“Wow. You must really love to read,” is a common response when people hear that I run a literacy agency.

Sure, I love a good book and enjoy reading — but that is not why I am passionate about literacy.

Right now about one in six Hawaii adults are not able to read and write at a basic level, and every day I see what this means for their lives. They can rarely find employment, earning only 44 cents for every dollar that a literate person will — a difference of more than $800,000 over a lifetime — and struggle to meet the physical and educational needs of their children.

Children who don’t learn to read can face an array of handicaps, especially if they don’t develop the ability later in life.

Flickr: takomabibelot

Literacy is not optional. It is not about reading a book at the beach or finishing the latest trilogy, but a crucial and basic necessity.

Recent students in our Adult Literacy tutoring program include a woman who was unable to fill out a restraining order for her safety, a longtime worker in danger of losing his job because he could not pass an online test, a mother who called in tears because she could not read her young son’s homework instructions, a teenager trying to get his GED, and an older man who lost his health insurance because he could not complete the paperwork.

It is not just “their” problem, it’s everyone’s problem.

Dozens of adults have entered our program because they could not read their mail or a posted sign, resulting in late fees accrued, court dates missed, benefits lost, and opportunities forfeited. Some of them pay for these mistakes for years.

Without literacy, options for making even a basic living are limited, leading to poverty, stress, dependence, and shame. Even everyday tasks can result in serious errors. Failing to complete a form, submit a bill or heed the warning label on a medicine bottle are costly examples of the problems thousands of Hawaii residents face daily.

If you believe it doesn’t involve you, you’re wrong — illiteracy affects our state through major economic loss, an overburdened school system, greater crime, and increased costs for healthcare and state assistance programs. It is not just “their” problem, it’s everyone’s problem.

The Kingdom of Hawaii was once one of the most literate populations in the world. For Hawaii to again become a truly literate society, we all need to play a bigger part. These dire literacy statistics and the numbers of children failing to meet reading standards in school foretell ongoing struggles in adult literacy unless we can concurrently reach two groups:

• All children — those in our school system and those who should be in school but aren’t.
• The more challenging 150,000-plus adults statewide who need a second chance at learning to read and write.

Many of these adults are also parents.

Not even the best school system or after-school program can replace the huge role a parent plays in determining whether a child will become a reader, or someday graduate from school.

In fact, the educational level of the parent is the strongest predictor of a child’s future success. Giving away books or hoping teachers can work magic is not going to get us there.

But if every struggling child and adult has someone to sit down with them and read together — not once or twice, but week after week — we just might.

There are three things we need to get there:

1) Passionate advocacy for enough funding to equip schools with all the resources they need to teach each and every student to read;

2) Every parent, no matter his or her own skills, taking responsibility for their child being cared for and able to learn; and

3) Every one of us who can easily read this article embracing an “each one, teach one” mindset.

Every adult who is able to read and write can take it upon him or herself to ensure that the children they know are being read to and are learning to read. And if there is an adult in your life who cannot read, be the one to step up and make a difference.

I feel sure most adults in Hawaii who struggle to read know someone who can. Perhaps that is you?

My job is not to spread a love of books, though that can be a wonderful side effect. I don’t really care if everyone loves to read, but I do care deeply that everyone is able to.

September is National Literacy Month, and this is the time that we need you to use your voice. You already have the skills you need to help.

Share this article with your friends. Tell them why you care about literacy. Ask if they know someone who needs help. Every month we train and match new tutors who are changing lives across the islands. Visit the Hawaii Literacy website for volunteer opportunities, or do something as simple as reading to a child in your life.

I look forward to a day when we as a state can say we truly have left no one behind, but it is up to each of us to get involved and advocate, volunteer, or donate to see that all our island ohana have that one person they need to teach them to read and write.

Only then will we enjoy new opportunities, stronger communities, and perhaps great books, together.