The power of literacy

It was interesting to read all the articles and understand the diverse challenges faced by cities in order to improve the reach and quality of basic education: Some cities’ main challenge is still focused on reducing the high illiteracy rates. Some other cities that are already advanced in this aspect are facing problems with quality issues that go beyond basic reading and writing, such as being able to ensure dwellers can operate computers and face the complex challenges of today’s digitalized world.

I think that there some additional challenges worth highlighting, including the need for better education for teachers in order to be better educators. No matter the efforts to improve education in various cities, if teachers and professors aren’t trained as well, it is difficult to improve the overall quality of their teachings. An additional challenge, as Carlin points out in her article, is the importance of educators to strengthen alternative methods of education for disabled children and other children, who might not be disabled, but don’t follow the standardized methods of education.

Carlin, I really liked the article about the initiative to diagnose learning disabilities in Mumbai. Is there available documentation on how the organization is carrying out this work? Is there a specific methodology being used? How are teachers being trained to spot learning disabilities?

Catalina, one of the big issues is that students with Learning Disabilities (LDs) are being identified too late, mainly because teachers, parents and administrators are unaware of the signs that a student may be having difficulties. Mimaansa trains teachers to look for identifying factors in children, including delays in speech and delay of difficulty in motor development. Difficulties show up differently in various subject areas as well (ie, reading comprehension and mathematical calculations).

Mimaansa has a four-part program that starts with outreach to "teach, identify and remediate" students with LD. They also work on school development to build capacity within the target schools. Simultaneously, the program works on building child motivation, despite their difficulties, and helping parents to provide better guidance to their child.

As Cata points out, the articles this week show that — with the possible exception of Cairo — the interest in government an NGOs is shifting from literacy to post-literacy issues. As literacy rates come closer to 100%, it becomes obvious that being able to read is just the beginning. Rising awareness of learning disabilities — these students were often labeled as lazy or careless until their conditions were identified —, the need to focus on certain groups, or digital literacy are the issues identified by the URB.IM community. This is not to underestimate the importance of the remaining people who still cannot read, but concepts such as functional literacy or digital literacy are becoming increasingly important.

Thanks Jorge for bringing up the fact that Cairo is different from the other cities in this regard. I was actually really disheartened when I read your comment but when I reread all of articles, I realized that Cairo is behind in regards to achieving even basic education for its inhabitants. Now, more than ever with the ongoing political uncertainty, the implications of high illiteracy rates will have a huge impact for the economic and social development of the country. What does this mean in regards to a new constitution? How do politicians share and explain their policies to voters?

However the example from Cairo differs again this week because the solution does not only come from the interest of the "government" or "NGOs" has you mentioned, but there is a vested interest from the private sector. In the same way that development targets move forward from basic literacy to post-literacy issues, social development actors have also progressed to include the private sector. While it could be argued that the private sector is seeking to tap into new markets to increase their bottom line, one cannot argue the many other indirect benefits that can be achieved by increasing the literacy rate in Cairo and other areas of Egypt. Right now everyone in Cairo is hoping it comes sooner rather than later.

Howaida Kamel
Community Manager, Cairo | URB.im

Esta semana urb.im aborda un tema fundamental, pues bien considero que la educación básica es la base que abre puertas para generar diversas estrategias de vida en poblaciones vulnerables. Por ejemplo, un ciclo vicioso presente en las comunidades rurales y semiurbanas es la falta de habilidades para poder obtener un empleo, pues el entorno mismo no promueve la preparación en la gente. En este sentido, la lecto-escritura es una herramienta para que la gente pueda desarrollar otros tipos de actividades que generen un ingreso para los hogares. No obstante en México uno de los problemas de la medición del analfabetismo es que no distingue los niveles de esta habilidad, pues con solo saber leer y escribir una persona ya no se considera analfabeta, sin embargo hay otros factores socioculturales que se encuentran relacionados, como es el uso de las lenguas indígenas frente a una economía dominada por el castellano. Así mismo, el analfabetismo se acompaña de la desigualdad en el acceso a la educación media y superior para que las personas continúen su preparación y fortalezcan sus habilidades.

I was heartened to read that South American cities have gotten past the challenge of illiteracy and, as Jorge puts it, moved on to post-literacy issues.

Kenya has, over the past decades, managed to reach an almost 90% literacy rate which is an important figure. However the quality of education has also suffered and teachers are often unprepared and uncomfortable teaching in English which is the most common language taught in schools. With illiteracy becoming less of a pressing problem, the time has come for the country's decision makers to focus on how to really improve the overall quality of education in order to help form a generation of intelligent, dynamic and above all critical citizens.

The Sao Paulo "Minha Biblioteca" initiative is really important and I wish there was more projects of this kind around the world. Reading need not be the preserve of the well educated classes but if a culture of reading is entirely absent, it is really difficult to pull people in. It saddens me when I see how many people don't read books as I feel that their importance for individual and group development cannot be underestimated. One of the great aspects of the English language is the huge volume of books that get published for people of all ages. In order to get kids reading there need to be books that are relevant to them yet often these books are not published in large enough quantities. In Kenya people are lucky enough to have English as one of the two main languages yet there is a severe shortage of Swahili language children's books (with the exception of Christian ones) which is a shame.

Reading books helps develop critical thinking and imagination... without which new generations of leaders cannot hope to tackle the problems that face cities today!

Katy Fentress
URB.IM - Nairobi Community Manager
@whatktdoes

Hello fellow commenters,

I, too, truly believe that knowing how to read and write leads to securing a life of security, development, and awareness. It leads to having the knowledge and mindset that creates a better world in every aspect. I am looking for the opportunity to teach classes in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I would love to teach the youth and adults of literature, science, history, chemistry, and more. This, I plan to teach the ones in poverty. My fathers side of the family have always lacked in the resources that would lead them to continuing their education, growing up. Therefor, I would really like to educate the poor. If anyone out there is in an organization or a group of volunteers or, anything really that provides education to the poor in Dhaka, please comment below. I am seeking this opportunity to gain experience that I can include in papers, and to start my journey on to helping the world's poverty.