Literacy Is More Than Reading a Speech to the Empire Club of Canada

Head Table Guests

Rev. Canon Paul Feheley, St. George's Anglican Church; Yollanda Zhang, Student, Vice-President of Student Council, Jarvis Collegiate Institute; Julie K. Hannaford, Partner, Borden & Elliot and a Past President, The Empire Club of Canada; Dr. Frederic L.R. Jackman, President, Invicta Investments Incorp. and a Past President, The Empire Club of Canada; Ann Libby, Owner, Libby's of Toronto Art Gallery and a Director, The Empire Club of Canada; Arlene Perly Rae, Author, Leader of United Way's "Success by Six," active in Campaign Against Child Poverty and Chief Judge of Christie Book Awards; Stanley Hartt, Chairman, Saloman Smith Barney Canada Inc.; Dr. Fraser Mustard, Founding President, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; Trina McQueen, President, Discovery Channel; Knowlton Nash, Noted Author and former CBC Broadcaster; and Gordon Pinsent, distinguished Actor, Writer and Playwright.

Introduction by George L. Cooke

Many of you will recognise our guest speaker today. She is one of Canada's most highly regarded actors and currently is star of Thursday night's "Traders" on Global. Sonja Smits is also a member of the Honorary Board for Performers for Literacy and is here today in that capacity to speak on the critical issue of children's literacy.

Performers for Literacy is a nationally registered children's charity whose goal is to prevent illiteracy by developing and fostering a reading culture in Canada. Celebrities and community leaders volunteer their time and talent to bring glamour and excitement to the message that reading is important to children everywhere. The organisation promotes a love of reading through two programmes: "Kids-Lit," a 45-minute interactive production that teaches children how to use their communications skills, and The Second Story Reading Centres which currently operate out of malls. The programmes reach over 150,000 children (from pre-school to teenage) each year through more than 300 reading shows, dozens of public appearances and 800 hours of programming.

In her spare time from her heavy involvement with Performers for Literacy as well as numerous other children's issues and causes, Sonja has managed to develop a very impressive career. She is very familiar to Canadian and international television audiences. For six seasons, she starred as Carrie on "Street Legal," for which she received a 1993 nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a continuing role, and a 1988 Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program. Sonja received rave reviews for her performance in the television movie "The Diviners," which earned her a third Gemini nomination, and she received an ACTRA for Best Performance by a Lead Actress for her role in "War Brides."

Sonja has also lent her talents to such popular television movies as "The Last Man on the List," "Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes," "Command Five" and "Tyler." Her numerous television credits include "The Outer Limits," "The Ray Bradbury Theater," "The Fall Guy" and "Falcon Crest." She has also appeared in a television adaptation of the acclaimed George Walker play, "Nothing Sacred." Ms. Smits received her first Genie nomination for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress for her role in David Cronenberg's cult classic "Videodrome." She earned her second Genie nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress for her performance "That's My Baby."

Ms. Smits has also starred in numerous stage productions including "Nothing Sacred," "Uncle Vanya" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Sonja lives in Toronto with her husband, Seaton McLean and their two children.

Ms. Smits, welcome to The Empire Club of Canada.

Sonja Smits

Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me, on behalf of Performers for Literacy, to speak about a subject that is very dear to my heart. As a performer, my art is centred around words; they are the medium through which I communicate to audiences everywhere. Reading is and always has been a great pleasure for me. As a child, my mother read to me every night. It was often my favourite part of the day. It opened up other worlds and possibilities. As an actor, I've continued that tradition of story-telling.

Literacy is fundamental to my work and to my life. And, as we face a changing society, solid reading and writing skills are the two constants we know are important for success. The more our children can develop these skills, the better prepared they will be for the future--whatever form it takes. But literacy is more than being able to read. It is an essential means of full participation in society. Literate adults are healthier, more involved in their communities, and better parents themselves. Literate children are less likely to be in trouble with the law, better balanced, and healthier. This is why, today, I would like to explore some of the reasons why we must do everything possible as a society to value and encourage reading.

I am often asked about whether we really do have a literacy problem in Canada. This is understandable, since we have universal access to primary and secondary education. However, as you will see, school is only one element of building a literate society.

In fact, Canada has a formidable literacy problem. Today, literacy involves much more than the simple ability to read and write. It includes three skills: the ability to understand and use prose (like reading a newspaper or a book); the ability to use documents (like maps or job applications); and the ability to use numbers (such as filling in an order form). We measure literacy on five levels, level three being the minimum level of skills needed to cope in our modern society. Sadly, a recent OECD study found that only 57 per cent of Canadians are deemed to have the levels of competence needed to function adequately. Although, this is better than the U.S. literacy rate, it is well behind Sweden's score of 75 per cent.

