Thoughts on Being Illiterate

 Today at the eye doctor’s office, I saw an elderly gentleman who was accompanied by an elderly lady.  I first assumed she was his wife, but later decided she was an aide.  He seemed somewhat confused, so he may have had dementia.  However, I also heard him tell the clerk checking him in, that he could not read.  The woman with him filled out the forms and had him sign them.  When she turned the forms in, I heard her apologize for his signature and say that he had done the best he could.

It made me think again about how difficult it is for people who can’t read.  When I worked at a small rural hospital enrolling men in a research project, I encountered other men who could not read.  None of them ever told me in so many words that they couldn’t read.  I figured it out over time.  I realized that certain men when they came to see me always brought their wives or girlfriends with them, and that the ladies were very attentive to documents I gave to the men.  So without commenting on their lack of reading ability, I would just read the documents to them.  After a couple of visits, I gathered that the ladies decided they could trust me to be honest and helpful, and they stopped attending every appointment.

None of these men were lacking in intelligence.  All of them had jobs with which they supported their family, but they had jobs which didn’t require a great deal of reading.  Two of them were farmers and one was a janitor.  I suspect the farmers had help with record keeping from their significant others.

One of my children is dyslexic and had a very difficult time learning to read.  She eventually did learn and does sometimes read for enjoyment, but there are many times she just avoids reading.  She doesn’t seem to be able to quickly scan a package in the grocery store for information.  I don’t think she reads recipes if she can help it.

Not being able to read can cause some very awkward situations.  Seeing the gentleman today reminded me of a situation in which I unwittingly embarrassed a man with very poor reading ability.  I taught an adult Sunday School class, and sometimes when we read a passage in the Bible, I would have each person in the group read a verse or two.  I had no idea that I had someone in the class who read very poorly.  The man was married to a teacher, and I never suspected that he had this problem until we were reading around the circle, and we came to him.  He stumbled through the verse with great difficulty.  I felt terrible about placing him in the situation.  I wished I had asked for volunteers to read or that he had just said he wished to “pass.”  I don’t think I ever went around in a circle like that again.

People who are illiterate are NOT necessarily stupid.  Some people just can’t read.  Their brains aren’t wired to do it.  They might have really excelled if they had been born into a primitive culture where different skills were valued.  In our culture, it is increasingly the geeks who have risen to the top.  I suspect many of them would have died off in the jungle.