A lot of people are unaware of the extent and effects of illiteracy in the United States, and Wayne County is no exception. This is partly because we attach a stigma to the preliterate and semiliterate, one which blames either the individual or the public school system for the persistence of illiteracy. Very often, adults with low reading skills will blame either themselves or their schools, even though, in most cases, neither is to blame. Adding to the secrecy surrounding causes of illiteracy is the sense people have that the existence of illiteracy somehow undermines the "American Dream," that if all people truly have equal opportunity then literacy rates would be higher.

In fact, not everyone has equal access to education in our country. The work of Paulo Freire (Pedagogy of the Oppressed) and John Gardner (developed theory of Multiple Intelligence) is showing that the learning process is so complex and develops so rapidly that it is extremely difficult to provide the most effective instruction at each stage of learning. In addition, all public schools must work within the constraints of a community-approved budget. Overall, public schools across the country are doing an unbelievably good job of developing appropriate curricula and approaches to better reach all students, and New York State is in the forefront of those efforts. Reading and writing abilities have increased significantly in the United States between 1985 and 1992, when comprehensive surveys were taken (National Adult Literacy Survey).

Why, then, the growing concerns about literacy? As we move from an industrial society into the Information Age, and from a national marketplace to an international one, the literacy demands on people in every demographic group have increased rapidly. In order to compete with an entire world of manufacturers, factory workers today must know how to complete reports on waste, fill out project sheets, communicate in team meetings, and use computer technology. Definitions of literacy have changed to keep pace with our country's needs, with little thought to where we started. As a result, even though reading skills are stronger now than ever before in the U.S., there is a perception that we are falling behind. And, if one looks at the gap between skills possessed and skills needed to survive today, that gap is increasing.

How does that apply to Wayne County? No study of literacy skills in Wayne County has been done, but how do we compare to the nation? In the U.S., 14.4% of 18-24 year-olds had not completed high school in 1990; in the Northeastern Region of the U.S., that number was lower, 8.8% (Goals 2000 ). In the same year in Wayne County, 28.1%, well over one in four, 18-24 year-olds had not completed high school. While the number of ethnic minorities served by LV Wayne accounts for about half the total clients (excluding migrant farmworkers), 84% of those living in Wayne County without high school diplomas are white (1990 Census of Population ). So, Wayne County should be expected to have much higher illiteracy rates than the nation as a whole (about twice as high), while ethnic minorities might be expected to have higher rates of literacy, since not only are the literacy rates of African-Americans and other minority peoples higher per capita in Wayne County, but also more minority adults per capita seek to improve their basic skills. The end result is that there is an enormous white adult population lacking basic skills in Wayne County, slightly more male than female (1990 Census of Population ).