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781 MILLION ADULTS and 126 million young people around the world lack basic literacy skills, meaning reading and spelling is difficult for them.
Here in Ireland, we tend to take the ability to read and write for granted, but one in 10 children leave Irish primary schools with serious literacy difficulties.
In disadvantaged schools, this figure rises to one in three. This Monday, 8 September, is International Literacy Day, and Suas Educational Development is hoping this will put the issue of literacy on the national agenda.
Educational disadvantage
Suas works to eradicate educational disadvantage, both here in Ireland and abroad. Around Ireland in 2013, Suas facilitated 46 literacy programmes, benefiting 650 young people.
Suas targets people who face the greatest challenges in reading and spelling, working with those who score below the 15th percentile in Ireland. It says that 79% of the students participating in the programmes have improved their literacy score.
Helina O’Donoghue is the project officer for Suas’ Literary Support Programme. Since 2011, Suas has gone from one or two partner schools to 38 partner schools.
“The demand and need is definitely there,” she said.
O’Donoghue said that sometimes literacy issues can go unnoticed.
Sometimes as the curriculum gets harder and as the child progresses, they really can miss that mark and can fall through a gap, and might not be able to keep up with the level of literacy as it increases.
This gap tends to be during the ages of eight to 14, during the transition from primary to secondary school.
“It can really come through behaviourally. Kids can act out, or be disruptive or not focused in school. It’s not their behaviour, it’s that they’re struggling with academics.”
She said there are many reasons why this can happen, such as a lack of a culture around literacy in the home.
Suas works with schools to help boost literacy rates, and every Deis school would have a literacy plan, said O’Donoghue.
She said it was “astonishing” to hear recent statistics that showed that in 2011, one in nine children left primary school without sufficient literacy, while this increased to one in three children in disadvantaged areas.
Suas’s two interventions include paired reading, and for children with a lower rate of literacy, the AccelRead AccelWrite programmes, which are computer based.
Definitely education starts in the home. It comes on in leaps and bounds when parents are encouraging.
O’Donoghue praised the Department of Education for its Time to Read programme that involves libraries.
But she said there are schools that are missing out when it comes to literacy, often due to resources and teacher time.
“I definitely believe in the power of community and the power of volunteering,” said O’Donoghue. “International Literacy Day is to recognise the importance of literacy – whether we realise it or not, we are all very lucky to have it.”
Looking for volunteers
Suas’ Literacy Support Programmes are carried out by over 800 volunteers, and more volunteers are needed for the AcceleRead AcceleWrite programmes in Dublin, Waterford, Cork and Galway.
For more information, visit the Suas website.
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Such a shame. I visited Tunisia 3 years ago with my wife and had an amazing week. Fabulous food and culture, bright and engaging locals, beautiful hotels and beaches. Everything you could want in a holiday resort. The Tunisians have worked tirelessly toward a democracy and the country has been in a really good place of late.
It’s a real shame to see the murderous intentions of the radical few having such an effect on a great nation of good people who deserve better.
More than a ‘radical few’ I suspect, there are hundreds of Tunisians with Isis fighting in Syria and they are getting their training in Libya. It is right for tourists to know what the stakes are when planning their holidays in the Middle East and North Africa. According to Ch4 news Gaza is being infiltrated by Isis and attacking the borders between Egypt and Israel.
what a shame for the people of the country who depend on the tourists.
If I was there, and I was advised to leave by security people/dept of foreign affairs, I would definitely leave.
Having said that, part of me feels that, by leaving the country, the terrorists win. And that sucks big time.
No brainer in fairness.
Discussed on the radio earlier, would seem that your travel insurance will not now cover you in Tunisia.
Don’t worry, you won’t have to travel to North Africa to find Islamic terror. The LÉ Eithne is bringing it here to Europe.
It occurs to me that as Westerners are not safe to travel to Tunisia now, as it’s such a tourism dependent country, it’d be great if large numbers of Muslims booked holidays there…………… . It’d keep the tourism economy going in Tunisia and it’d also be a protest against those who abuse Islam for their own barbaric aims..
Right now i’d say Tunisia is one of the safest places on the planet. Tourists stop going, the locals lose their jobs and ISIS swoops in to scoop up the disaffected unemployed, Crazy .
So by your reckoning if a fanatical muslim shooots dead nearly 40 innocent tourists, who are merely enjoying the hospitality of the local scenery and people, then the local population will blame the western tourists for the resultant loss in jobs etc, and this will result in further radicalisation and death.
If this is the case the I think Declan Nerny said it best….”stop the world and let me off!”
Ps, those are his only lyrics I know. Don’t judge me!
“To think “LONG”and hard”?What a contriction of the warning, wouldn’t want to take too long now wouldn’t that be in itself risky? !
Lots of liked palm leaf comments getting likes but if that’s your thing c’est la vie.
For the department of foreign affairs to come out with such wisdom now is rather shameful! We have navy assets in the area but we’re operating with zero intel against local elements trafficking and worse!
Solution – Rangers on the ships, strike where there’s doubt and perhaps apologise later but we won’t be burying 3 or more innocents from overseas!
Closer to home is where all other assets should be placed!
That’s a silly statement. The warning is based on UK intelligence. Our ship in the Mediterranean is not on a war mission,to do what you suggest would mean big trouble for us back home.
Exactly because it’s based on UK intel is why I said the Dept of F.A. are clowns – if their threat levels are to be solely based on UK intel they could merely retweet the UK statements and we could sack the PR person. SAve the country 40k maybe.
I’m for proper action against terrorists. No thing as being neutral in such circumstances or thinking a white flag will protect us. I still feel ill at the thought that during the Gadaffi overthrow, the Irish media were supporting those that have become ISIS. Even giving several young men air time on the likes of Joe Duffy. Can’t bury our heads in the sand about this as these mofo’s aren’t going away anytime soon!
Chicinho has watched one two many action movies – as cool as it would be to have the Army Ranger Wing go in an take out ISIS.
have your say