He Said, She Said, Readers are Leaders | Word for Word

I love words, consume books and groan at what passes for humor on today’s raunchy situation comedies. Words create life: “Will you marry me?” Movements: “I have a dream…” And freedom: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

But words are no longer in vogue. In fact, for the first time since our nation’s founding we may on the verge of losing our independence not from war, but from a steady retreat from the realm of reading.

More than 60% of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate. Over 70% cannot read above a fourth grade level. Children who have not developed basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are four times more likely to drop out of school.

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