Frank Deaver Rotary Editorials

     The path out of poverty is routed through literacy.  If that seems to be an illogical conclusion, consider the unemployment rates in the United States, related to levels of education:
          Secondary school dropouts     13.5 percent
          High school graduates              7.2 percent
          Some college education           4.6 percent
          College graduate                     2.9 percent

     Years ago, and for some people even now, “literacy” was indicative of  “the ability to read and write,” simply that and nothing more.  But in modern technological society, it has evolved to be far more than that.  We now use the term in a much broader sense, speaking of those who are “functionally illiterate,” lacking the skills necessary to meet the demands of everyday life.  Or as PRIP Glenn Estess put it, “lacking the most basic skills to qualify for meaningful employment.”

     In predominantly agrarian societies of the past, the most important knowledge might have been how to feed and milk a cow, or how to manipulate a horse-drawn plow.  No more, for now the modern farmer must be capable of determining the pH value of soil, and how to follow market prices for crops.  As younger generations abandon rural life for city employment, they encounter even higher expectations of their educational attainment – their literacy levels.

     Rotary designates July as “Literacy Month,” a time of special emphasis on what should be done to address this need.  But it is not limited to July, for RI President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar added literacy to his checklist of emphases for Rotary Year 2005-06, encouraged by what he experienced two years earlier as general coordinator for the Literacy and Education Task Force.

     Combating literacy is not a new challenge, for Rotarians have long been active in efforts to reduce illiteracy. Projects have included building schools, paying teacher salaries, and contributing books and audiovisuals to libraries.

     Considerable progress has been made in recent decades in reducing illiteracy; yet, close to a billion people – some 20 percent of the world population – lack the most basic literacy skills.  As Rotary addresses the deficiency, it must be a dual effort.  Through the RI Foundation, local clubs and Rotarians can support educational efforts in distant locations.  But right at home there are certain to be targets of opportunity for combating illiteracy.  The functionally illiterate are to be found in all locations and in all age brackets.

     We are often tempted to excuse illiteracy among us on some convenient justification.  We may say that language is too inconsistent, too challenging, for the adult illiterate to master.  Consider, for example, the multiple pronunciations of “ough” in these words: though, through, thought, tough, cough, bough.  At least six verbal sounds from one four-letter sequence!  But before we correlate inconsistent linguistics with illiteracy, consider that the Japanese and Danish languages are quite complex; yet those countries have extremely low illiteracy.

     A more defensible example is the home influence on a child’s first five years of life.  If parents read regularly to a child, even before that child learns to speak, the desire to read is indelibly instilled and the child is conditioned to maximize the benefits of elementary schooling.  This observation opens opportunity for local Rotary Clubs to combat illiteracy locally, even before it gains a foothold.

     RI President Carl-Wilhelm said he sees literacy as “one of the basic needs that must be met for a person to live a decent life.”  This opportunity, this challenge, this call to “Service Above Self,” truly begins at home.  Just imagine the impact on illiteracy if all of our 38,000 Rotary Clubs in the world embraced this Community Service possibility.