work
still lies ahead.
As our society moves on into the next century literacy is proving vital
to economic performance. Without basic literary skills in one's possession they
will become lost in our rapidly changing society. The modern worker must... [continues]
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(1999, 10). The Importance of Literacy. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Importance-Literacy-1480.html
- MLA
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"The Importance of Literacy" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Importance-Literacy-1480.html>.
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"The Importance of Literacy." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Importance-Literacy-1480.html.
