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Sain 1 Christian Sain Mrs. Thornton English 200 3, February 2013 Struggle for Literacy in America America is a civilized. and advanced culture. America is also a major world power and a highly industrialized country. Why, then, are our educational scores in literacy below that of our international rivals such as China' Our economy and our culture is dependent on advancement and education. Without education we cannot become experts at our specialized jobs. American literacy is the center point of American success and it is greatly undervalued. Teachers have failed their students by not teaching literacy enough to strengthen our national position. Higher literacy expectations are essential for our continued growth, both economically and technologically. All across America, literacy is in its death throes. Percentage of 4th Graders scoring below a proficient reading level in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon are above sixty-five percent (Dillon, 13). If our nations young cannot score a proficient, how can we remain an international power' How can our economy survive if we are not literate enough to specialize in the way we must to keep our economy stable' The answer is, we cannot. In Montana, “the lack of skilled workers is a problem” and “the lack of qualified entry level workers perpetuates the problem” (Dillon, 13). These fourth graders with such abysmal scores in reading are the very people who, within a generation, will be at the fore of global, intellectual competition. Their literacy skills will be all the stands between our country and economic failure. They will be our leaders and our builders. Those without the ability for proficient literacy shall be the ones whom must take over our specialized jobs. But, with the current failure of our teachers to teach such literacy, I see in our future a bleak future indeed. Obviously, teachers failing to properly teach literacy is a problem. High school English teacher Mrs. Thornton, in a class setting, admitted to believing that teachers are indeed failing in teaching literacy. If our own teachers have seen the failing of literacy, why has there not been solutions incorporated into schools' Joyce Link suggests using technology and goes on to prove that such acts improve literacy scores and class participation. America must integrate such technological advances into classes to offset the harm of literacy failure. Introducing technology to assist in teaching literacy is part of the raising of expectations that is required for the survival and growth of America.