The main question I hope to answer with my research is are the initiatives targeting the correct problem to help lower the illiteracy rates? After researching child and adult illiteracy I have come to find many initiatives that have been put into place to try and improve this problem. Illiteracy has been a constant problem for many years and what you will find is that even with efforts to combat it the numbers have stayed practically the same. 

The reason I am interested in this question is because in recent years it has been something that I am involved in as well as something I have seen effect people personally. I was homeschooled from second grade to eighth grade. Throughout that time, I knew many children who were well above the age of learning how to read getting pulled out of the local public schools because of their inability to read at the expected level. That being said after joining my sorority and learning about our philanthropy read, lead, achieve, I learned that a large number of adults are going, through life without the basic skill of reading. This made me realize even more how lucky those I knew had parents who were able to teach them how to read after the school system failed and that it is a much larger problem that what we have all been made aware of. The research I have been doing affects me only in the way that I have come to realize how important the proper education is. Also that education is effected by generation. Although there are after school programs and centers that could help children learn how to read they do not always offer these programs to the parents or other adults who may need them as well. In my personal experience with dealing with those who have gone through this it is often that books are not accessible to the children or that no one has taken the time with them to make sure they are understanding in the early stages when teaching them how to read. I am qualified to write about the illiteracy rates and the initiatives put forth to reduce them because of the involvement and experiences I have directly relating me to the issue as well as the research I have done to educate myself on the topic.

My first source is the article by Maddie Crum off of the Huffington post called "The U.S. Illiteracy Rate Hasn't Changed in 10 Years" The main purpose of the article is to point out that despite the recent efforts the illiteracy rates have not improved in the last ten years. It also points out several alarming statistics such as that 14% of adults display "below average" reading abilities and only 29% actually display the average. The article also stated that the Department of Justice presented the fact that 85% of juveniles who are in the court system are functionally illiterate. This articles purpose is to raise awareness that the illiteracy rates, despite many efforts to improve the education system, have not changed. The interests of this article was to call attention to the lack of improvement even after initiatives putting in place, some of which were backed by Barbra Bush during her time as first lady. The article was using these statistics and facts to raise awareness that what has been put in place hasn't done anything to improve the illiteracy rates. The source uses statistics from other sources that are more credible for the research. The bias of the article is that not enough is being done to improve illiteracy rates. Another view point the article stresses is that not enough people realize what a large problem this is for the United States and that there has been no recent improvement.

My Second source is by Penni Wild on "The Shameful Secret of Illiteracy in America" The article describes how the problem of illiteracy often goes unnoticed because they are often able to go through daily life using context clues and following what others have told them to do but in reality most people who have tested to be illiterate can only read at a sixth grade level. The interest of this article is to call attention to the issue but also to the economic issues cause by the people who cannot get or hold a job because of their literacy levels. The title hints that not many people realize what a large problem this is and this article is trying to raise awareness. The source should be fact checked but is written by an investigative author who writes editorials on popular and controversial issues. The bias is that because the education system has failed the past generation it is making more difficult for the current generation to become literate due to the fact often the children who are struggling have illiterate parents as well

My third source is by Sheida White and it is called "The Occurrence of Low Literacy Among X Adults in U.S. States and Counties. Research and Development Report NCES 2010" this article summarizes the method used to determine illiteracy rates in the united states and the examples are taken from below basic literacy efficiency rates for adults in English, and reading English prose. The interest of this article is to present the statistics of the results of the illiteracy testing as well as explain the methods used to test to test illiteracy. This is to educate and report to the proper department. This source is credible because not only has it been peer reviewed and it is an official document from the national center for education statistics. This is a report of information so it was presented completely and unbiased.

My research question could be argued because the way literacy is tested is not one hundred percent full proof as well as the initiatives may be all that is possible for others to do to help. Because these three sources are all describing the statistics and how they are found there is not much disagreeing but they all agree that the awareness of the issue is not high enough and that there has not been much improvement. The different perspectives report the same thing because they cannot argue the numbers. I will need to make my research question more specific and possibly expand the question to include a specific initiative instead of speaking so generally.

