Today. he added. the number of persons never having attended school./except for special cases. is extremely small or practically nonexistent. Recalling two surveys by the Office of Education in 1948 and 1950. the Commissioner noted that of an estimated 90.000 adults enrolled in literacy classes at that time an estimated 60.000 or twothirds that number were of nonEnglishspeaking background. In other wordsHe saidof the little that was being done the major part was focused on the needs of immigrants. Moreover. he continued. such literacy instruction as did exist took place almost exclusively in cities having populations over 25.000 with almost nonexistent programs on rural areas where there were large concentrations of illiterate persons. On first observation the above registered decline in the number of Negroes who have not attended school appears to represent general progress in public education. but upon closer scrutiny the apparent positive effectiveness of mass education is altered by an awareness that the pace is too slow to be consistent with the demands of the times and. second. the revelation is further marred by the fact that whereas formerly illiterates were capable of producing in a semisubsistence economy. these persons are helpless and often suffer complete loss of motivation because of academic handicaps in urban society.
Keywords matched
immigrants