Dear LPG, 

It is sobering when you think of just how much we think we know about a person by making an initial visual assessment. How they dress has a lot to do with it, and even though we are often wrong, their colouring can give away quite a bit about which part of the world their heritage might be found and their age is quite easy to approximate.  We members of the human race tend to be able to make an educated guess after having a close look at them.  Then there are the assessments that we make if we have the opportunity to talk to them for a short while, providing  they speak a language that we can understand.

But I recently saw one of those adverts that offers information rather than something for you to buy, which showed a few celebrities who live with quite marked health problems that you would probably have no idea about if they had not said so openly.

Health conditions are often quite invisible to the naked eye and there are a lot of other details that our five senses can miss.  

One such invisible trait is literacy.  When most of us think about those adults who have serious difficulty when writing a few words or who have never mastered the art of reading properly we are likely to think of people who were brought up in those countries where there is still no mandatory formal education for all children, but did you know that 16% of adults living in the UK have a really limited ability when it comes to reading or writing?

I have seen the odd drama over the years where someone has been found to be illiterate, and most show how people can hide it very well.  While we pensioners are usually past the stage where not being able to complete a form really matters, this invisible skill must touch our age group to some extent.

I found an online list showing the parts of the UK where the lack of formal education qualifications is highest, the implication being that a lack of reading and writing skills could make passing such exams difficult, and  Lewisham borough is not exactly at the bottom of the list.   

 On this International Literacy Day, it does make you think… 

BF, Lewisham

BF shares her findings…

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