an instrument of freedom

The circumstances into which children are born, their gender, the wealth of their parents, their language or the colour of their skin should not define their educational opportunities.  Ending inequality’s ‘lottery by birth’ is perhaps one the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. The challenge is one that concerns all nations, since in a globalized world poverty and suffering do not remain confined within borders, but spill over in the form of conflict for scarce resources, mass migration and environmental degradation.

I became interested in this social problem after watching the movie, “The Reader” – based off the novel by German law professor and judge, Bernhard Schlink.

more on the movie & trailer: http://www.thereader-movie.com/

*warning: spoilers*

Hanna (Kate Winslet) is illiterate and she has always been ashamed of this fact.  During her love affair with Michael (David Kross), she makes him read to her,  hence the title – The Reader.

The part of the movie that moved me the most was when Michael (Ralph Fiennes), trying to come to terms with his feelings for Hanna, begins taping readings of books and sending them to her without any correspondence while she is in prison.  Hanna begins to teach herself to read, and then write in a childlike way, by borrowing the books from the prison library and following the tapes along in the text.

I begin to research about this problem – literacy.  Education comes to us so easily, it feels like a given but little do we know, illiteracy and education problems plagues much of this world today.

Some causes of illiteracy:

1. Economic backwardness of the people.

2. Poverty

3. Ineffective implementation of educational programs in rural areas.

4. Lack of entrepreneurship by the educated masses to share and spread knowledge.

5. Preference to work rather than to study (lack of motivation/need recognition)

This issue matters to me because literacy is a fundamental instrument of freedom.   Education as a means of self-improvement. Literacy does not directly give you monetary or material wealth but mental wealth – the wealth of knowledge.  Being able to read and write is a right entitled to everyone.   It pains me when I watch clips of children starving and living it the unbearable, meager conditions.  It pains me to no lesser degree that the 8 year old child has never been read to nor does she have the ability to read or write her own name.