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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1981)
P « 8 * 4 Portland Observer M ay 14.1961 Pacific One-third of world population illiterate By Barbara S. Moffet National Geographic News Service NEW YORK - Almost one-third of the people in the w orld -- 8I4 million -- don’ t know how to read or w rite, according to UNESCO estimates. That includes tw o-thirds o f the people in Atnca and a third of those in Asia, excluding the Soviet Union. In at least IO A frican countries and four Arab slates, the estimated illiteracy rate surpasses 80 percent. In numbers o f illiterates, the top IO nations are India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and Afghanistan. Each has at least IO million. PUPIL EXPLOSION: Population booms in some coun tries are w iping out gains in the classroom. I iteracy campaigns in India, for example, have not kept up with the numbers of people need ing instruction. By the year 2000, India is expected to have half o f the world’ s illiterates. completely literate, although some persons are more literate than others.” In the early l95O’ s, as world a t tention firs t turned to illite ra c y , UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, S cientific, and Cultural Organization, drew up this definition: ’’A person is literate who can with understanding both read and write a short, simple statement on his everyday lif e . " But, as has been pointed out since then, does such a test mean anything in an ad vanced society such as the United Stales? ‘ ‘ You go into the South Bronx or Brooklyn and find people who can perform better than literates in the T h ird W o rld , but i t ’ s worthless because they can’ t gel a job without a high school education,” said Carman St. John Hunter, co-author o f "A dult Illiteracy in the United States. ” The U nited State's o ffic ia l literacy rate is 99 percent. Yet the actual number o f illiterates is not again within three years. UNESCO learned that literacy is not merely an educational issue but also a psychological, c u ltu ra l, sociological, and economic one. And the program raised the chicken- and-egg question: W hich comes first, literacy or economic develop ment? ‘ ‘ Many nations believe literacy is the key to development, and this is probably false,” author H unter said. “ I f you learn to read but there’s nowhere to use your skills, it does little good. The highest levels o f literacy have come out about in countries already on their way to in dustrial development.” Mrs. H unter is a technical specialist fo r W orld Education, a New York-based organization that is changing its approach to spreading literacy. “ The p rio rity of W orld Education used to be straight literacy, but we found that it wasn’ t the learner’ s p r io r ity ,” a stafi member explained. UNKNOW N 33% OR LESS 34% -6 6 % 67 % OR MORE ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF ADULT ILLITERACY SEPTEMBER 1980 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY SOURCE UNESCO 11 I I I I It M 1 is c o iic e iitr a te d m i tw o e m i t in e u ts — M i ii .1 a nd \ s ia —a c c o rd in g to I M X (1. I lie u n it k lr ii an c o u n trie s b e lie v e d to base .13 per« r ut o r less illite r a c s arc / . n u b ia . Z im b a b w e , o w l S o u th \ l i ii a. f ig u r e s arc n u t as a il a b le lo r U ig o la a n d \ a in ib iu ( in d ic a te d bs q u e s tio n m a rk s >. In \s ia . illit c r a i s is liig lic s t in P a kista n . M g b a n is ta n . N é p a l, and on llic \ r a liia n l ’c n iiis u la . I ig n re s lo i N u i'tli k m e .i. M o u g o lia . a n d ( b in a arc m it kiio s s n . a lt lio u g li ( b in a ( la im s lo base re d u e e d illite r a c s to 15 p e rc e n t, lu S im ili M n c ric a . u n is B o lis ia bas a rate b ig b c r tli.m i l p e u c u l (Nalionul lieorgruphic Simelv) In most parts o f the w orld, women illiterates outnum ber the men. female illiteracy in Africa and the Arab states, where women have less access to schools, is about 85 percent. In Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula, 99.5 percent o f the women can’t read or write. A ccording to projections by UNESCO, there will be 884 million illiterates worldwide by 1990, a rise o f 70 m illio n in a decade. But the prediction is not as grim as it sounds: The percentage of illiterates is falling. Increasing school enrollm ents have gradually educated larger proportions o f the population so that the estimated number o f literates is rising faster than the number o f illiterates. The projected 884 million will represent only about 26 percent o f the world population, down from a current rate o f about 29 percent. And there are other