Good morning, it’s Tuesday and we have a nice, short four-day week to ease us back into the post-summer routine.
It was a lovely, if slightly chillier than ideal, Labor Day weekend. I got some lake time in, which was a welcome respite – a good head-clearing reset to get me back into the back-to-school frame of mind.
Even though I am now an adult and far removed from my academic days, this time of year always feels like new beginnings to me, which spurs a desire to go shopping to get new outfits….any excuses to do some retail therapy are always welcome, I guess.
Fittingly, given the whole “back-to-hitting-the-books” theme, today is International Literacy Day, which was established by UNESCO in 1966 to “remind policy-makers, practitioners, and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating more literate, just, peaceful, and sustainable society.”
The ability to read is absolutely fundamental – the foundation of independence and long-term success. Given the insane advancements of modern society, it might surprise you to discover that just shy of 88 percent of the world’s population is able to read and write.
Uzbekistan and Greenland have a 100 percent literacy rate – the highest across the globe, though a number of other countries, including the U.S. and Russia, come close – which South Sudan has the lowest, with a pathetic 26.83 percent, according to the website World Population Review.
For this site’s purposes, the definition of “literate” is that a person over the age of 15 is able to “read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life.” This is a very baseline competency level. For comparison’s sake, 54 percent of U.S. adults read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level, which means they might struggle with complex text, and 64 percent of fourth graders in this country that considers itself a world leader, do not read proficiently, according to the National Literacy Institute.
Not surprisingly, literacy – or the lack thereof – goes hand-in-hand with socioeconomic status. If you are poor and a woman and live in an underdeveloped and/or rural area, you’re more likely to be illiterate and also more likely to be mistreated or unable to fend for yourself as a result. Low literacy rates trap people in poverty and limit their options.
The most troubling news is that literacy rates are actually trending in the wrong direction, which is to say DOWN, even in developed countries like the U.S. This is, experts say, thanks to a combination of factors – including increased screen time, pandemic-era education losses, and outdated teaching methods.
The grim reality is that we’re just reading less as a society, and it is hurting us. Just today, the New York Times is reporting that the results of a key global exam show the reading scores of 15-year-olds in the U.S. have dropped precipitously and are near their lowest point in 25 years. (As an aside, math scores are down, too, but that’s a post for a different day).
In New York City, home of the nation’s largest public school system, only about half of students in grades 3 through 8 were proficient in reading last year, which comes at a time when the city is shaking up the WAY it teaches reading…basically as controversial a topic in education as you’re going to find these days, with the exception of whether AI should be allowed in classrooms. (Side note: In NYC, for K-8, it’s not).
There are a lot of recommendations on how to address the so-called “literacy crisis”, with everything from targeted funding for lower-performing schools to better training for teachers. The easiest options – increasing access to books and limiting screen time – are probably a lot harder than they sound.
Sometimes, I have to admit, I’m really glad I have dogs and not kids.
A not bad day is on tap from a weather perspective, though perhaps that will make you feel crummy for being stuck at your desk. We’ll see partly cloudy skies with high temperatures flirting with 80 degrees.
In the headlines…
New Canadian tariffs targeting roughly $20 billion in U.S. imports officially snapped into place today, the latest escalation in an increasingly costly trade war that has ensnarled two longtime allies.
The duties apply to a variety of U.S. goods, including clothing, cheese, metal parts and wood products. The approach is meant to mimic the taxes that President Trump imposed on Canada after trade talks between the two collapsed in acrimony last month.
Canadian plane maker Bombardier responded to President Trump’s threat to ban the sale of its jets in the U.S. by touting the “tens of thousands” of American jobs it has created.
Trump on Monday posted a map of North America, where both Canada and Mexico are annexed to the United States — and shaded in stars and stripes. He also dropped several posts suggesting the state of New Mexico be renamed “New America.”
The Trump administration has once again asked the Supreme Court to intervene in its fight to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterms.
The White House posted a video Sunday depicting the president as Green Lantern, the DC Comics superhero known for using a powerful ring to create energy constructs.
