What can we do to rid our city of this distinction? Based on the reading abilities of too many of the elementary school students I work with, this may only get worse.

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/america-s-most-and-least-literate-cities-224612878.html

Of the five least literate cities listed, all of them have the largest percentage of their population made up of Hispanics. This could explain a lot.

Good call catpaw ~ I was thinking much the same…e-books etc. are skipped in this “study”.
The study was based on this premise ~ not IF you could read but… DO you read. Surprised the resident literal sticklers missed that one ,so then race, the quality of the paper are immaterial and questionable “explanations”.
Reading opens up everything in this world and ,some believe, beyond this world… I can not imagine life without it.

Well, I hesitate in saying this, but Bakersfield culture is the issue. We live in a culture where academic achievement does not carry with it the social capital that it does in other areas. People of high learning are viewed with suspicion within some circles and anyone that examines something more than skin deep is labeled a ‘trouble maker’. The fruit of this anti-intellectualism has been an unacceptably high high school drop out rate and kids graduating from high school ill prepared for college or the work force. We also suffer from generational poverty which our government has yet to propose an adequate solution for other than-foster further poverty.

Digital readership was one of the criteria that was included in the measurement, so I presume that means e-books and/or online reading of all sorts.

Since Borders closed, I can think of only two book stores in all of Bakersfield (if you don’t count the books that are sold in places like Target, Berean, WalMart, etc.). Do a Google search of “book stores in Bakersfield, CA” and after Russo’s and B&N, do you know what the third one on the list is? Goodwill.

I tend to agree with much of what you said, T4Y. I am reminded of a portion of the speech given by Dr. Benjamin Carson at the recent National Prayer Breakfast. He mentioned how his mother made him and his brother read and do book reports that she would “review,” even though she couldn’t read most of what they wrote, because she herself only had a third grade education. But in being forced to do all that reading, Dr. Carson developed a love of reading. He would read about people who had done great things. It essentially is what freed him from the bonds of poverty, because he saw that he was the master of his own destiny. I wish my young friends and their parents would have the same realization.

Ahh, Dr. Benjamin Carson. Did that guy spank Obama or what at the prayer breakfast? As for the reading woes, perhaps Head Start may be to blame (see http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/17/obama-pre-k-plan-draw-support-for-poor-children-but-questions-on-cost/_). This was brought up on Bill O’Reilly’s show today, in which he faulted the government program for promoting “foolish” liberal concepts over reading and being symptomatic of the misuse of education as a way to expand welfare.

Guess we are reaping what we have sown by allowing society’s moral breakdown to happen and relying on government to take care of that problem.

How many Billions have we spent over the years and were still sucking hind tit ?
More money no, what then?
Education is not on family values, matter of fact childern aren’t either.
Only those that take time for their childern are passing but the trouble is fewer and fewer over the years.
It’s a losing case, times will not get better and the childern are losing out because of no care parents.
Just my thought.

We can all blame the home environment until we’re blue in the face. The breakdown of family is an unfortunate reality of the days we live in and there would need to be a fundamental shift in our social norms to change that. Their is a more parochial question of service delivery when it comes to education. If a child comes from a home environment where learning is a lifestyle, great! My nine year old son never spent a day in a classroom until his first day in kindergarten. When I was a child, kindergarten WAS the preparation year! I’m not so certain why educators felt that was not enough. My child was picking up books at three years old and counting change by the time he was 4. He was not left to fend for himself in front of a TV all day and we were very mindful of the nature of the toys he kept. He was ready for kindergarten, because we, as PARENTS, prepared him. It shocked me how we were, more or less, scolded when we enrolled him in kindergarten and had indicated that he had never been in pre-school or Head Start. We were made to feel like neglectful parents. So neglectful we were, that he was placed in GATE by his second grade year! Sometimes I have to wonder about these government programs (especially education) and ask myself whether its really about the population it’s meant to serve, or is it more about money and jobs? However, I’m not naive. I know there are homes-both rich and poor-where education is not made a priority and the home environment may not be very conducive to learning. In those cases we have a moral obligation to ask ourselves do we let the child suffer for circumstances he or she had no say so on? Too often the conservative side of the aisle (whose noble goal is to cut down on generational poverty) advocate for harsh actions that would do little impact a parent, but impact the child. The child isn’t the one sitting on his duff, refusing to work or better themselves. The child isn’t the one that chose a good for nothing father that does little to nothing to support her and mommy. The child didn’t choose the circumstances! Then the question becomes what can we do to break that cycle? Well, the answer certainly isn’t less opportunities for those kids who without Head Start wouldn’t even know what a book IS untill their kindergarten year! Not allowing these children, at least, the opportunity to start grade school having been exposed to the education lifestyle (as many of us DID benefit from-AT HOME) as those from homes where learning has been a way of life would be an unforgivable crime! Now, if the GOP issue is over style and service delivery-maybe they should be more proactive in proposing reforms to the program rather than just pull the carpet from underneath disadvantaged children.