This week's U.S. News and World Report was the final straw for me.
The cover story, called "Making America Better," contained a report about how Finland succeeds at educating its children. Within that story are some very frightening statistics for anyone worried about the USA's ability to compete in the future.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports every few years on the state of education in 40 industrialized nations. The most recent report (2003) ranks the US as follows:
- 18th in reading literacy
- 22nd in science
- 28th in math.
On March 21, CNN aired this video about illiteracy in the US, in which they report that 20 percent of US adults are functionally illiterate. That's 40 million people who can't read well enough to fill out a job application or write a check. And yet half of these people graduated from high-school.
The Educational Testing Service concluded in "America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future" (2007) that,
"...if our society's overall levels of learning and skills are not increased and the existing gaps are not narrowed, there is little chance that economic opportunities will improve among key segments of our population."
Does all of that scare you?
It does me. But I don't know what to do to personally make a difference. I've figured out that recycling and driving a Prius will help the environment. I've sorted out how to send postcards and letters to politicians. I know how to donate money to help appropriate causes. But I don't have a clue how to make our education systems better.
Yes, I read the suggestions in USNews about more funding for teacher education and the like. But I couldn't figure out what to do personally with their suggestions. And I explored the website of the National Coalition for Literacy, but I couldn't find one suggestion for private citizen action. I clicked on the link for the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, but couldn't find a reliable way to view their statistics, much less any practical ideas. And finally, I spent some time wandering around the site of the National Institute for Literacy, finding no practical suggestions for folks like me.
[Memo to literacy advocacy groups - you need to have a prominent "how you can help" link on your home page. How can we help you make a difference when a confusing trudge through your websites yields no practical ideas. It's like having an on-line store without a "buy" button.]
I need ideas on how to have a personal impact on education in my community (Baton Rouge), my state (Louisiana) and my country. Can you help me out?
Please use the comments section to share your ideas for how an average citizen, like me, can have a positive impact on education in the US.
[Photo: "Classic Books" by lusi on Everystockphoto.com.]
