The Awful Truth: We Can’t Read
There is a rather stunning story in today’s Philadelphia Business Journal detailing how more than half of the city’s potential work force lack the literacy skills to fill available jobs. We’re going to say that again: More than half of the city’s potential work force lack the literacy skills to fill available jobs. Is your stomach turning yet? How about this:
As it stands, more than 202,000 of the city’s adults have failed to obtain a high school diploma. The report also found that 52.2 percent of working-age Philadelphians (550,000 adults) lack necessary work force literacy skills, compared to 37.9 percent statewide, which means they struggle to follow written instructions or complete a form, such as a job application. The adults that fall below the literacy standard can only qualify for a third of the jobs in the current economy, which is roughly 211,000 jobs. By 2030, another 50,000 in the city will not have the basic literacy skills to compete for jobs in the economy unless the problem is addressed, according to the report.
PBJ’s info comes via a a report released by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, which also has a pretty harsh set of stats on its own site. The report is clearly a call to action to the City, and we’re guessing it won’t be long for Mayor Nutter comments on this, but in the meantime, allow us to take a breath and look at those figures again. Wow.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Solutions? I’m at a loss…do we live without our libraries and pools for a while until we can fund improvements to our education system?
Or, maybe we change “the economy” and try getting more unskilled labor (re: manufacturing) jobs back in to this country/state/city?
June 29th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Me fail english? That’s unpossible.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
This is sad but not surprising to anyone who’s ever worked with the general public in the city. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a person is lazy, overwhelmed, or really can’t read. More than not, it’s the latter.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
this really isn’t news to anyone working with the general public in this city. i used to think customers were too lazy to read signs, until one day the person i was dealing with was faking it in an unfortunately obvious way, and it occurred to me that a lot of the problems i had interacting with customers came down to me assuming they were significantly more educated than they were, right on down to a lack of very basic literacy. until that point, it had just never occurred to me that it was possible to be in your thirties and functioning semi-normally in society without being able to read.
the problem is that it *is* possible to be illiterate and still get by fairly well. if you are the type of moron who thinks learning to read isn’t really a big deal, you will still be able to live a fairly normal life in today’s society, and there is absolutely no real reason to do the admittedly hard work of learning it later. and unfortunately, this problem is most likely going to end up being dealt with by finding ways of making it even EASIER for the illiterate to get jobs, because in the short term it’s really the only way to keep them employed and keep the economy limping along. it’s alot easier to do away with a form than to teach a middle aged woman how to fill it out.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
@sugartown i owe you a coke
June 29th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
The “experts” always blame a lack of funding. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been poured down the rat hole known as public education. The time has come to place the blame directly on those responsible for this travesty.
(1) Teachers- way overpaid for the 120 days or so of work they do. Unions protect them from a competition based work place resulting in fat lazy slobs who don’t care about their jobs
(2) Parents – or should I say parent. A complete lack of a family life which is the result of children born out of wedlock, Mommas pumping out kids with multiple sperm donors concerned with pumping out enough kids to justify a health welfare check
In the end, it’s all OK. There needs to be a bottom level work force to do the menial jobs that need to get done.
The concept of High School needs to be re-evaluated. Training centers should replace them. Curriculum’s such as
Properly cleaning a mens room 101 or Beginning Shoe Polishing would be far more beneficial to the students. Those that show an aptitude for house work can enroll in the “step-n-fetch-it” program for household help.
A new motto…
“Philadelphia, training today’s kids to be tomorrows servants”
June 29th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
My parents are retired teachers and while I can’t say that everyone was as dedicated to their work as they were (there are a few bad apples in every profession), the problem goes back to the parents, who are just not present, either due to having to work more than one job to make ends meet, or just not there for a multitude of other reasons.
Half the time, the teachers end up being babysitters and have to spend more time dealing with the problem kids than spending time with the kids who really want to learn. My stepfather worked in North Philly elementary schools for most of his career, and my Mom was a jr high art teacher in the burbs. Both of them had the same problems.
Even if you have the brightest kid in the world, it’s a bit difficult to learn if they haven’t had breakfast (beyond chips and soda), have a messed up homelife, or are afraid of getting shot to/from or at school.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Seriously burnside?
You are about 60-70 days short of a teacher’s year. Not to mention the hours spent outside of school. I’m sure you must bring work home from your job all the time. Plus, if it such a great job, then go ahead and become one. With a Bachelors, you can get a teaching cert. in a Masters program in a year.
Does the union protect some bad teachers? Sure, but having taught in Philadelphia, most teachers do not earn enough for the crap they deal with on a daily basis. The fact is, most teachers who can, get the hell out of Philly as soon as they can to make more money in the burbs for an easier gig.
The real problem is the attitude towards education that a lot of children in the city possess. They don’t get a chance to experience things outside of their neighborhood so the only things they think are possible for them are the things they see going on around them.
June 29th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Being a teacher in an urban district is not easy. My brother is an inner-city public school teacher and the stories he has told me during his visits here, or over the phone, are just startling. One main reason, amongst many, is that inner-city public schools have such lax disciplinary rules. Shit that would get you expelled in the suburbs will often get you suspended a day or 2 at most city schools across the country.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:34 am
I’m just on shock by the numbers! 550,000 adults can’t read?! What the hell?!
This explains more than I think we ever could imagine, and I think we need to start working NOW to get that down as much as possible as soon as possible!