Illiteracy.

Congratulations—you’ve passed the first test. By reading the previous two phrases, you’ve already distinguished yourself in American society and its work force.

Frightening as it sounds, over 2 million adults in Illinois alone cannot read, or read below the sixth grade level. Though the problem has been placed on the back burner for decades, recognition of illiteracy is finally growing in the United States.

“Stanley and Iris,” a film set to open nationwide Feb. 9, is certain to arouse interest in the nation’s literacy handicap. Starring Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda, the movie documents one man’s struggle against illiteracy and the woman who chooses to help him.

“The problem identified in ‘Stanley and Iris’ is very real in Illinois,” said Jan Grimes, communications assistant for the Secretary of State Literacy Office. “One in five adults can barely read.”

Grimes does not spare statistics. She said over 75 percent of the work force in the year 2000 is on the job now, and one in eight of them is functionally illiterate. That fact becomes more threatening as experts predict jobs of the future will require even greater skills. Currently, the U.S. ranks 49th among member nations of the United Nations in literacy.

The literacy problem is not an isolated one. The handicap in turn leads to unemployment, higher public assistance, lost industrial productivity, unrealized tax revenues and worker dislocation.

How did the problem become so serious? Is the educational system lacking? “It’s hard to come up with relationships,” Grimes said. “It’s not necessarily the school system. Some adults have learning disablilities, many are non-native citizens and some are 60, 70 and 80-year-old people who had to drop out of school when they were young for economic reasons,” she said.

Many politicians have quickly sprung to aid the literacy cause. Illinois Secretary of State Jim Edgar has used his office to become a vocal advocate of adult literacy problems. He currently chairs the Illinois Literacy Council, a 36-member body which set up the Secretary of State Literacy Grant program to fund volunteer literacy programs.

Currently in the fifth year of operation, the program has been awarded $19 million from the state and helped over 46,000 adults, Grimes said. “This year, we received a $5 million increase so we can expand the program even more,” she said, adding there are 92 centers set up across the state.

Interested volunteers can receive training on weekends to teach others how to read, she said. Full-time staffs of adult educators oversee volunteers and provide people with pamphlets and books on illiteracy.

The efforts of about 25,000 volunteers seems to be paying off. “The average student gains one level of reading every six months,” Grimes pointed out. “That’s good.”

Businesses are also realizing illiteracy problems among their employees. “It’s a growing initiative and more and more businesses are helping,” she said.

The State Literacy Office directly funds 16 businesses for on-site instruction and over 200 other companies refer their workers. “They realize they won’t have a good work pool if there’s not education in the community,” she added.

In the local community, Kishwaukee College offers two state-funded programs, Literacy Education for Adults Program (LEAP) and Volunteers of Literacy Training (VOLT). “The problem is fairly common,” said Jeanne Hayes, coordinator of literacy volunteers, adding the program stresses confidentiality.

“We assess students to find their reading level and what might have caused the problem,” Hayes explained. “Students are then eligible to have volunteer tutors.”

These tutors, many of whom are NIU students, must complete 12 hours of training to teach one-on-one. Training is done at the college and tutoring is done in the community, she said. The DeKalb Public Library is one of those locations.

Hayes said LEAP is also involved in family literacy, a growing area of specialization and focus. Intergenerational illiteracy is a common problem, as parents who can’t read often don’t encourage their children to. “We’re trying to stop that cycle—children catch on to it quickly.”

According to Hayes, the literacy programs offered through Kishwaukee “ends up with 800 hours of donated time.” Last year, she said, 498 hours were spent doing one-on-one instruction.

For information on the local literacy programs, phone Hayes or LEAP director Julie Lamb at 825-2086, extension 320. Students, volunteers, tutors and businesses can also call the Illinois Literacy Hotline at 800-321-9811 or the National Literacy Hotline at 00-228-8813.