The writing is on the wall for child literacy [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 19 February 2011
Child literacy is not a priority on the political or public agenda. This must change, writes Eleanor McClorey IT’S time to spell it out — Ireland has a child literacy emergency.
One afternoon last month four children from Ballymun were collected from primary school by their families and bundled into taxis heading for Kildare Street. Once there, they set about putting up posters with a difference outside the Dáil. One poster read: It’s time to spell it out. Ireland has a national literacy emergency. Another: Mark my words. Literacy is the key to my future.
The children and their families were part of “youngballymun” — a new agency for change in services to children and families at risk of poverty, disadvantage and marginalisation.
The fun over, the children trooped into Buswells Hotel and sat patiently through the launch of youngballymun’s 5 Literacy Lessons for the next Government. However, they didn’t get to meet any politicians because none of the political parties attended the launch.
Unfortunately, this was not at all surprising since child literacy is not, and never has been, high on the political or public agenda. Collectively, we have been bystanders to Ireland’s literacy emergency. The PISA study in December 2010 found that one in every six children in Ireland has poor literacy skills. Other studies have found the rate to be as high as one in three for children in disadvantaged communities. In the last 10 years, Ireland has fallen dramatically from 5th to 17th place internationally.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
