Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 06/Sep 09:16

The high price

DARA HEALY “Illiteracy, illiteracy is man's greatest enemy. It's your duty, yes your duty, stamp it out completely. Ignorance always impedes progress, education saves you much distress. So learn, learn, learn, as much as you can. This nation's future is in your hands.” Mighty Sparrow, Education is Essential What would your world be like if you could not read or write? I mean simple tasks like writing a note to your child’s teacher, filling out a slip at the bank or reading labels in the grocery. For too many of us, this is a hidden reality, with repercussions for our whole society. It is an interesting confluence that on the day that thousands of children return to school, the UN will commemorate International Literacy Day. The focus this year is Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era. Although an important theme, my concern is that as the world progresses towards new forms of learning, the most vulnerable amongst us are struggling to achieve even basic levels of understanding. The UN rightly describes literacy as “a fundamental human right for all. It opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship.” Literacy goes beyond being able to read. It is about one’s comfort with numbers or expressing ideas, and, in today’s world being digitally competent. Unfortunately, in marginalised communities, the truth is far from this ideal. For instance, there are children who miss school because they need to accompany their parent or guardian to assist them with personal transactions. As one retired school principal told me, these parents often manage to hide the fact that they cannot read by personally coming in to speak with the teacher or getting family members to fill out paperwork. Then, there are the adults who are relegated to low income jobs because they are unable to access better opportunities. And the women who endure dehumanising, abusive relationships because they depend on their abuser for food and shelter. Globally, although literacy levels have improved, it is estimated that there are still over 700 million young people and adults who do not have the basic skills they need to enjoy a comfortable life. As such, a growing emphasis on digital learning can only further marginalise already vulnerable people. This is described as “double marginalisation – exclusion not only from traditional literacy learning but also from the benefits of the digital age.” This week, I had an intense debate with a father of two young children comparing the practice of reading from a book with digital learning or reading. For him, the twenty-first century requires a high level of proficiency with digital content. In his assessment, since devices are a factor of modern life, digital learning will be increasingly normalised and so will reading online. Perhaps, but scholars consistently rate reading from a physical book as better for retaining information, cognitive development and critical thinking. Further, I never thought about it before, but reading from a book actually delivers a sensory experience as well. As one researcher described it, “touching, seeing, feeling, even smelling the book...” create a unique and deeper learning experience. Improving our literacy rate is not impossible. The importance of libraries in underserved communities is critical. Additionally, library cards should be issued to all primary-level children. Time should be allocated as part of their school experience to go to the library to engage with physical books. This will encourage discipline, consistency and help reduce anti-social behaviour. We should also be concerned that TT is now a place where displaced children live. As part of our organisation’s outreach for carnival, we engaged Venezuelan children in a Kalinda session. It was extremely well received, even with the difference in language. Currently, there are efforts to support bi-lingual learning through the creation of child-friendly books and other approaches. However, these are not enough. A comprehensive, empathetic policy around the education of migrant children is urgent. As thousands of children re-enter schools next week, we should weigh the cost of making books and libraries widely available to our population against the price of inaction. Our low levels of literacy continue to expose us to crime, abuse and the vicious cycle of families in peril. It is not too late to listen to the advice of the Mighty Sparrow and other artists. Illiteracy is our greatest enemy, let us stamp it out completely. Dara E. Healy is a performing artist and founder of the Idakeda Group, a cultural organisation dedicated to empowering communities through the arts. The post The high price appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.