Literacy Today
By Sadia in Blogroll | 1 comment
I recently had the opportunity to attend a small conference that was centered around my faith of Islam, and while a lot of the material discussed was extremely valuable, one of the ideas the speaker mentioned really sparked interest in me.
She brought up the salaries of famous sports stars today in comparison with the salaries of teachers.
The message was that while there is nothing wrong with aspiring to play in the Leagues one day, the salary of a pro baseball player is often in the six figures, while the salary of an elementary school teacher varies anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000, depending on the years of experience they have.
It’s extremely saddening that those who are bestowed with the responsibility of educating the next generation are paid so little and their role in society is so devalued in comparison with one who is 6 foot 4 and can dunk a basketball or hit a home run.
Like afore mentioned, there isn’t anything wrong with being a sports star; the objective is to use that occupation as a comparison with the one at hand. Given the value of teachers today, it’s not very surprising that our literacy rates are so low and we are falling behind.
Countries such as Japan and India are eons ahead of the US in education, and this really needs to be an issue we need to concentrate on improving. Those involved in the educational field, especially elementary school teachers, are responsible for spreading literacy in the area. In times such as these, we must remember those who are indirectly carrying our cirty forward. If the issue of literacy isn’t solved right now, we could be looking at a future that is extremely bleak.
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R.A. | Jan 26, 2009 | Reply
Salam, this is something that has always made me wonder as well, It is a question that has been left unanswered far too long. As for the Other countries, such as Asia and the mid-east, when it comes to educational levels, i have had personal experience with this and it is amazing when i look at the difference. Compare a 5th grader that goes to school here to one that goes to school in the mid-east and it will seem like YEARS of differences between the two. what i took in my Freshman year in H.S. here is what they are given in 6th grade over there. I would love to see improvement for our youth here in the USA, let alone California.