Editorial: Gaining literacy opens doors

I HAVE always valued my ability to read and write. To be able to decipher and replicate the black squiggles we call writing gives us access to a lot more than we give it credit for.

Imagine not being literate ... and listen to the doors closing. Everything on this page would make no sense whatsoever.

Imagine how it must be for someone who picked up education later in life, learning to read and write after years of illiteracy - their horizons would instantly expand and so much would become available, possible and attainable.

That's why it was so good to read among the published UCOL graduates a large number of people who have completed the Level 5 National Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (vocational/workplace).

These men and women are going to be putting themselves out into the community, teaching others the joys of being literate and opening doors for them.

It's a sad fact that our educational system does not suit everyone, and many people have had to go through life burdened by a small but important inability.

Being able to read and write is a skill most of us take for granted - when we look at words in any form, they automatically arrange themselves into something we immediately recognise and understand.

But, for too many people, that does not happen. It goes without saying they are denied many things the literate enjoy, and life becomes an obstacle course in which every fence is faced with fear and overcome with cunning, deceit and bluff.

They need to be able to read and write to live a full life, free of that anxiety.

So congratulations to all those graduates who, with UCOL and Training For You, learned the skills to be able to pass on the gift of literacy.

We who write for a living thank you.