Here are 39 Interesting Education and Literacy facts.
1-5 Education and Literacy Facts
1. The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, was introduced by King Sejong in the 1440s to improve literacy. The difficulty of Chinese characters favored privileged aristocrats, whereas Sejong’s phonetic alphabet allowed Koreans of all classes to learn how to read and write. – Source
2. In 1961, Fidel Castro closed Cuban schools for a whole year and formed teachers into a “literacy army” with the goal to eradicate illiteracy. By the end of the year, 707,212 previously illiterate people had learned how to read. – Source
3. Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library, which sends one free book per month to a child, to boost literacy and foster a love of reading. Founded to serve her native Sevier County TN, it now ships over a million books a month to kids in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. – Source
4. After the invention of the Cherokee Alphabet by Sequoya in 1825, the literacy rate of the Cherokee people soon surpassed that of their European and American neighbors. – Source
5. South Korea went from a 22% literacy rate in 1945, to an 87% literacy rate in 1970. – Source
6-10 Education and Literacy Facts
6. In 1987, Myanmar lowered its official literacy rate from 79% to 19% in order to qualify for least developed country status to receive UN debt relief. – Source
7. Popular San Diego high school teacher John Corcoran was secretly illiterate during his 17-year classroom career, finally faced his shame and learned to read at age 48. He went on to write books and a create a foundation to promote literacy. – Source
8. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara raised the Cuban national literacy rate from about 60-76% to 96% within a year. – Source
9. Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat to help combat illiteracy. 348 words were identified as being important to first-graders, which he was asked to narrow down to 250. Nine months later, Seuss used 236 of them to complete The Cat in the Hat. – Source
10. In the 1920s, people feared that crossword puzzles would contribute to illiteracy. – Source
11-15 Education and Literacy Facts
11. In an effort to demonstrate people’s lack of scientific literacy, water is referred to by an unfamiliar name, “dihydrogen monoxide”, followed by a listing of real effects of this chemical, in an attempt to convince people that it should be regulated, labeled as hazardous, or banned. – Source
12. Even though Calculus is often taught starting only at the college level, mathematicians have shown that it can be taught to kids as young as 5, suggesting that it should be taught not just to those who pursue higher education, but rather to literally everyone in society. – Source
13. The Beastie Boys won a lawsuit against a company for the unauthorized use of their song “Girls” and had the $1 Million settlement donated to a charity supporting education for Girls. – Source
14. A school in Poland is named after an Indian Maharaja, in honor of him providing shelter and free education to hundreds of Polish women and children after they had to escape Poland due to the World War 2. – Source
15. Most Japanese schools do not employ janitors or custodians. The Japanese education system believes that requiring students to clean the school themselves teaches respect, responsibility, and emphasizes equality. – Source
16-20 Education and Literacy Facts
16. The word “Oklahoma” was put on the state flag to combat widespread illiteracy in the state. – Source
17. In 2010 George Lucas said “I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race.” Two years later, Lucas sold Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney for 4.05 billion dollars and donated the proceeds to a charity that focuses on education. – Source
18. If you’re a child laborer for Apple or any of its suppliers, and you’re found out, your education is paid along with wages while studying and a guaranteed job at the end of your education. – Source
19. Eton College is one of the most expensive schools in Britain. It was originally founded to provide free education to poor boys. – Source
20. There’s a society of 1.2 million where men wear veils and women do not; most women are Literate while most men are illiterate; and where livestock is owned by the women. And they’re Muslim, living in the middle of the Sahara Desert. – Source