The filing on Sunday came just two days after U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani extended an order against the U.S. Postal Service enforcing President Trump’s executive order for the November elections.
One of the pilots involved in the deadly Amazon cargo jet crash had jumped out of the burning plane just moments after it landed at the Miami International Airport, wild video shows.
In a time of massive political upheaval, Gov. Kathy Hochul is selling herself as a conventional politician.
For homeowners across New York, inequitable tax bills are alarmingly common. Indeed, more than half of municipalities statewide have disparities so wide in how they tax residential property that the state considers their assessment rolls unfair.
A state-based green energy housing organization is calling on Hochul to sign the SUNNY (Solar Up Now New York) Act into law, which would allow residents to use small plug-in solar panels that connect directly to normal outlets.
Hochul led a group of 18 governors who sent a letter to AG Todd Blanche calling on him to continue the federal government’s longstanding support for community-based care and the rights of people with disabilities to live with dignity.
The state Department of Financial Services, which sets premiums charged by health insurers to individuals and small businesses, has denied $1.57 billion in rate hike requests.
Hochul’s campaign accused Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman Friday of sending “fake government documents” after the his campaign mailed an official-looking tax-assessment memo to voters.
New York GOP candidates are blazing forward with a pro-tech, pro-business message in the state’s marquee November races while Democrats try to weaponize a surge in public outrage against data centers and AI.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani rolled through on a float while Hochul marched in Monday’s notoriously rowdy West Indian Day Parade — as revelers grumbled that the heightened security “damped” the party vibe.
At the annual West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn, many Haitian New Yorkers targeted by an immigration crackdown were absent from the festivities.
As New York prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Mamdani is facing criticism from some 9/11 family members and prominent political figures over his plans to attend this week’s remembrance events.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, shepherded the City through the Sept. 11 attacks, said on Sunday that he doesn’t think Mamdani should attend memorial ceremonies and it “offends” him that the mayor plans to be there.
Mamdani sparked backlash after giving a ceremonial pen from a 9/11 remembrance ceremony to a top aide who once represented a convicted al Qaeda member whose brother-in-law hijacked the plane that struck the Pentagon.
Mamdani announced that New York City will publish more than 170,000 pages of previously unreleased records related to air quality in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, shedding new light on what officials knew about toxic conditions around Ground Zero.
The documents’ release may expose the city to new or amended lawsuits. The information could also help those sickened in the years after Sept. 11 with their applications for federal victim compensation funds.
The mayor confirmed he will be at Ground Zero on Friday, standing by the families and first responders just as he did the previous year and saying he wants the focus to be on them, not him.
Mamdani has created an office to assist organizing efforts among private-sector workers, standing to endear the mayor to the many labor unions that play a prominent role in city politics.
The mayor wants Columbia University to reopen its gates to the public, according to a letter the city’s lawyers sent to the New York Supreme Court last week.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin has launched her own statewide PAC to boost Democrats in November — fueling speculation she may be trying to spread her tentacles for a potential run for higher office.
The City Council is investing in a $1 million scholarship fund to educate the Big Apple’s youngest on the world-shattering tragedy of Sept.11.
City Hall’s latest push to fast-track tenant repairs through housing court ignores landlords, who are forced to file up to 120,000 claims annually over unpaid rents and face yearslong eviction delays, critics say.
New York City sanitation officials will begin cracking down on small buildings not using the city’s official trash bins starting today.
New York City health and education officials are urging parents to double-check that their children are up to date on their vaccinations as schools return to session.
A good Samaritan helped Troy police officers rescue an 8-year-old autistic girl after she fell into the Hudson River Saturday night.
A Capital Region Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet is leading an effort to honor military personnel, veterans and first responders and commemorate those who died during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and elsewhere.
Emergency orders for Castleton-on-Hudson residents to conserve and boil water could be lifted by today, according to Mayor Michael Slik.
The City of Saratoga Springs has announced a multiyear plan to replace its undersized water mains with 8-inch pipes, a move Commissioner of Public Works BK Keramati said will improve water quality for residents.
Current and future Troy mayors now have to follow new rules for declaring a public emergency.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
