Illiteracy Costs!
Oklahoma City, OK – Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County (OIC) Literacy program will hold an informative workshop on illiteracy in the Oklahoma Metro area. The one-hour “Reasons for Illiteracy” informational workshop will cover the common issues of why Oklahoma City adult residents are unable to read. The session will also provide information regarding OIC’s adult literacy tutoring program as well as the tutor training in September.
According to ProLiteracy, the largest adult literacy and basic education membership organization in the nation, 36 million adults in the US cannot read, write, or do basic math above the third-grade level. Social issues go hand-in-hand with illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, health concerns, public assistance, and incarceration.
Oklahoma County has an estimated 1 in 5 adults who are illiterate or are functionally illiterate. “This means they are unable to read street signs, fill out job applications or understand medication labels,” said Blair Lanning, OIC’s Literacy Coordinator. Zahar B., a one-on-one ESL student states that “Sometimes I feel blind because I can’t read…”
Literacy is a learned skill. Parents who cannot read are likely to raise non-readers, creating a cycle of illiteracy. By the age of two, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies, and higher cognitive skills than children who have not been exposed to reading. Teaching a parent to read helps raise readers.
If you are interested in learning more, attending the “Reasons for Illiteracy” workshop is the place to start. It will be held at OIC on August 18, 2016, register by calling 405.235.2651 or email blanning@oicokc.org. Seating is limited. OIC is located at 3033 North Walnut, Building East, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
OIC will hold a training for beginning tutors on September 10, 2016 from 9am to 5pm. If you are interested in helping an adult learner to read, write, understand written words or learn English, call 405.236.2651 for more information. Call or email soon to reserve your spot.