This means that in spite of universal access to education, 43 per cent of Canadians are below minimum literacy standards (that is, they can't read or are limited to a few words). An additional 34 per cent of Canadians are at level three and so can use only simple reading materials.

There are three reasons why literacy is important to our nation. First, it tells us how we're doing as a society. It is generally accepted that two important indicators of the success of a society are the level of literacy of its children and youth, and the disparities in children's skills relative to their differing family backgrounds. These indicators are a report card on how our investments in the past decade have been translated into skills and competencies in the present generation. As such, they are important measures of both the effectiveness of our past investments and of our future success as a society.

Second, poor literacy skills are often at the root of social and economic problems. The International Adult Literacy Study found that an unemployed person is about three times as likely to be at the lowest level of literacy compared to someone who is employed. And those people who receive income support have lower literacy levels than those who do not. Overall, the cost of illiteracy in Canada is more that $11 billion annually.

Third, literacy is even more important in a time of technological change. With the rapid development of today's 'information society,' Canadians with poor literacy skills are increasingly at risk for long-term unemployment. This is because rapid change requires highly skilled and flexible workers who can adapt to an environment of continuous learning. A literate and educated population is the key to capitalising on and adjusting to structural change. Literacy has a direct effect on the ability of people to maintain an economic edge in an intensely competitive environment.

In periods of profound technological change, such as we are experiencing today, with all their associated changes in wealth creation and distribution, many individuals, particularly the young, are at risk. This is why we need a better appreciation of how a healthy wealth-creating sector is positively related to education, health care, and the support of children. They are key parts of the infrastructure for all innovative economies.

But literacy skills not only contribute to success or failure in the labour market, they are also the threads of a nation's social and cultural fabric because they help people participate actively in society. Literate people are more independent and have a better quality of life than those who have difficulties reading. For example, illiteracy is a health issue because adults with limited literacy face serious problems using the health-care system.

While we need programmes to remediate adult illiteracy, an even bigger issue is how can we change the outlook for the next generations of Canadians. The statistics show that education alone is not the answer. While there is a clear relationship between educational attainment and literacy levels, education does not 'fix' a person's literacy skills for a lifetime. Canadian culture must also promote literacy. As The Ottawa Citizen noted, "Some of the credit (for the high Swedish literacy rate) is due to a very real 'culture of literacy.'"

There is currently an ongoing debate about what should be done to improve literacy levels. I'm sure you've all heard the din. Parents worry about the quality of schooling. Schools worry about the quality of the support they're getting. And both tend to feel that governments should do something about it all. No wonder the general public is confused by all this finger-pointing and about what should be done.

What we know for sure is that both literacy and illiteracy are cycles. Studies have found that "the development, maintenance and improvement of literacy skills are strongly linked to usage," that is, reading books and newspapers, reading reports, writing memos and letters, or visiting the library. How can we reinforce the literacy cycle in children? I believe it takes a concerted approach--in our families, our schools, and in our social policies.

The family is the single most important milieu for breaking the cycle of illiteracy. Child development experts, such as Dr. Fraser Mustard, have shown that those children who are most at risk for low literacy are those who do not receive the necessary support and stimulation during their childhood, particularly during their pre-school years. What happens during the first few years of a child's life has long-lasting effects on many aspects of his emotional, physical and cognitive well-being.

For example, lack of readiness for schooling leads to increased risk of behavioural problems in school and ultimately to failure. These lead to low levels of well-being in adulthood. And parental involvement in learning continues to be an essential supplement to school throughout a child's elementary school years and beyond.

At this level, we really do know what works to improve a child's learning abilities for a lifetime and it isn't really mysterious. Speaking and reading aloud to children have been shown to be the most important things we can do to prevent illiteracy in the next generation. A parent and child reading together not only helps that child develop reading skills, it also addresses the child's need for nurturing. A recent Health Canada conference on investing in children concluded:

If it makes sense to use the term "quality time" for [one type of parental activity] then reading to the child would qualify. Regular reading to a child during the toddler and pre-school years has even stronger effects on behaviour than the overall level of parental engagement with the child. It was also significantly related to the child's pre-school vocabulary skills.

