Reading and writing are two of the most important functions performed on a daily basis by individuals. One problem in America is that a significant amount of the population can not perform one or both of these tasks. These two tasks are commonly referred to as literacy. What encompasses a literate individual is a controversial topic. For example, if someone can read a sentence and decipher what it means does this mean the person is literate. Or should the individual be able to interpret a sentence as well as write and respond to a given situation to be considered literate. Due to this vagueness in what encompasses a literate individual, I will not state statistical information about the state of literacy in the United States. The statistical information is not important, rather the way the literacy rate can be risen in the U.S. is what is important. A general situation that has to occur to raise literacy rate is the situation where an individual has the desire to read and write and does not do so solely because of instruction from authority figures.

This certainly is not occurring today, as exemplified by the event that "even a best-selling book in this country

But the advantages to a more literate society are obvious even when viewing the issue on a more personal level. Literacy is the key to the social world as well as the job market. Individuals who benefit from the increase in literacy rate will be more successful in life and maybe even have higher feelings toward themselves. The vision of a totally literate America is certainly a very promising and positive one.

Another aspect that affects the learning of literacy is community with peers within the classroom. Members of a community are often times encouraged to use language on the same level as others in the community, which can serve to ignite learning. The way in which literacy is used within the community is established by the members of the community. Groups, or communities, of individuals therefore are a helpful tool in the teaching methods of literacy. For example, if a group is formed with one of the top students of the class and a mixture of the average and below average students of the classroom, then the learning processes and achievement of that particular community will function near the level of the top student. This is true because the average and below

Harris, Karen, and Barbara Baskin. "Toward a Culturally Literate Society." School Library Journal 35.12 (1989): 29-32.

Access to literacy tools is another way literacy among the youth of America can be improved. This access refers to a student being able to participate in classroom literacy. The basic idea behind the access to literacy is that students should be given activities that will improve their abilities. For example, students who lack competence in the interpretation of a given subject should be given an activity that will improve their competence, while, on the other hand, students who already has this competence should be given another activity. In this situation a student is not challenged to an extreme

Engaging and interesting activities should also be accessible to students. As Karen Harris and Barbara Baskin put it:

Vygotsky presents this idea of community with his zone of proximal development. This idea is ". . . defined by the difference between a child's test performances under two conditions: with or without assistance (Wells 1). Community is a very positive factor and the work with the more competent peer leads ". . . the child to carry out activities that force him to rise above himself" (Wells 1).

might reach 5% of the population" (Castell 38). Perhaps a better w

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