Illiteracy isn't a genetic trait, but it can run in families. The education level of parents is a good predictor for how well their children will do in school, said Susan Paull of the National Family Literacy Center.
Friday, she addressed the Light on Literacy Conference sponsored by the Utah Literacy and Adult Education Coalition and the State Office of Education. The Deseret News was one of a group of local businesses that supported the conference, which is being held through Saturday at the Airport Hilton.A child's failure in school often reflects a "family legacy" of illiteracy, said Paull. Addressing the problem at either end is not as effective as "putting the pieces together."
By focusing on the adults in a household as well as the child, it is possible to deliver both preventive and therapeutic services, she said.
Paull cited numerous statistics that show a correlation between a parent's literacy level and attitudes toward education and how the child functions in an educational setting.
While definitions of illiteracy vary, an estimated 20 percent of American adults have serious deficits in basic reading and math skills and 34 percent have marginal skills, she said. The offspring of many of these adults become immediately at risk of failing to achieve adequate literacy themselves.
"We ask teachers to be miracle workers," said Paull. "We expect them to take children from these backgrounds and teach them along with their more advantaged classmates and succeed with all of them."
The influence of parents who read - particularly a mother who is literate and promotes literacy - is a greater indicator of eventual success for a child than economic or social factors. A parent's expectation that a child will succeed in school is a departure point for success, she said.
That positive support can only occur when the adults feel good about themselves. Parents who themselves failed to achieve an adequate education often face a barrier when they consider in-volve-ment in their child's school. "Old ghosts rise to meet them at the schoolhouse door," Paull said.
The National Center for Family Literacy approaches the problem from several directions, including providing help with basic skills for adults, teaching parenting skills, working with preschoolers to prepare them for education and increasing positive interactions between parents and children.
The work is relatively new, but there is some evidence that the families involved in the program are improving their literacy, with parents and children both benefiting, said Paull. Ninety percent of the children coming out of the program are motivated to learn and are not considered at risk by their teachers. None has been retained for failure, and 50 percent of the parents are volunteering in their schools.
Paull did not make any claims that the center has found the ultimate solution to the problems of illiteracy, but the approach "has potential for real and lasting impact on people's lives."