Scary

I didn't know that 42 percent of Canadians 16 to 65 years of age do not have the minimum literacy skills to cope with everyday life.

I didn't know that 80 percent of inmates are almost illiterate.

I didn't know that five to 15 percent of school children are reading-delayed.  If they don't master reading by grade three, they will never catch up.

I didn't know that people with low literacy skills are twice as likely to be unemployed.

I didn't know that 50 percent of adults with low literacy skills live below the poverty line.

I didn't know that literacy problems cost Canadians $10 billion a year. 

This is scandalous in a country where teachers are some of the highest-paid professionals in any category.

There is something terribly wrong here.  Educated in the good, old Ontario system of the fifties, I remember having learnt to read in grade one.  They used phonics, which some smarty-pants officials in Toronto dropped for a generation.  Dumb.  I think it's back and it's what works. 

Someone needs to give their head a shake.