When a country cannot read

A cautionary tale as US politicians make hay of education initiatives.

By Rich_Maloof Mar 7, 2013 10:09PM

A report by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on the reading habits of nations ranked Mexico at number 107 of 108 countries. Socially, politically and economically, Mexico is struggling because so many of its citizens simply do not read.

With President Obama’s State Of The Union proposal to make high-quality preschool universal, education is being dragged back into the halls of government to get kicked around once again. It’s painful to see an issue so core to our personal and national values politicized by Congress and exploited by news-hour talking heads to sow the seeds of divisiveness. But that’s the game, and as faulted as our educational institutions are today, in truth you don’t have to look far to find a nation with far bleaker prospects.

In an op-ed piece for “The New York Times” entitled “The Country That Stopped Reading,” writer David Toscana reveals the systemic illiteracy problems of our neighbor to the south, Mexico.

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More children attend school in Mexico than ever before, Toscana explains, but they learn much less. He writes, “One cannot help but ask the Mexican educational system, ‘How is it possible that I hand over a child for six hours every day, five days a week, and you give me back someone who is basically illiterate?’”

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While Mexico’s educational plight is far more dire than America’s, there’s a cautionary tale unwinding for us south of the border. The problem is not a matter of funding: Mexico spends more than 5 percent of its GDP on education, as the U.S. does. It’s not a matter of personnel: there are plenty of teachers in Mexico, but they organize more strikes than any other workforce. Nor is it a matter of supplies and materials: books are produced en masse for schools and libraries, but sit unopened in warehouses.

By Toscana’s assessment, the country has been unwilling to rethink a system despite living proof that it does not function, and unable to work around politicians who continuously run education reforms and initiatives into dead ends.

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Photo: Mexico illiteracy / David Buffington/Getty Images

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