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PaytonHolcomb
English103DualEnrollment
Period6
3May2016
SolutionstoIlliteracy
WhileilliteracyamongtheyouthofAmericaisgraduallydecreasing,itisstillamajor
problem.Whatismore,itisacompletelypreventableproblem,onethatonlyneedstobespared
attentionandeffort.Therearealreadyvariousoptionsonehastogetaheadstartonpreventing
illiteracy.Whenaddressedwiththeissueofcombatingofilliteracyinteensandadolescents,the
solutionofabiweeklybookclubatlocallibrarieswillbemoreeffectivewhencomparedto
alternativesolutions.
Acommonsolutionthatcomestomostpeoplesmindistutoring.Programssuchas
KumonandSylvanofferexactlythat.Sylvan,forexample,addressesthefiveessential
componentsofreadinginstructionalphabeticknowledgeandphonemicawareness,phonics,
fluency,vocabularydevelopment,andcomprehensioninstruction,(Sylvan,2016)aschosenby
theNationalReadingPanel.Withthedevelopmentofthesenecessaryskills,theprogressthatis
madewillhelpwithfuturechallengessuchastheSATorACT.Thethreeskillsthattheystress
duringtheAdvancedReadingStrategiesprogramatSylvanincludespeed,comprehension,and
recall.Since60%oftheSATverbalscoreisbasedonpassagebasedreadingand50%ofthe
student'sfinalgradereliesonscienceandreadingontheACT(Sylvan,2016),theseskillsarean
imperativemusthave.However,whileprogramslikethesehaveprovedtobequitesuccessful,
theycanbecostly.Classesstartaround$95andonlyincreasefromthere.Therefore,while


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programssuchasthesecanhelpstudentsandparents,theycanalsoharmthem,especially
opportunitywise.Lowincomefamiliesorthoseinpoverty,thefamiliesmostlikelytofacethe
obstacleofilliteracy,willnothavetheoptionofenrollinginsuchprograms.Theycouldbefaced
withthedecisiontodeprivetheirchildofthejoyofreadingortopotentiallygoevenfurtherinto
poverty.Sowhilethismaybeasmallpricetopayforsome,otherswillnothavethatluxury,
snatchingtheopportunityofdevelopingaloveoflearning.
Yetanothersolutionpeopleoftenthinkofisascholasticsummerreadingprogram.
Programssuchastheseareconductedovertheinternetbylogginginthehoursorpagesthatthe
childhasread,earningthechildprizesandpointsthemoreheorshereads.Themainpointof
theseprogramsistocombatwhatisknownasthesummerslide,thedecliningamountof
informationrememberedduringthesummer.Thisisusuallyduetothefactthatchildrendonot
continuetoreadoverthesummer.AccordingtoScholastics10CriticalFactsAboutSummer
Reading,teacherstypicallyspendbetween4to6weeksreteachingmaterialstudentshave
forgottenoverthesummer,(Scholastic,2016).TheScholasticBeaHeroReadingContestwas
specificallydesignedtoinvolvenotonlystudentsandparents,butteachersaswell,asthe
studentscanenrollfortheirschool.Also,thereisarecommendedreadinglisttohelpstudentsget
started.However,studieshaveshownthat,anoverwhelming92%ofkidssaytheyaremore
likelytofinishabooktheypickedoutthemselves,(Scholastic,2016).Mostprogramslikethese
alsoonlytakeplaceoverthesummerorforashortamountoftime.Whilegettingchildrenand
teenstoreadoverthesummerandnotgetbehindisagreatidea.Whataboutthehelpthat
childrenneedduringtheschoolyearthattheymaynotbeabletoreceivefromteachers?Thefact
thattheseprogramsarecompletedonlinealsoposesapotentialproblem.Notonlycanstudents


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fakeresultstowinprizes,theywillnotreceivethehelptheytrulyneed.Scholastichasroad
tripdayswherechildrencancomeoutandreadinadditiontotheonlineprogram.However,
noteverychildhastheopportunitytocometosuchdays,especiallythoseinpovertyandnot
everychildwillhaveaccesstotheinterneteither.Whiletheseprogramsmayprovideguidanceto
somefamilies,theonesinthemostneedofhelpwithilliteracymaynotbeamongthosefamilies.
Asolution,however,thatcombinesallthepositiveswithveryfewnegativesisabook
clubevent,hostedatvariouslocations.Thiseventwillregularlybeheldatthelocallibrary,the
SurpriseMaricopaCountyLibrary.Itisintendedtobeabiweeklyeventwherechildrenofall
agescancometoread,bereadto,gethelpwithhomeworkorstudying,andpracticeSAT
readingskills.Skillslearnedduringthesemeetingsinclude,butarenotlimitedto,
comprehension,recall,andtheabilitytoretainadetailedunderstandingofeventhemost
complextext.With,overtenmillionAmericans[reaching]the12thgradewithouthaving
learnedtoreadatthebasiclevel,(Obama,2005)thisprogramwillgivechildrenofallages,
races,andincomeanequalchanceatlearningtheseskills.Lowincomeorpovertystricken
familieswhosechildrenscore27pointsbelowtheaveragereadinglevel(Obama,2005),willnot
havetoworryaboutthepaymentoffeesfortheprogramnorthebooksusedintheclub.All
readingmaterialwillbeprovidedbythelibrary,theFriendsoftheSurpriseLibraryinthefront
area,orhopefullybythesponsors,withtheaimtoincludeBarnes&Noble.Notonlywillthis
eventallowadolescentstoacquirethenecessaryskillsneededfortheleveltheyareat,itwillalso
makereadingfun,sincethatisthegoalwithanythingrelatedtogettingchildrentoread.Asthese
childrensliteracyskillsexpandandgrow,theycanearnprizesandfreebookstotakehomewith
themandcontinuetoreadasapastime.Itisshownthat,themorereadingmaterialkidsare


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exposedtoathome,thebettertheyscoreonreadingtests,(Obama,2005)andthemore
opportunitiestheywillhavewhenitcomestoemployment.Whilenoteverychildhas
transportationtothelocallibrary,orisunabletogettherebyfoot,thisprogramwilltakeplacein
multiplelocationsacrossthecity,hopefullyintherangeofthoseunabletoattendthelast.Ifnot,
thesmallpriceforthebusisminisculeincomparisontothoseotherheftypricedreading
programs.Themainreasonthisprogramisthebestchoiceisthatityearround.Thosetimes
duringtheschoolyearthatstudentsneedhelpthemost,tutorsandvolunteerswillbethereto
help.Itistheperfecthandsonapproachtoceasethespreadofilliteracy.
Changeisclearlyneededtoeffectivelypromulgatetheseriousissueofilliteracy.By
changingthelivesofthesechildren,theyareessentiallygettingasecondchanceatlife,anda
realchancetofulfilltheirdreams.Notonlywillthisprogramteachtheseadolescentstheskills
neededtothriveinschool,theywillalsobeexposedtothematerialthatwillbebeneficialin
theiradultlivesaswell.Withaplacewhereparentsandchildrencancometogether,theloveof
readingcanbeinstilledineverychild.


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WorksCited

"AdvancedReading."
SylvanPrep
.2016.Web.03May2016.
<http://www.sylvanlearning.com/prep/advancedreading>.

Obama,Barack."LITERACYANDEDUCATIONINA21STCENTURYECONOMY."
ObamaSpeech
.25June2005.Web.03May2016.
<http://obamaspeeches.com/024LiteracyandEducationina21stCenturyEconomyObamaSp
eech.htm>.

"ScholasticSummerReadingChallenge."
Scholastic.com
.2016.Web.03May2016.
<http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src2016>.