Reading labels on food packaging. Following a shopping list. Knowing which gas to pump.
Millions of U.S. adults struggle with these seemingly simple tasks that others may take for granted. That's because 21% of adults struggle with low literacy skills, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Oliver James, a motivational speaker and social media influencer, said he was functionally illiterate until he started teaching himself to read in 2020. He now shares his journey on social media to promote literacy skills.
@oliverspeaks1 We got a book read. #igotabook #books #learnin #love ♬ original sound - Oliver James
"I can't read that well," he told followers in a TikTok post, "and to tell you the truth, until recently I could barely read at all."
On TikTok, he opens up about the challenges that come with learning to read as an adult, sharing his vulnerability with more than 325,000 followers on the social media platform.
Reading the words, not the book
It was in third grade when James said he realized he was unprepared for school.
"I didn't have any books or notebooks or pencils or anything — anything that would draw a kid into wanting to participate in a classroom setting," he said.
From that point on, James said he shut down, bounced from school to school, and was eventually placed in special education.
"It was every kid that had any special ability or disability or anything. Whatever you got going on, they sent them there," James explained. "Then it just felt as if I was in school with a bunch of, like, misfits."
He graduated high school without fully being able to read and entered adulthood functionally illiterate.
"I didn't really know how to read the book," James said. He knew how to read some words, but said he didn't understand what they meant.
James said when he'd go to the grocery store, instead of a list, he'd have someone send photos of what to buy. He said even that had its challenges.
"I don't know ounces. I don't know any of this stuff," he said. "And when you don't know how to read, these are the things that you miss."
He said it all changed in 2020 when he was given a book of motivational quotes, the first book he owned.
"I've been reading every single day since 2020," he said. He was in his early 30s at the time.
"If You Give a Child a Book..."
Every year, the Scripps Howard Fund, a public charity established by Scripps News in partnership with Scholastic, brings book fairs to Title I schools. Students can select which books they want to take home to start their own home library.
James said books hold the power to influence who a child becomes as an adult.
"Giving them books gives them a map," he said, "to navigate through those journeys, through life."
The Scripps Howard Fund, Scripps News, and Scripps' local television stations are asking viewers to donate to the "If You Give a Child a Book..." campaign. Just $12 provides two books, giving a child a chance to start building their home library this year.
As for adults, James said it's never too late to do the same.
"Anything you throw at me, if you be like, 'I want a garden,' it'll make you a better gardener. 'I want to have nice hair.' You'll learn the right products to put in your hair, because you'll read the labels," he said. "When you don't have that, you're functioning in the world without the map to life."
RELATED STORY | Why we're asking you to 'Give a Child a Book'
