n the 21st century, education is a global indicator of health and wealth, though
access to quality education remains precarious for certain populations. Despite
progress, women and girls still face disproportionate and gender-based barriers to
education. Globally, girls of primary school age are more likely to be out of school
compared with boys, and two-thirds of illiterate adults in the world are women.
“The ability to read is the difference between inclusion in, and exclusion from,
society,” says Bernadette Dwyer, lecturer at Dublin City University in Ireland and
president of the Board of Directors of the International Literacy Association (ILA).
And yet, as we know, access to education is not protected in all corners of the
world. In fact, in June, a United States federal judge in Michigan handed down a
most disappointing ruling: literacy—though important—is not a fundamental
right.
The plaintiffs in Gary B. vs. Snyder, a group of low-income students of color
from the lowest-performing public schools in Detroit, argued that, due to low-
quality instruction and poor conditions of their schools, state education officials
had denied them even a “minimally adequate education.”
Dwyer and the Board of ILA, which had supported the plaintiffs in the case,
were dismayed by the ruling. “We must continue to work toward the goal of an
equitable education for all,” Dwyer said at the time of the decision. “Issues of
equity, equality of opportunity, quality of instruction, and social justice should
permeate all that we do to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to
read.”
Literacy—the passport to all learning and a harbinger of social progress—is a
fundamental human right, ILA has long argued.
To that end, ILA convened a task force last year, chaired by Dwyer, to craft
Children’s Rights to Read—work that yielded 10 rights and a common language for
educators, policymakers, and literacy advocates of all types to protect and follow.
(This work can be found at literacyworldwide.org/rightstoread.)
“Society has the responsibility to nurture and grow children as readers—
children who can read, who do read, and who love to read,” says Dwyer, explaining
the purpose behind this important campaign.
In short, it is society’s responsibility to advocate for children, and by using a
framework such as the one that follows based on the rights, we can help ensure
that protecting these rights does indeed permeate all that we do.
Protect access and equity.
Globally, 617 million school-age children and youth across the world are reading at
below minimum proficiency levels. We are responsible for providing our students
with access to high-quality reading instruction and resources and for advocating
on their behalf to the individuals and institutions charged with equitably
protecting their right to read.
How do we make this happen?
Children’s rights to read—and our responsibilities to
protect them
BE THEIR
ADVOCATES
By Emily Chiariello
Emily Chiariello
(emily.chiariello@gmail.com)
is an anti-bias educator
and educational equity
consultant, working at the
intersection of culturally
responsive and academically
rigorous practices. She has
two decades of experience
as a classroom teacher,
professional developer,
curriculum designer, and
education writer.
LITERACY
LEADERSHIP
8
literacyworldwide.org | September/October 2018 | LITERACY TODAY