Reading together not only helps a child to see that reading is enjoyable, it is a routine which combines emotional closeness, joint attention to an interesting activity, and an opportunity for fun. These activities not only improve reading readiness, they also positively affect a child's ability to self-regulate, his general cognitive skills, and his ability to handle numbers.

But the benefits don't stop there. Reading with older children stimulates their listening and comprehension skills, builds vocabulary and concentration, and improves their general knowledge. It is unfortunate that studies show that reading aloud to children almost stops by the time a child is 11. Hearing from community members and role models about the importance of reading in their lives further emphasises the value of reading. Children who learn to enjoy and treasure reading are more likely to continue to read throughout their lives.

Thus, in families, we can reinforce the literacy cycle with family literacy. Even small changes in family reading activities with children will have major impacts on their development and well-being in the long-term.

Schools also have a part to play. There is a clear relationship between educational attainment and literacy levels. However, we are still not exactly sure about the nature of this relationship. While schooling may lead to higher literacy, low literacy levels may also contribute to a decision to leave school.

We do know that some schools develop literacy skills better than others. After five years of schooling, a student with average ability attending a 'good' school is more than a full year ahead of comparable children attending a 'bad' school. This is even after taking into account socio-economic backgrounds. This difference is equivalent to having two additional months schooling per year! Some of the things which make a significant difference to performance in our schools are: parental involvement in schooling; the disciplinary climate of the school; and high expectations--the belief that all students can master the curriculum.

So, learning readiness isn't everything. Schools need to do a better job of helping children to learn--whatever learning styles and backgrounds they have. And all children deserve what the best schools have to offer.

However, the effectiveness of our schools is also affected by farther-reaching social and economic factors which can only be addressed by government policy. Can government policy promote literacy? Yes. As I pointed out earlier, there are significant differences in literacy levels between developed countries. This suggests that government policy can indeed affect literacy levels.

We know that literacy skills are required every day--and daily practice of reading, writing, and calculating sustains and enhances them. What Canadians do at work, at home, and in the community are critical in determining the population's literacy levels. And, in most cases, the workplace is much richer than the home in terms of opportunities for reading. We also know that the prevention of illiteracy circumvents both the economic and personal costs. All of these are issues which can and should concern our governments.

To me, for governments, the diagnosis is clear and the treatment is straightforward. First, governments must do all in their power to encourage and promote reading. This starts with the messages we send. Is it not a fundamental contradiction to be promoting a well-educated and change-ready society while at the same time taxing the means whereby this society is created?

We know that taxation discourages consumption. That's why we levy massive taxes on such things as cigarettes and alcohol. When a parent walks into a store to buy a book for her child, what are we saying to her when taxes increase its cost by 15 per cent? When a new Canadian finds that Canada taxes its reading material, what does this tell him about what our society values? If reading is the key to full participation in our society, how can we possibly justify a tax that essentially discourages access to it?

Second, government should recognise the role it has to play in supporting existing literacy charities and stimulating private-sector giving. We have a large number of excellent and innovative literacy initiatives in Canada at present. Yet, current government policy forces existing literacy organisations to starve while new ones are continually being created. This is very short-sighted and counter-productive, since usually, the first few years of a new project are its least productive. It also creates many overlapping administrations. As John O'Leary from Frontier College pointed out recently, "What we need is better funding for the organisations we have, NOT funding for new literacy projects."

Today, even with a strong commitment, excellent materials, and worthwhile programmes, it can be extremely difficult to replace a core portion of government funding with private-sector funding. Very few private-sector organisations and foundations will provide any sort of operational funding--even though things like telephones and audits are essential to the operation of any charity. The private sector wants to fund the new projects itself and it wants the publicity associated with project sponsorship. If everyone wants to fund new projects and no one wants to fund essential operations our literacy charities will rapidly die off.

While the government must guard against existing charities getting "fat and happy" at the public trough, guidelines can be established to keep them "lean and mean" without completely eviscerating them.

Third, governments can create incentives. We know that people respond to incentives, even if they are not aware of doing so. If activities in the home offer fewer rewards than do activities outside it, then people will change how and where they spend their time. While these changes in behaviour may be small, taken as a whole, the net effect can be great. Today's social environment influences our incentives in many ways. For example, many more families have two parents who must work. There are few options for high-quality flexible or part-time work. Parental leave is limited to a few months. Perhaps it's time to take another look at how we support families with preschool and young school-age children to encourage the cycle of literacy.

Today, because of what we now know about literacy and the changes which are occurring in society, there are two important literacy issues which need to be better addressed by parents, schools and governments.

