African-American Literacy Education

A significant correlation between race and poverty exists, with Black and Hispanic Americans three times more likely to be impoverished than White Americans (Proctor and Dalaker 2002). The cycle of poverty and low-literacy functioning is well documented, as is the achievement gap between White students and students of color. Race is a persistent factor in employment statistics, educational attainment, and the acquisition of literacy skills, with significantly higher unemployment rates and lower educational attainment rates among Black and Hispanic Americans than among White Americans. The literature on learner attrition and on resistance to participation in adult literacy programs suggests that the

According to the author, education was not bestowed upon African-American by enlightened citizens. Literacy is viewed as a valuable commodity that African-Americans have had limited opportunities to acquire. And for them becoming literate is perceived as continuous struggle. So Literacy serves emancipatory function when appropriate to reconstruct a society, so it limits access to those who are not literate to participate in all cultural institutions. According to Harris, European American do not fully support the education of African-American and would prefer not to fund it at the levels comparable to funding for their children and would prefer curricula that do not enable African –American to compete with their children for access to high education and possibly opportunities .

Thinking about the struggle that lead to the emergence of Black studies departments in America, with help from students and teachers, to understanding today based on past failures what the right kind of education looks like, feels like and the outcomes it produces, it becomes clear that the legacy of educating Black people to have white minds is still in play. Additionally, after all that Black studies departments have accomplished, a return back to communal involvement/community service as a requirement for students within these departments, keeps the legacy of what fostered Black Student Unions and departments to form in the first place, this particularly being valuing intellectual growth

research topic, in the 1880, fully 71 percent of all black male in the range of 10-14 were illiterate which implies that illiteracy in this group is a generational issue. This research from data can be used to compare recent data that will be collected. Alternatively, high rate of adult illiteracy in the black community derived from slavery which had a huge impact on African –American economic success. In order to make the result of my research more efficient, these collections of data will be to demonstrate that by improving illiteracy rate in the black’s community, African-American can change their ways of living, in addition, this information could be used to prove children of illiterate parents are more likely to drop –out of school and

In the early colonies of /Eastern America, education was vital to the civilization of their new world. As immigrants from Europe, they heavily relied on their own intellect, or the common knowledge of their own country. All the ideas and intellectual knowledge of their home country was typically the only education they can fully trust as they begin their journey to a new civilized country.

therefore it cannot be totally revolved unless their mindset has changed. According to another research done in the past, in the 1880, fully 71 percent of all black male in the range of 10-14 were illiterate. Another problem of illiteracy rate among African-American is the low involvement of parent’s in their children success. Children of illiterate parents are more likely to drop –out of school and more likely to not be able to read or write if parents are not so involved in their lives. Many actions and efforts have been taken in place to improve illiteracy among blacks. Although nowadays, libraries have become associated with technology and non-print resources, scholars, teachers, librarians and other academics recognize the importance of

African American literacy levels compared to its counterparts, according to KIDS COUNT Data Center stated White male students are three times more likely to be reading proficiently in the fourth grade than their African-American

Many years ago, African American children were seen as a forgotten population. Coming from slaves to free blacks with few rights was a triumph of some; unfortunately the access to education was the goal. Not having the ability to earn or receive an adequate education was part of the downfall for African Americans these years. As the years continued, African Americans fought for their rights for education. Education pioneers such as; the case Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka, the Talented Tenth, and the Affirmative Action policies have helped shape the state of African American education in the 21st century. The term Sankofa has been passed down from generation to keep the hope and culture of African

The African American males access to higher learning is detrimental to the United States economy. The social conditions that plague African American males in their quest for college degrees are very obvious. For more than 40 years, the African American male has been missing in action from higher learning institutions by a margin of 50:1. In this paper, I will explore the problems and the critical actions needed for correction.

The use of formal and informal reading assessments provide important data that allow educators to identify at risk students (Tompkins, 2010). The data collected from the assessments address any factors that may prohibit the development of students’ reading and writing skills. In addition to the assessments, the more an educator can learn about students’ backgrounds and their past reading, language development, and writing experiences the more instructional strategies can be designed to specifically meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.

One of the biggest problems Americans face today is a US student’s underwhelming academic performance. When compared to other countries, the United States comes in 18th place in math literacy and 25th place in reading literacy. The problem is not just a standard problem throughout the country, as there is much variation between graduation and subject literacy rates, with huge differences also between schools alone. These statistics are disappointing because the US is considered one of the largest world powers. The disparities in American students academic achievement is also detrimental because they are less able to compete in the global market place. Many things have been used to explain this disparity but race has often led as the main

growing even wider due to a verity of reasons. According to the National Assessment of

There is a reason it used to be a crime in the Confederate states to teach a slave to read: Literacy is power (Matt Taibbi). Literacy and language are too structured but is also well needed in life to succeed. The complex structure of literacy can often create difficulties for students. The way that people are taught to write and speak in school is very different from the way people learned from their parents. Being African American in a “White Nation” has complications especially dealing with literacy and language. Often times many people compare races to each other as if any two races can’t be similar. This action soon leads to races pinning against each other.

About 20 percent of elementary students nationwide have significant problems learning to read. At least 20 percent of elementary students do not read fluently enough to enjoy or engage in independent reading. The rate of reading failure for AfricanAmerican, Hispanic, limited-English speakers and poor children ranges from 60 percent to 70 percent. One-third of poor readers nationwide are from college-educated families. Twenty-five percent of adults in this country lack the basic literacy skills required in a typical job.

There is a strong correlation between student illiteracy and poverty. 25% of children in America never learn how to read. Children who grow up in poverty stricken areas have extremely limited exposure to reading materials. In addition, children living in poverty experience challenges in obtaining nutritional food and tend to live in an unsafe environment, which can affect educational advancement. “According to the Heart of America foundation, 61 percent of families living in poverty do not have children's books in their homes. Consequently, children living in poverty already have a 50 percent weaker vocabulary than their wealthier peers at the start of school” (Hart). Along with the lack of reading materials, lacking proper