bright notes. The governments of Cuba and Tan zania, fo r example, claim their literacy drives have turned predominantly illiterate societies in to more literate ones. Although some who are burdened with the task of eradicating illiteracy might pat themselves on the backs over the successes, others caution that literacy figures, especially predictions, are suspect. ROSY STATISTICS: “ You have to take those projec tions w ith an enormous pinch o f salt,” warned Dr. Kenneth King of the International Development Re search Centre in Canada, which funds research on world problems including illiteracy. “ f o r one thing, the figures assume that attending school en sures literacy. We know a lot about how many kids start grade one, but less about who attends grade four, and even less o f what the kids know later.” Governments taking literacy sur veys often rely on the individual's word about his reading abilities. So Uuacy figures can represent mere guesses, sometimes inflated to boost a nation's image. Actual illiteracy, some authorities say, is more wide spread than statistics show. “ Some countries have confessed illite ra c y rates that are e x tra o r dinary high, so the actual figures must be really extreme,” King said. The biggest problem is gauging world literacy islh itn a-® "- 1 exactely wnat it is. As a UNESCO °\ publication mused: “ No one is ’ known, according to Paul Delker, director o f Adult Education in the U.S. Department o f Education. Besides uncounted illegal aliens, there is an unknown number of high school graduates who have diplomas but not the ability to read a job application. FUNCTIONAL INCOMPETENTS A U niversity o f Texas study found 20 percent o f American adults to be “ fu n ctiona lly incom petent” -- lacking the skills to per form such a basic task as w riting a note to their child’s teacher. Illiteracy in the United States is proportionately highest in the South and, predictably, among minorities, the poor, and the elderly. Private organizations and the government spend millions o f dollars every year on the problem , but probably a t tract only a small fra ctio n o f the illiterates, some of whom are finan c ia lly successful and keep their illiteracy closeted. For Harry Harper, a 34-ycar-old sheet metal worker who grew up in New York City, the inability to read became an intolerable frustration. Now he takes an elevator twice a week to the top o f a Manhattan sky scraper for free reading lessons o f fered by the Literacy Volunteers o f America. He hopes to pick up what he missed before dropping out o f school in the seventh grade, blaming " th e system” fo r fa ilin g to teach him the basics. ‘ ‘ I felt left out o f a lot o f things," Harper said. ‘ ‘ I want to read some good books, like American history and mystery stories.” Teaching the rest o f the world to read is a more com plicated prospect. UNESCO tried it from 1967 to 1973 in a campaign that en compassed 11 nations. Its aims — to demonstrate the economic and social values o f literacy and to pave the way fo r a larger world literacy effort - were only partly met. “ N either literacy nor develop ment can be willed into existence by international agencies,” a UNESCO report later concluded. “ A t best they can perhaps prick the con science o f national governments.” ILLITERACY RELAPSE: The program did spawn literacy campaigns by the governments o f Algeria. India, Mali and Tanzania. But it was plagued by problems such as high dropout rates, and in at least one Asian country the m ajority of pupils fin ish in g four years o f prim a ry education were illite ra te Now the organization promotes com m unity development with projects such as one in a town in Kenya, where women have organized a bakery lo raise money. The project led to the wom en’ s desire lo im prove sanitation facilities in the town and now many have asked for literacy classes. TIGHT BUDGETS Economic and social realities are holding back progress in much o f the Third W orld. Developed coun tries spend far more per inhabitant on education than developing coun tries do. About half o f the school- age children in A frica and Asia do not go to school. A high percentage o f those are girls, a situation that concerns Citizen Power o f the Week economists. ‘ ‘O f all the disparities, none is o f greater hindrance to development than that based on sex,” a W orld Bank policy paper states. Studies have shown that women with even marginal reading skills take better care of infants and practice birth control more effec tively. Third W orld literacy efforts suf fer from other problems. In Senegal in western Africa, literacy programs must be carried out in six languages, W o lo f, Serer, Peul, D iula, Man- dingo, and