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.