LITERACY AND LOW INCOME/POVERTY

Literacy is a close cousin to poverty. People from poor
families have higher rates of illiteracy. They have fewer
choices in jobs, education, housing, and other things
needed to have full lives. “Poverty is not just about not
having enough money. It’s about lack of dignity,
respect, choice, and opportunity.”⁹

“Even in the year 2000, one in five children in Canada
still lived in poverty, an increase of 39% since 1989.
They are often not well served by the school system
where they are likely to be labelled and placed in
classes where less is expected of them and less may be
offered. Many poor children either drop out of high
school or graduate without being fully literate.” ⁹

When a person doesn’t have enough to eat, a place to
sleep, money to buy books or to pay for transportation
to class it is hard to learn.
People who live in poverty may feel
that they don’t fit in.
Having low reading and writing skills increases the
risk for social assistance.¹⁵