The first is family literacy. Until recently, literacy work has focused on remediating adults. We now know about the importance of early childhood development in preventing illiteracy. Illiteracy prevention starts with children who see adults read. Hearing from other community members and role models about how they value reading and what an important role reading plays in their lives further emphasises the importance of reading. If children learn to enjoy and value reading when they are young, they are more likely to continue to read throughout their lives.

Unfortunately, family literacy is still the 'poor relation' of the literacy movement in Canada, although groups focusing on early childhood development are beginning to embrace it with enthusiasm. Literacy organisations and government agencies devoted to literacy need to do more in this critical area to create a very positive culture around literacy.

Second, we need to recognise the importance of technology in literacy development. Technology is becoming an increasingly important means of access to knowledge. However, you must not only be literate to use it, you need to have a new kind of literacy to take advantage of what it has to offer--technological literacy. Here, too, there are great socio-economic disparities developing. Governments, the private sector, and social support groups are growing increasingly concerned that society's benefits will only be realised by those who can afford the technology to get at it. Statistics Canada has found that the richest 20 per cent of households are four times more likely to have a computer than the poorest ones. IBM's 1997 white paper, notes that: "There is a real risk that societies in this new age will divide into information haves and information have-nots." It concludes that we all have a responsibility to support public programmes that promote universal access. Thus, the future could bring even more inequities via technology, or it could be used as a means of levelling the playing field and bringing greater opportunities to all. This, too, is an important new issue in the field of literacy.

There are some exciting new programmes which take a different approach to literacy than we've done in the past. More needs to be done to provide incentives for parent/child reading. To encourage families particularly the underprivileged to do this requires innovative approaches to family literacy.

For example, I am involved with Performers for Literacy--a national charity designed to do just this. It takes advantage of the appeal, recognisability and glamour of professional performers to bring literacy programmes to parents and children and to teach them, through entertainment, the value of reading together. PFL is unique. It is the only national illiteracy prevention organisation in Canada. Our programmes are specifically designed to support and enhance family literacy and to teach parents how to be learning and reading partners with their children.

We use non-traditional, non-threatening environments such as shopping malls to reach out to people who wouldn't take advantage of other types of programmes. For example, our Reading Shows use live performers to show children about how reading can be fun. Hundreds of performers across the country donate thousands of hours to bringing words alive for children in this way. Our shows have been performed in schools, shopping malls, libraries, parks, and hospitals.

A second programme we're really proud of is our Second Story Reading Centres. Shopping malls donate over several hundred thousand dollars of space and services annually to bring PFL permanently to their community. Located in community malls, and with beautiful artwork and cosy atmospheres, the Second Stories are magical places for families to experience the pleasures of reading in a variety of ways.

Fittingly, PFL launched its newest literacy programme on television. Perhaps you've seen it. "Read It Again!" is a collaborative effort between PFL, TV Ontario, and The Atkinson Charitable Foundation. Designed to bring the Second Story experience to all the children in Ontario, "Read It Again!" consists of four short, single-story segments featuring top-quality children's literature and well known Canadian performers. "Read it Again!" will spread the PFL experience to hundreds of thousands of young children in their homes over the next three years.

PFL develops partnerships with many different and non-traditional groups and organisations to bring the love of reading to every child in Canada. We mobilise over $2 million per year in volunteer time and in-kind donations to literacy. With the support of every performers' union in Canada, shopping mall chains, television and cable companies, publishers, as well as schools, libraries and literacy organisations, PFL demonstrates how strong, collaborative partnerships can be developed to promote family literacy.

PFL is just one example of how we can mobilise resources from many parts of society to create a true culture of literacy. If you take one thing away from this talk today, I'd like it to be this: Literacy is more than reading. Literacy is an investment with a huge return in all parts of our society. Because of this, creating a literate society is everyone's job. It cannot be left to literacy charities or schools or governments. We all can and should be part of the cycle of literacy promotion. The easiest and cheapest way to begin is in our own homes and communities. Read to your children or grandchildren; read to other people's children; volunteer to read at a school, hospital, or library. Model the literacy cycle for all to see.

Today, I've tried to tell you some of the reasons why I feel so passionate about literacy. I would like to conclude with a poem by Strickland W Gillilan which captures simply and eloquently what I have been talking about today.

You may have tangible wealth untold
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be,
I had a parent who read to me.

The appreciation of the meeting was expressed by Julie K. Hannaford, Partner, Borden & Elliot and a Past President, The Empire Club of Canada.