He Asked Classmates To Read A Sentence. The Result Went Viral.

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She wore a silhouette of clothes that were Bitch, I don't know that word. I don't even know how to read. I don't know why. She wore a silhouette of clues that were extraordinary, but somewhat gosh. All right, now what does that mean? I have no idea. Like it's clues, it's nice or something like that. She wore a, I don't know what this shit says. I don't know what this shit says.

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I don't know what this shit says. I don't know what this shit says. Alright, let's pause the video there.

145.803 - 165.753 Amala Ekpunobi

Now I see a lot of people immediately saying these kids should feel embarrassed. They should feel humiliated for not being able to read this sentence. I do think they should feel a pressure to read. to become more proficient with these sorts of skills. Now let's take a look at the sentence. The sentence is she wore a silhouette of clothes that were extraordinary, but somewhat gauche.

165.773 - 184.236 Amala Ekpunobi

That's the sentence that they're being asked to read. And not a single one of them could get from start to finish on that sentence and read everything properly. Now that is shocking to me. I don't think it's gonna be so shocking as we get through this video and explain why a lot of these things are happening. But this video is just to sound the alarm that they are happening.

184.296 - 204.77 Amala Ekpunobi

The kids are in high school and the kids cannot read, okay? Now this original video got 1.6 million likes on TikTok. It transferred to other platforms. It's going super, super viral. People have a lot to say about this. They're trying to point out all the different ways in which we've gone wrong as a society to fail these children. They've pointed out that these children are failing themselves.

282.158 - 302.637 Amala Ekpunobi

And I think video number two pushes the boundaries of this conversation a little bit further and that it's not just a reading issue and not knowing how to properly read a sentence is actually on the other end of being able to read that sentence not comprehending what it means and not being able to in your own words, let somebody know what it is you're reading and what it meant.

302.617 - 321.334 Amala Ekpunobi

So there's a lot called into question here, not only reading, but critical thinking skills and comprehension. Now, as I said, this is happening in a Philadelphia high school. I decided to look up the literacy rates in Philadelphia specifically, and it does seem like Philly in particular has a huge problem with literacy.

321.314 - 346.729 Amala Ekpunobi

It says here around 22% of Philadelphians age 16 and older lack basic literacy skills. As far as adult literacy is concerned, reports suggest that roughly 52% of adults in Philadelphia struggle with basic reading skills. There's also a reading crisis in Philadelphia that highlights that 71% of fourth graders in Philadelphia are not reading at grade level. So the stats here are not looking good.

346.749 - 360.966 Amala Ekpunobi

And I think show us exactly why we're getting videos like this on TikTok where high schoolers are unable to read. Now, of course, this has gone throughout not only the school system in Philadelphia, but it's gone nationwide. These videos, it's the nature of being viral.

361.066 - 374.102 Amala Ekpunobi

And instead of the Philadelphia school system or the particular administration at this one school handling the issue, addressing the issue, they're actually going after the student who made these original TikToks.

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Make sure they know how to like button their buttons, zip up their like zippers, tie their shoes. Make sure they know how to go to the bathroom by themselves. Make sure they have a routine. Get them used to like, you know, following one, two, three instructions. And make sure they can be like without you for a long time because they're going to be there for like seven to eight hours.

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And is that not like... A simple request? Is that like a simple task to make sure that your children have all of, you know, the skills that they need to successfully thrive in a classroom for the first time? See, that's what I thought. Then I got in the comment section, a woman's gonna say, this is why I'm homeschooling my children.

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This is not like developmentally like appropriate tasks for their ages. A five and a six year old? You are coming into kindergarten at five and six. I'm pretty sure I was four in kindergarten because my birthday is late. I got into kindergarten at four and I knew all of my sight words. I knew how to spell my name. I knew how to do basic math.

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I didn't know how to tie my shoes because I was autistic, but I knew how to do like literally everything else that I needed to do to thrive in a kindergarten classroom. And I'm not even that old. That wasn't even that long ago. Like I'm turning 21 and you're telling me now it's developedly inappropriate to ask that a child knows how to read their name, read and write their name by five years old.

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What the fuck is going in the house that your child doesn't know how to read their name and write their name by five.