[Header Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash]

In 1961, scholar Jacques Barzun declared “we who run businesses, carry on professions, work for the government, or engage in teaching itself are forced to admit that illiteracy is still with us” (xii-xiii).

This was in an introduction to Tomorrow’s Illiterates: The State of Reading Instruction Today.

Well, it is tomorrow, which is today, and here we are: Many Young Adults Barely Literate, Yet Earned a High School Diploma.

I suppose, if you want to look on the bright side of life, we have progressed from “illiterate” to “barely literate.”

But seriously, the reading crisis rhetoric is a paradox because it is a thing that always was and never is.

I strongly recommend Ch. IV: The Whole-Word and Word-Guessing Fallacy, Helen R Lowe from Tomorrow’s Illiterates as a companion to The 74 article for context.

And I highly recommend: Loveless, T. (2023, June 11). Literacy and NAEP proficient (Web log). https://tomloveless.com/posts/literacy-and-naep-proficient/

In short, declaring “kids today” as illiterate or barely literate is mostly adult bloviating for adult purposes.

Yes, we fall short on literacy and we certainly can and should do better, especially for the most vulnerable students.

We shouts of “Crisis!” have never been effective for helping those students, but certainly sells.

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NCTE 2025 Individual Presentation: Recovering Our Reading Dream from a Long Crisis Nightmare

11/21/2025 – 2:45 – 3:15, Mile High Ballroom 1A/1B

Access a PDF of presentation HERE

In 1961, Jacques Barzun in Tomorrow’s Illiterates declared “illiteracy is still with us.” Charles Child Walcutt added: “[N]o further ‘research’ into methods of reading instruction is necessary.” This session examines reading crisis/reform cycles to reconsider the stories told about reading and offer a new approach for reform that serves the needs of students and supports teacher professionalism.

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