Trying to unscramble all those words

Despite the fact that Canada is an industrialized country, the problem of low literacy exists. According to ABC Canada, 22 per cent of adult Canadians have serious problems dealing with any printed materials. An additional 24 per cent of Canadians can only deal with simple reading tasks.
Statistics Canada defines literacy as “the information processing skills needed to use the printed material commonly encountered at work, home or in the community.” The term illiteracy is no longer used because it isn’t an all or nothing skill. Illiteracy affects a very small percentage of the Canadian population, less than five per cent. “We prefer to use the term ‘low literacy skills’ which is a more accurate description of what we are talking about,” says Alexandra Dunsmuir, the director of communications at ABC Canada.
ABC Canada is a national registered charitable organization in Toronto that is committed to promoting literacy to the general public and to the private sector. It started in 1990, with a focus on creating and conducting public awareness campaigns, providing promotional support to local literacy groups, and conducting research to further the development of a fully literate Canada.
When it comes to the levels of literacy, Dunsmuir says there are five levels. At the first level, 22 per cent of Canadians have difficulty reading simple texts and using printed information. Twenty-six per cent of Canadians are at the second level and have limited reading skills. They can only deal with simple, and clearly laid out material. When it comes to level three, 31 per cent of Canadians are considered to have the minimum requisite literacy skills for today’s workplace and would have difficulty in doing things such as executing complicated information searches. Twenty-one per cent of Canadians are at the fourth and fifth levels meaning they can combine several pieces of information, solve complex problems and handle most reading challenges.
Dunsmuir points out that most of the quoted statistics one hears come from the report Statistics Canada released in 1996 that included results from the International Adult Literacy Survey. The Survey examined literacy levels of adults aged 16 and up, from 22 countries.
The results were that “five million adult Canadians have serious problems with reading, writing, and math.” Unfortunately, less than 10 per cent of those Canadians who could benefit from literacy programs actually enroll.
On a provincial level, Quebec has many literacy-promoting organizations. Students for Literacy is a Concordia-based branch of Frontier College. Frontier College is a national, volunteer-based literacy organization in Toronto which has been active since 1899 and is concerned with teaching people to read and write. Since the spring of 1992, Students for Literacy, a student-run volunteer program, has been dealing with adult literacy, providing after-school programs, and tutoring for people mostly outside the university. “Because there’s a lower percentage focused on adult literacy, we focus on one-on-one tutoring,” says Anick Dionne, the F.C. Students for Literacy program co-ordinator.
At the moment, there are approximately 40 active tutors involved, but SFL is always recruiting more volunteers. Dionne says that the Students for Literacy program is active at almost every university campus in Canada and is also offered in French in provinces with a French-speaking population. Students for Literacy has also begun working with The Montreal Gazette’s education program that provides workshops to show how to effectively use the newspaper as a learning/teaching tool.
Having worked at Students for Literacy for six years, literacy is something Dionne strongly believes in. “It’s the foundation for everything we do on a daily basis. It affects everything we do from the time we get up to the time we go to bed. Reading signs, taking medication. Reading, writing and numeracy are part of everyday living. It’s like water.” She also advocates volunteering at SFL. “I think it’s a good learning experience for students. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we’ve taken in until we help someone,” she says. “It’s nice to see young people giving something back to the community.”
Students for Literacy and similar organizations as well as the general public have easy access to information through The Centre for Literacy of Quebec. Based at Dawson College, the resource centre has been in existence as an independent entity since 1991. It is a non-profit organization concerned with promoting literacy, supporting improvement in literacy practice, and informing the public.
While there is no significant statistical difference in low literacy levels between males and females, Linda Shohet, the founder and Executive Director of The Centre for Literacy of Quebec, points out how “there are more women who seek out help and more in post-secondary education.”
What must be remembered is that Western Canada and Ontario generally have higher literacy skills than Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Quebec’s drop out rate is 16 per cent, tied with Prince Edward Island for the highest in the country. Also, study after study has shown that men are twice as likely to drop out as women. Fortunately, access to education has improved in Quebec. “You can move up through upgrading and schooling. If you don’t use your skills, they can deteriorate,” she says.
When it comes to literacy promotion, various special days or weeks are dedicated to it. Although Family Literacy Day (Jan. 27) has passed, Reading Week is from Feb. 16-24 in Quebec followed by Freedom To Read Week from Feb. 24 -March 2. Canada Book Day is April 23. The problem, however, is that low literacy still does not receive its much deserved attention.
“There’s a lot more being done now than in the past, but more has to be done,” says Dionne. Funding is important as is providing programs for adults and students and raising public awareness. “I think it’s important for all the coalitions of Canada to get together. There’s definitely more that could be done.”

If you have a literacy problem and want to get help or are interested in volunteering, you can contact Students for Literacy at 848-7454, stop by the centre in room SC03-5 on the Loyola campus or at [email protected]
The Centre for Literacy of Quebec can be reached at 931-8731 ext. 1415, or you can visit them located at Dawson college in room is 4b.1-6 or at [email protected] Its website is www.nald.ca/litcent.html

Related Posts

Read more
This past academic year at The Concordian has been one for the books. Between onboarding a mostly-new staff…