OK, I was trying not to get started on illiteracy, because everyone with 2 brain cells to rub together knows that illiteracy is on the rise, and its one of my pet peeves. However, I recently had to go to a meeting through work, and it discussed how best to communicate with people. I was given a couple statistics and some advice that REALLY pissed me off, and as I was leaving, I got on my rant. My poor boss suffered my angst, now it's your turn.

What's the stats??? All of these stats were put together by the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety as part of a study as to what warning symbols etc got the most reaction out of Canadians.

So; these are the stats that got me disgusted: only 52% of Canadians are able to read. To qualify as being able to read, you have to be able to understand all of the letters individually and be able to sound out the words, even if you don't fully understand them. 26% more are able to recognise some letters, understand some words and get a bit of the gist of what's written. This leaves 22% that cant recognise ANY letters or ANY words. I'd like to add that by these standards, a kid in kindergarden is considered fully literate, they recognise their ABCs, and can sound most of them out.

The second set of stats made me irritated. Apparently, writing something at the level of a grade 12 student is considered "technical" and should only be used between professionals of the same career. Writings that the public is comfortable with are approximately grade 6.

Now, this is the part that gets me hopping mad. The lady who was giving the presentation then went on to advise us "This is something that you should keep in mind at all times. It is the responsibility of the writer to make sure that they are writing at a level that the general public is comfortable with. You should aim your words at about a grade five level to be sure everyone understands."

NO!!! NO!!! NO!!!

You should NOT make your writings stupider! This is our problem! When you write at a level they're comfortable with, you convince them that "Hey, I can read any major newspaper and understand it, therefore I'm smart enough." WRONG! What really pissed me off is she said it was our RESPONSIBILITY. If that was true, then every teacher with a student who failed should get a pay cut. Sounds stupid don't it? It is the responsibility of the teacher to present the material. It is then the responsibility of the student to understand the material, and if they don't, to go LEARN! If the teachers were only allowed to present things that the class was already comfortable with, we would never get past "1+1=2".

In much the same way, it is the responsibility of the writer to present the subject, and if any readers feel uncomfortable with it, it is their responsibility to go learn more on the subject, or not. And if not, it is their choice to not know any of the major topics of the day, and therefore to miss out on opportunities, better jobs, etc.

So, what's my point? I will continue writing. I will continue writing at a level that is appropriate to the subject under discussion. And, hey, if you don't understand a word or topic, go find yourself a dictionary and an encyclopedia!