Quote Originally Posted by JBMcB View Post
My son is 4 and he's learning to read and write with a couple of $2 workbooks from Target, flashcards we made from 3x5 cards, some blank paper and crayons. Total cost about $10.

Short of a clinical condition, there is NO damn reason to be illiterate. Even in flat-broke districts, there are after-school programs, clinics run by non-profits and churches, free workbooks from libraries, etc...
Clearly, there is a reason to be illiterate... Otherwise, we wouldn't have illiterate people.

But I know where you're going with this one. Places like Highland Park have such low literacy rates because of the people who choose to live there. If the people cared about being literate then they wouldn't live in places like Highland Park. Except... I'm sure that 14 year old kid did not choose to live in Highland Park or to even be born for that matter.

But really, that's not even my problem with Highland Park schools, and by extension, the state. My problem with the school system is that they are rubber stamping these kids through the system and ignoring the problem. How does a kid get to 7th grade writing like that?! If someone can give me a legitimate answer to that then they should represent the state in court.