Reply #32: Illiteracy and lack of education. I've been amazed the five years [View All]

[SharonAnn]

I've been here in East Tennessee and low level of education "on average" of many residents. There are plenty of strong * supporters, though.

The illiteracy rate in our country is over 25%. Out of 40,000 populations in the county, 4,000 college educated northerners have moved here in the last 15 years. Without that population, the illiteracy rate would be closer to 28%.

And keep in mind, we're talking about an extremely low level of reading skills that qualifies one as "literate".

So, once again I say, "We've absolutely got to improve the education system here."

Then of course, there are the "conservative" churches and all the people here who home-school their children so that they "learn to be a good christians."

Sigh! It's the only place I've ever lived where education is rarely respected. Having an advanced degree sometimes makes other people suspicious of you.

I've lived all over the country and this is different from anything I've ever experienced before.