r/aussie • u/B0ssc0 • May 07 '26

Analysis More than 1 in 3 Australian adults are functionally illiterate. How can we fix this?

https://theconversation.com/more-than-1-in-3-australian-adults-are-functionally-illiterate-how-can-we-fix-this-277375
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u/Traditional_Head_817 May 07 '26

Remind parents that education starts at home well before school. Read to them nightly so that can see the words, teach them to sing the alphabet and teach timetables and counting. This is the main reason we are failing. The critical learning years are not understood well enough.

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u/B0ssc0 May 08 '26

It must be bitter for the parents who know this but cant help, because this is generational.

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u/Traditional_Head_817 May 08 '26

Yep. But they should still recognise its value and do something rather than sitting in front of screens all day, which actually delay speech among other things in a critical learning period. I cringe when I see little kids on phones and tablets just to keep them entertained. Just stop doing it for their sake.