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**Lit. Coaches Notes **

"IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX AND TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY, WHERE FIRST GRADERS WORK ON COMPUTERS AND YOU CAN TALK ONLINE TO SOMEONE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE EARTH, it's hard to believe that there are adults in this country who can't read this sentence. It's [also] hard to believe that more than forty million adults in the United States can't fill out a job application, follow directions on a prescription, access an ATM machine, or read a bedtime story to a child." (Wedgeworth, ix)

Literacy-What is it? What does it mean?

Literate by definition means educated and able to read and write. Literacy deals with reading and writing, but our definitions of literacy have changed due to an increased use of technology. Literacy may now include being able to communicate effectively, not just with writing or speaking, but through electronic mail, web sites, text messaging, twittering, instant messaging, etc.

An important part of being literate is not only to be able to read and write but to make meaning from information and develop an understanding of the written word. 
 * __ Literacy is the ability to read, write, compute, and use technology at a level that enables an individual to reach his or her full potential as a parent, employee, and community member. (ProLiteracy Worldwide __** __**) **__

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David Warlick, gave an excellent presentation in December at AIU3. Mr. Kocher, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. McElhinny, and myself were privileged enough to hear his keynote address on Technology Enhanced Literacy and Learning.

As little as we know about the future for which we are preparing our students, it is clear that it will be a place that is governed by information. Accessing, processing, building with, and communicating that information is how we will all make our livings. Being literate in this future will certainly involve the ability to read, write, and do basic math. However, the concept of literacy in the 21st century will be far richer and more comprehensive than the 3 Rs of the one room school house, a legacy that still strongly influences today's education environment.
 * David Warlick's thoughts on Literacy**

David's Homepage

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 * Startling Statistics:**
 * In Philadelphia, there are an estimated 400,000 adults with less than a fifth grade education. The high school drop out rate in Philadelphia is 38%. From 1982-1992, the earnings of those without a high school diploma dropped 12%.
 * ProLiteracy President and CEO David C. Harvey said there are 30 million adults in the U.S. who struggle with the simplest daily reading, writing, and math tasks. Adults at the low literacy level were among the first to lose their jobs when the economy faltered last year.
 * There are **774 million** adults around the world who are illiterate in their native languages.
 * **Two-thirds** of the world’s illiterate adults are women.
 * In the U.S., **30 million** people over age 16 — **14 percent** of the country’s adult population — don’t read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level or fill out a job application.
 * The United States ranks **fifth** on adult literacy skills when compared to other industrialized nations.
 * Adult low literacy can be connected to almost every socio-economic issue in the United States:
 * More than **60 percent** of all state and federal corrections inmates can barely read and write.
 * Low health literacy costs between **$106 billion** and **$238 billion** each year in the U.S. — 7 to 17 percent of all annual personal health care spending.
 * Low literacy’s effects cost the U.S. **$225 billion** or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
 * Globally, illiteracy can be linked to:
 * Gender abuse, including female infanticide and female circumcision
 * Extreme poverty (earning less than $1/day)
 * High infant mortality and the spread of HIV/Aids, malaria, and other preventable infectious diseases