Soninke. In Somalia, on the eastern African coast, roads had to be b u ilt in rural areas before literacy classes could begin, and teachers battled rough living con ditions as well as prejudice among their nomadic pupils. Severe drought finally curtailed the effort. There have been some well adver tised successes, many in socialist nations where a literacy class can come with a dose o f ideology. UNESCO figures are not available, but China claims to have reduced illiteracy from 85 percent to 15 percent since 1949, intertwining the program with language reform and destruction o f class barriers. The Soviet U nion asserts it elim inated most illite ra cy before World War II. In Cuba Castro sent brigades o f young teachers out to eradicate illite ra cy in 1961. They apparently came close. Pockets o f illiteracy persist in the Caribbean, notably H aiti, where an estimated 71 percent o f the people can’t read or write. Some Latin American countries have used the methods o f Paulo I reire, a Brazilian educator who has advocated literacy as a tool to help the poor improve their lives. Under this method, students might discuss building w ith bricks, the construction ol their houses, and housing as a com m unity problem before the written word for brick is ever introduced. ARMY OFTUTORS: In one o f the most am bitious recent campaigns, Nicaragua has sent out an army o f tutors, some as young as 11, to teach 600,000 peasants and laborers to read and write. Cuba is helping Nicaragua in I he $20 million drive. Cindy Jackson is an eighth grader at Boise Elemen tary School - a model student. A excellent student, she participates in the TAG program (Talented and Gifted). Described by her teachers as very conscient ious and faithful with assignments. She is a student who wants to achieve. Cindy is a page editor for "Boise Speaks" and is always willing to work - "Call me anytime." At Boise she participated in College Bowl during her 8th grade year, and last week came in third in the 400 meter dash. Cindy has been accepted by Benson High School, where she intends to study electronics and be an en gineer or an Editor. She is active in the Maranatha Church youth group. Cindy is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edison Jack- son. She has seven brothers and sisters. BROUGHTTO YOU BY Pacific Power X 0 D U S (0íz£rzt</zv¿¿z>í ¿ ¡u ta fa n a f a r u f i f f w ¡ /m e n / f^eet/ee 1639 N.E. Alberta PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1 294 7997 From the Front Door Honor Atiyeh The Oregon Human Development Corporation w ill bestow its highest award, the Golden Aztec, on Governor V ictor A tiyeh, O H D C Vice President C andido Morales announced. “ I t ’ s only fittin g ,” Morales noted. ‘ ‘ The Governor has demon strated commitment and leadership in causing m ajor and statewide changes in public attitudes toward ethnic m inorities in Oregon, especially for Blacks and Hispanics. He initiated the Racial Harassment Bill (HB 2479) and, by executive or der, established the Black and His panic A ffa irs Commissions.” The Governor was nominated fo r the award by members o f the Hispanic Affairs Commission. The Golden Aztec Award w ill be presented at the O H D C ’ s upcoming first annual Recognition Awards Dinner-Dance at the River Queen Restaurant in Portland. Tickets are $15.00 and may be ordered through local O H D C offices or purchased at the door. The event w ill take place on Saturday, May 16th, beginning at 6:00 P.M. Oregon Human Development Corporaton administers job training and other human services in Oregon. The yearly recognition awards dinner-dance is part o f O H DC’ s e ffo rt to honor individuals and groups who have worked to im prove human services for members o f ethnic m in o rity groups, fo r women, and fo r other under-em ployed or unemployed people. Bv Tom Boothe THE KEY The wisdom, the knowledge and the understanding of purpose - preparation - "Direction and Consistency is the KEY to the development of a responsible. Respectful and Constructively Productive citizen. This KEY opens the door to the proper spirit of being, the proper mental attitude toward self and others and the proper physical values of self and others. With this KEY comes the power to overcome prejudice, to recognize oppor tunities and to secure and maintain your right to live a Responsible Produc tive life on Earth. W ithout this KEY you will not be able to recognize opportunities or open door to self fullfillment. You will become a victim of those who have found their KEYS. Herein is the incentive and motivation to seek out your purpose, prepare yourself, and know your Direction and be Consistent. Brought to you a s a public service by House of Exodus ’ ‘i f
