Literacy and socioeconomic status
The socioeconomic status of an individual is measured by examining the occupation, income, and the educational qualifications of the person (American Psychological Association, 2013). Therefore, literacy is a vital component that affects the socioeconomic status of any individual or group. Furthermore, literacy is a fundamental requirement for any person who intends to further academic excellence. Illiteracy has a negative effect on academic motivation and overall achievement in life.
Low academic achievement is directly associated with poor socioeconomic status. Students from poor family backgrounds have higher probabilities of going through troublesome educational experience. This negatively affects their academic achievement. The latter also explains why many poor families are able to uplift their social status bearing in mind that most of their children end up dropping out of the education system (American Psychological Association, 2013).
The first five years of a child’s development is very significant on how the child will survive in the education system. This is because at this stage, the child develops cognitive and linguistic skills. The emotional, moral, social, and regulatory dimensions developed at this stage determine how quickly the learning process of a child takes place. Poor parents provide the worst environment that negatively influences a child’s development. Children from economically poor backgrounds end up experiencing educational hurdles due to high childhood illiteracy (American Psychological Association, 2013).
Literacy, socioeconomic status and their relationship to a person’s health
The link between heath and social economic status cannot be disputed. A family that has a high socioeconomic status is in a position to access quality health care (National Network of Libraries of Medicine, 2012). Furthermore, such a family has quick access to information on health that enables it o make informed decisions on health matters.
From the discussion above, it has been evident that the socio-economic status affects the literacy levels of an individual. A person who is in a position to effectively read and comprehend health information has a higher chance of being healthy. In addition, heath literacy levels among the rich are higher than among the poor due to the challenge of illiteracy. Since socioeconomic status directly affects literacy, a poor person has poor health status than a rich person. It is easier to control disease outbreaks among literate populations than illiterate population since communication is a major setback when handling illiterate individuals.
The rates of low literacy and illiteracy in the United States
Low literacy and illiteracy levels are on the increase in the United States due to various issues that affect the learning and effectiveness of the education system. Socioeconomic status is one of the major issues affecting literacy levels among Americans (National Institute for Literacy, 2003). Children from poor families have the highest probabilities of not going through the full education system, lack adequate resources and poor literacy backgrounds affect their learning process. Since it is very cumbersome for such individuals to uplift their socioeconomic status due lack of educational qualifications, their numbers are on a steady rise. Furthermore, the increased numbers of illiterate immigrants are also swelling the number of Americans who are illiterate (National Institute for Literacy, 2003).
In conclusion, the low levels of literacy can be attributed to the challenges posed by the education system. If the number of dropouts will continue to increase, then the educational system has to be revised accordingly.
References
American Psychological Association (2013). Education & Socioeconomic Status. Web.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine (2012). Health Literacy. Web.
National Institute for Literacy (2003). Literacy in the United States. Web.