Yesterday a retired couple came into my work and began talking their daughter. They said she just started working as a Spanish teacher in a Memphis high school and, after only a month, is demoralized and considering a career change.
Why?
Because, according to this couple, many of her students don’t know the alphabet.
The English alphabet.
How are they supposed to learn a second language when they don’t know the fundamentals of their first?
I wish this couple was just blowing smoke up my hillbilly ass, but this is doubtful. This anecdotal report just underscores our nation’s atrocious literacy rate. According to a Livescience post on Dept. of Education findings, 14% of adults are functionally illiterate.
