Posted on 12/15/2004 3:09:22 AM PST by Stoat
26m can't read & write | ||||||
Whitehall Editor A STAGGERING 26million adults in England cannot read, write or add up properly, a report reveals today. And experts warn things will get WORSE unless urgent action is taken. A study by government spending watchdog the National Audit Office reveals that a high percentage of all working-age people are unable to do simple sums set for an 11-year-old. A fifth have a worse command of English than a typical PRIMARY school leaver. Most strugglers are out of work, on benefits or in low-skilled jobs, according to the NAO. The watchdog says: Twenty-six million people of working age have levels of literacy and numeracy below those expected of school leavers. They are spread across all ages with no significant variation between men and women or different English-speaking ethnic groups. They may be unable to read and understand signs, notices and labels or check whether they have received the correct change when shopping. Four out of five adults are below the maths standard expected of a 16-year-old, while three out of five fail to meet the reading and writing levels set for a typical school leaver. The report calls for urgent action to persuade hundreds of thousands of workers to brush up on basic skills. It demands more teachers in adult education centres and incentives to attract new students. Education Secretary Charles Clarke last night pledged action to raise English and maths standards in adults. Thousands of kids are behind in reading because of a teaching standards crisis, a second report warns. A third of 11-year-olds in England and Wales are below expected levels in English at 2,235 weak primary schools. Tories said the reports showed Labours education reforms were failing, and teachers unions said they proved more full-time teachers were needed. It was also revealed last night that Englands 14-year-olds lag behind the rest of the world in maths. We finished 18th in the Trends in International Maths and Science Survey, behind the USA, Australia, Malaysia, Latvia and Lithuania. Nine countries scored significantly higher than England, including Hungary, Estonia and the best, Singapore. |
I know, and that got me wondering. So I poked around on google and came up with the CIA-- World Facts Book. It said that the population (est.) of the UK as of 11/04 is 60,270,708.
Are the Brits actually saying...or admitting...that, what? something like 40+% of its population is functionally illiterate??
i think the article is bollocks, though i feel 40% of the posters on this thread my be illiterate....
I have a grandson in 2nd grade and I am impressed with both his reading and math skills. The school district he is in primarily stresses reading skills in the early grades and uses a combination of phonics and what they call "sight words" -- those that do not easily sound out -- to get the kids quickly into reading and making it enjoyable for them. Even his math homework includes word problems to reinforce the reading. The kid enjoys reading and does it on his own for fun.
I'd have to say that my grandson has advanced faster in reading than I did at his age in a parochial school where the nuns taught strictly by the old methods. Whatever this school district is doing seems to work.
BS.
Some children have a natural gift for reading, just as some do for music, sports, etc. I refer to kids like this as having language-friendly minds. They can learn to read with little or no instruction.
Sight reading (the base of whole language) is a problem, in varying degrees, for about 70% of children. Of this 70%, about 40% struggle through, and many will wind up functioning at an acceptable level. None remain purely sight readers, as this cannot be done. They have managed to implicitly pick up spelling patterns and how they work. Most kids need explicit instruction rather than hoping they just figure it out if they see it often enough.
The children I tutor are, of course, in the 30% group who do not have the language-friendly minds. Their little lives completely turn around when someone actually instructs them and they see that they are not stupid after all. A new lease on life...even at such a young age!
Either your grandson received more phonetic teaching than most children, or he has one of those language-friendly minds...or a bit of both. In any case, it is a good thing, and I applaud the school for teaching phonetics.
That's very true. I'm close to getting my masters degree in Intenational Affairs and my math ability is probably on a middle school level. Thank god for reading and writing!
Patton didn't learn to read until he was 14.
Britain has always been the laggard wrt education. Germany has always been the leader. Must be that class system
What is it with the word "maths"? Why can't they just say math like everyone else?
The British class system is so opressive that there is no incentive for self-improvement among the lower middle class etc.
Yep.
So that's how many muslims are in the UK. Oh wait ... add some for the imams, they can actually read.
He also is given homework assignments every night, mostly math, except for Friday. He gets the weekend off. ;~))
BTW. He loves school and loves his teacher. It shows that public schools can do it, if they want to.
Right you are...the system is diabolical AND ingenious.
It all sounds so wonderful and loving and "for the children", but it makes them ignorant wards of the state.
The world needs ditchdiggers too!
The Sun? Whatever it's sources, its obvious that their they're, not hear to night.
Your disclear: the unreaders and unwriters isn't hear to night!
"What is it with the word 'maths' Why can't they just say math like everyone else?"
By "everyone else" you presumably mean Americans. I imagine the British don't say 'math' because they aren't American.
"The British class system is so oppressive that there is no incentive for self-improvement among the lower middle class etc"
Why do you insist on spouting opinions about something that you clearly have absolutely no idea about? What 'oppressive' class system? Where did you get your latest information on this subject from, Charles Dickens?
Jeez.
Decaying narco-leftist amoral gut-choking commie pinko treasonous dumb-ass krypto-fascist neo-socialist conspiracy is taking over my mind!!! Please help me escape to America!!!
Yeah, ya beat me to it. Another 26 million have fewer than half of their teeth.
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