Illiteracy

When I ask you to think about it do you know anyone who is illiterate? How many people can you think of? For most people we know the answer would be zero. I cant think off the top of my head anyone who is illiterate, I have only come across people now and then during my travels to Africa who have been unable to sign forms or have to of had something read to them. But I’ve never met someone in the US without an extreme disability that couldn’t read. This is not the same in Burkina being illiterate is not an uncommon trait. While I am often in the presence of master and PhD students and don’t interact very often with illiterate people, I’m sure a few of the woman I will be working with will be in that very same boat. I experienced it this morning when a woman wanted to give me her number. She took the paper and the pen and sat down on the ground for a very long time, possibly 15-20 minutes to write down her number. I couldn’t figure out what she was doing until I realized she wasn’t writing the numbers by seeing okay that is a four and four is drawn this way. She was copying how to draw the letter off of her phone. She had learned how to navigate through her phone without being able to read. Which is why it was taking so long, she had no memory of what a four looks like so she was constantly checking it again and again to make sure her four went the same direction. It took her three tries to write the correct line. Finally finishing, she was proud.