Here is the truth, one in five people worldwide are illiterate. This means, they cannot read or write. Two-thirds of the illiterate population are women of an ethnic minority, the highest of these populations are Indian women, followed by African women. Illiteracy can be linked directly to the fact that the ethnic minorities in Western countries like the US or where I’m from, the UK, were forced to remain illiterate in order to keep them subservient, and immigrants from Africa and Latin origins have to go to further lengths to earn respect within a community.
I’m Bengali, and know from first hand experience what it’s like for people who came to a new country not knowing how to read or write. When my mother first came to the UK, she was 9 years old and she could not speak a word of English, but her father was a well educated man who worked in a court of law. He thought it was very important for my mother to get a proper education, something she found very difficult to do because of the bullying she had to endure when at school since she couldn’t speak any English. I am happy to say she has overcome these obstacles and is now a nurse, speaking perfect English. This was something that I experienced first hand. I know how hard it was for my mother in the UK; she had to work harder than every person in her class because she was from a different country, and didn’t have the privileges of knowing how to read or write when she first came.
I recently read the novel Push by Sapphire, following the story of an illiterate girl called Claireece Precious Jones, a 16-year-old girl who lives in Harlem with her abusive mother Mary. Precious is kicked out of her school, where they did not even know she was illiterate, and made to go to an alternative school called Each One Teach One. This school was for young women below the eighth grade reading level and therefore unqualified for high school level courses. Her teacher, Ms. Blue Rain believes that the only way to learn is to write every day. By the time the novel ends, the students have created a collection of autobiographies, highlighting the struggles they have faced in their life and why education has made them move on to a better place, both mentally and physically. This shows us how important education is in today’s society. Unfortunately, people who are born and raised in ethnic minorities are more likely to be at a lower reading level than that of their peers, so they have to work harder to get to the same level as them.
In conclusion, ethnicity plays a major role in terms of educational success. The real problems involved with being illiterate affect critical parts of life, such as applying for a loan, signing contracts or even getting basic job training. People who can’t read or write are severely limited in what they can do, and this disproportionately affects minority ethnic communities..
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