Today is International Literacy Day! For more information about this day, go to http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/literacy/. There are around a billion people who are either illiterate or reading below basic levels. Most of these people live in developing countries and around two-thirds are women. While most people in developed countries do learn to read, there are billions of people who read only at basic levels. Many people assume that reading problems occur only in lower socioeconomic families, but in the US around 32% of fourth graders who could not read at a basic level had parents who graduated from college. (Campbell, Jay, et al. NAEP 1994 Reading Report Card for the Nation and the States: Findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and Trial State Assessment).

The goal of many organizations is to eliminate or virtually eliminate illiteracy. We share that goal and we also strive to help people read at higher levels by teaching written language during a child’s natural window of opportunity for learning language.

Tomorrow, I will write more about how to help your child learn to read!