We think of ourselves as a literate society, but the truth is that we’re fooling ourselves.

Just because we can read, doesn’t mean we can read. Just because we can write, does not mean we can write.

Someone who can run around the block is not called an athlete. Someone who plays a few songs on a piano is not called a musician, someone who cooks hotdogs for a living is not called a chef.

So why do we call someone who can only read simple books and cannot write a persuasive essay literate?

Unless we are educating our kids to be readers of difficult books and writers of persuasive essays, which they are perfectly capable of doing, we are short-changing them.

What Defines Literacy?

Out of curiosity, I looked up UNESCO's definition of literacy. Not surprisingly, the definition changed around the time we introduced government schools.

UNESCO used to define literacy as the ability to read and write, but now defines it with a lot of mumbo jumbo:

Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society (UNESCO, 2004; 2017).

I have no idea what they mean. Do you?

Common Sense Tells Us More

Let’s forget UNESCO and use our common sense. What if being literate only included those who could read and write about a piece of work such as The Federalist Papers or The Iliad?

We’d be in trouble, wouldn’t we?

The truth is that we are in trouble.

Take this question from the National Adult Literacy Test as an example of just how illiterate we’ve become: 

Q. Underline the sentence that tells what Ms. Chanin ate during the swim.

A. A spokesman for the swimmer, Roy Brunett, said Chanin had kept up her strength with "banana and honey sandwiches, hot chocolate, lots of water and granola bars."

Any six-year-old can make out the spelling of banana and deduce the correct sentence. How can such a simple sentence be included in a literacy test?!

What Can You Do for Your Kids?

You probably have school-age children whose education you’re concerned about. These are the years when you want to devote time to training your children's minds.

Raising and educating children today takes a lot of work; it always has. We delegate the task to the government with the consequence of raising a child who does not become all that he could become.

Mediocre is not the same as excellent, or, for that matter, even very good.

Even if you are not an accredited teacher, you can still homeschool your kids to run intellectual circles around the rest of us, or you can raise them to be consumers of silly Hollywood films.

The choice is yours.

☞ Disclaimer: This is not a politically-correct blog.

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Elizabeth Y. Hanson is an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and a Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach with 20+ years of experience working in children’s education.

Utilizing her unusual skill set, Elizabeth has developed a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child. She devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

She is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

“Elizabeth has given us counseling and guidance to help us succeed with our home school planning. When I feel overwhelmed, scared, or lose my confidence, she offers words of wisdom and support.”

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