What's so special about literacy anyways?

From the lay American's point of view, literacy seems like such a basic, commonplace piece of knowledge. After all, literacy rates in America are above 97%. So, what exactly is the big hubub over literacy exactly?

To add to the questions to literacy's importance, I have found many in my research who find that literacy should not be used as a metric of education in developing countries. Occupational skills, they often argue, are much more important.

More and more, it seems as if literacy is under attack in terms of its vitality to developing countries. However, for a country to develop, and for the illiterate individual to develop, literacy is immensely important. In fact, I would argue that literacy is the most important piece of knowledge an individual and a culture can have.

Firstly, literacy is extremely useful for anyone around the world today. Without literacy, one can only learn from word of mouth, which is a useful technique in and of itself. But if one wants to learn something that is not known within one's circle or friends, or if one simply wishes to learn more about the world, than literacy is the only way that learning can occur. Additionally, a literate individual can pick up new skills by reading about them much quicker than an individual who can't read.

Imagine an illiterate woman coming to a developed country. For the natives of that developed country, the billboards, signs, and menus are a wealth of information. But for this immigrant, these sources of information are merely sources of confusion, and perhaps resentment and embarrassment. This illiterate immigrant is clearly at a disadvantage in developed society.

In addition to the benefits literacy affords individuals, countries and societies gain from a literate population as well. Literate populations are more educated, can output more industrially, can understand government documents, follow government directives better, and understand more about the world. It makes sense then that every country that does not have a high literacy rate is trying desperately to do so.

Perhaps the most important thing about literacy is that it is the building block to further education. Anyone with literacy problems or dyslexia will attest that it is difficult to learn without the fundamental foundation that literacy provides.

I hope my readers will now understand just why literacy is so important, and why I value it so.