From the privileged, high-class who attained scripts centuries ago to the now widely accessible words on social media, this evolution begs the question: if words and reading are so accessible, why are people unable to read or understand them?
This concern is often swept under the rug in a world that emphasizes the importance of STEM and business while rapidly diminishing the crucial knowledge of art, culture, and the humanities.
Not to say that either is more important than the other, but the differing forms of art fuel the soul, create a space for humans to share their experiences, and encourage a torrent of ideas or interpretations.
Writing and literature are under great danger, and this has manifested itself in the current literacy crisis in North America.
In this crisis, many assume that literacy pertains only to reading and writing, defining it as minuscule in everyday use—but it is not.
Literacy, defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), goes beyond the foundations of reading, writing and communication, and further magnifies the ability to identify, understand, interpret, communicate and create media or written content.
Therefore, even if you think I don’t read novels or many articles in my major or career, the implications of literacy have expanded to include the application of number comprehension, reading, and continuous learning in media literacy.
This media literacy relates to the daily scroll sessions, internet deep dives, and political posts we consume.
Despite potentially thinking this literacy decline does not impact you, it impacts our younger generations and the future of education and politics.
Sirens were set off by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) release of the 2024 testing results in the U.S. They indicated a major dip in all sections of the test, specifically reading scores.
These NAEP tests, administered to groups of eighth- and twelfth-graders, serve as national indicators of academic performance across subjects such as science, reading, and math.
These scores were amongst the lowest and most concerning: 32% of high school students scored below basic in reading comprehension, 45% of students’ scores fell below foundational math skills, and only 33% of high school students were proficient and prepared for university-level courses.
These literacy declines are mirrored in Canada as well. CBC reports that “at least one-third of students graduate school without attaining the level of literacy that the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development deems necessary to function fully in today’s economy.”
With such alarming statistics, it is no surprise that earlier tests in 2018-2019 show that third graders, with 26% under provincial reading standards, and 6th graders, with 19% testing under the reading standard.
McGill researchers and students find these results no surprise: the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of online learning, and the spike in technology and Artificial Intelligence in academia contribute to a lack of literacy. Nevertheless, the root of the literacy crisis is a result of educational negligence, where schools ignore the core of language learning, grammar structure and phonetics, and rather integrate shorter and shorter texts.
Although these skills rely on the early education provided to aid in developmental milestones, many English teachers have begun to notice that students lack the ability, knowledge and pace to write essays, which are vital in their courses.
Teacher Samantha Jo details her experience in the eighth-grade classroom and their study of essay writing through her TikTok account.
Over the year, she explained that despite the detailed resources provided to her students, a majority struggled or failed in their writing. Not only does Jo explain the current crisis, but this situation also fuels it; the need for middle and high school teachers to re-teach material to students only leaves them behind in the skills needed for college and university, often leading many students to have high-functioning literacy but struggle in higher academia.
Regardless of how prominent essay writing or book analysis might be in one’s life, literacy is littered into the everyday media we encounter, and in our discussions about politics. UNESCO explains that the right to education and the privilege of attaining high literacy levels contribute to reducing poverty, increasing employment and labour productivity, promoting positive health, supporting sustainable development, and, most importantly, enabling individuals to maintain their autonomy.
This autonomy is closely linked to our civic literacy and engagement, as explained by ABC LifeLiteracyCanada: the unawareness of current political circumstances and the struggle to understand, interpret, and evaluate the political media we see online. This civic literacy not only is in high connection with the part of interpretive literacy, but also impacts civic engagement. Given the current political environments in countries near and far, basic literacy must be readily available to strengthen our stance, protest injustices, and identify political misinformation.
Getting to the Root
It’s difficult to imagine the solutions to such issues, as teachers feel their efforts are maximized in current learning structures and environments. These solutions don’t start with the teachers; instead, they start with the reconstruction of literacy curricula and government involvement. Harvard professor Catherine Snow, specializing in language and literary development, detailed in an episode of the Harvard podcast Edcast that literacy development is emphasized in kindergarten through third grade, and that students later are assumed to all test at standard literacy levels.
Older students in the fourth and fifth grades are given texts with the assumption that they know how to read, and miss out on crucial in-class readings, or discussions about genre types, more complex vocabulary or the new involvement of argumentative and persuasive texts. Therefore, reimagining the literary learning models within schools, with the spotlight on structural literacy components of grammar and phonetics, and continuous learning within older grades, can continue to ensure the upkeep of literacy.
Canada aims to reform the education system to target literacy and numeracy comprehension at early developmental stages. CBC highlights that students are currently taught to read by guessing the next word, a method known as “balanced literacy,” which, after years of observation, has proven detrimental to the learning process. Canada plans to transition to “structured literacy,” which emphasizes the structural elements of literacy, including grammar and phonetics, to give students the skills to decode literature from the root up.
With the implementation of involved and structural literacy education, adults can further advocate for students and, outside of schools, build our own means of education. Pausing to ask yourself the true meanings of the posts you see online and creating social spaces for reading and reflection not only improve our literacy today but also in the future.