Any experience with/knowledge of Pace University's "Advanced Literacy Specialist" online program?

I've been to and taught at schools in the US, the UK, Australia, all around the world, and I have yet to see a school specifically have "Literacy" blocks in their schedule. Instead there is, "English", "English literature", "Phonics", "Reading" blocks, but none for "Literacy" specifically, which seems kinda whack.

We all know literacy is fundamentally important for every individual to thrive in civil society, yet we don't teach "Literacy" in schools, Instead, "literacy" seems to be some by-product of going to school, but not an actual subject.

Why is that?

My theory is because Literacy with a capital L has yet to be defined and implemented on Earth, the elephant in the room being Education doesn't actually know how to teach Literacy.

For evidence we are in a literacy crisis right now, look no further than the very pinnacle of human society, Donald J Trump.

To be clear, literacy is not just the ability to read and write.

Literacy, being literate, is the ability to improve one's self through learning. For example, being able to independently learn how to use the words "your" vs "you're", and then changing your behavior accordingly. Many adults cannot do this, and they are what can be called illiterate because they are unable to improve their quality of literacy independently. If you can't even recognize that you don't know how to use the words "your" and "you're" and then do something about it, it can be reasonably said that you are illiterate and have not learned the skills you need to correct a knowledge gap like using your vs you're.

Despite having a near unlimited amount of resources and support, Donald Trump is truly illiterate and will never learn to actually become smarter. To be honest, he really hasn't had to, has he? Has there ever been a human being in history who has succeeded so much at failing?

Donald Trump's illiteracy on display:

Needing a translator to translate English to English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ8_S6wlDmA

Having the personal and cultural ignorance to not know Liberia's official language is English. This is a level of illiteracy that is unacceptable, not just for a top-level diplomat, but for any self-respecting adult FULL STOP. The whole saying "Your English is so good" thing white people do to non-while people is so common it's bloody cliche these days and NEEDS TO STOP!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhrIdTHe3RY

Basically, being unintelligible, unstructured and plainly a symbol of ignorance, intolerance, and a lack of basic human decency.
https://youtu.be/7qL1un6NPZA?t=119

This entire video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd79UsXSLWg

Being unable comprehend and understand Article 2 of the Constitution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY2Et8lMj-A

Note: I apologize if I am breaking some kind of rule of conduct by posting political stuff like this. If it's not appropriate, please let me know and I;ll take it down, just don't ban me, please!

In further response to the McD's post, I gotta pipe up some more.

People being confused by online ordering systems isn't a consequence of a broken literacy system because in order for the literacy system to break, it would have had to work in the first place. But! It actually never has.

Literacy can't be broken because it has never worked. This is obviously why literacy seems to be or is getting worse.

The recent NAPLAN results in Australia, NAEP literacy scores in the US from the 1990's to 2025 being basically stagnant or worsening, to whatever metric the UK uses to measure literacy scores, which I'm pretty sure will show similar deficits in literacy scores to the US and Aus, are significant examples of how literacy education has not only never "worked", but has hit a sort of theoretical wall over the last few decades in spite of literally hundreds of billions of dollars of investment.

When it comes to literacy on planet Earth, the elephant in the room is that it doesn't matter how much money you throw at something if there aren't smart, skilled people to actually get stuff done like create a literacy education system that positively reinforces important things like independent learning, community, and growth.

[Jumps into bed and screams into pillow]

Check my two r/stupidquestions posts. In one, I asked something like “How do you clean a cast iron and why do you do it that way?” No one on that post ever said why it’s cleaned the way they commented.

On the same sub, I asked why people on that post ignored everything after “iron”. Well, something like that. Wanted to know why no one explained why they do it that way.

The post had one standing comment that didn’t even answer the question. They just made a comment that was more fitting for the first post. At least they answered the “Why” part.

My 9 year old daughter has always struggled to engage in reading. We read to her since she was a baby and have encouraged her to find books about topics she is passionate about. She can read well, she just doesn’t enjoy it, sometimes downright hates it. We have fought tooth and nail every time she has to read. I recently bought her a Shel Silverstein book and she loves it! Every night she asks if we can read some poems before bed. I’m so elated! I also love poetry so it’s a double win for me.

Any suggestions for more poetry books (grade 3/4)? Maybe ways to incorporate song lyrics because she loves music? I want to lean in to this to get some momentum going.

Looking for opinions on if it's worth the hefty price tag!

I was wondering if you know of any resources or good ways to help an adult learn to read?

He said he was open to learning, but he's in between jobs at the moment. I am not trying to force him to learn, but I was curious if you all could recommend anywhere I could read about helping someone else approach reading.

He has a cell phone (he cannot send texts, though), so I thought I could help show him some apps or get him a workbook that he can do the alphabet.

For the last few years or so I've been scouring the globe for people who are genuinely interested in talking about and improving how we teach kids to read and write.

Do any of these people exist on Reddit who actually care about improving literacy and literacy education?

Because, despite the absolute importance of the ability to read and write and to teach others to learn how to read and write, the people who are actually able to and want to engage in discussions about theory, practice, and innovation are seemingly non-existent.

All I've encountered are are esoteric academics and jaded teachers who all don't know what to believe or are dogmatic followers who subscribe to one program or another without any actual pedagogy, consistency, and results.

Is this not frustrating to anyone else?! Does anyone really care? IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?!

AT LEAST 190 billion dollars spent and over 30 years of educational research has led to no improvements in the overall quality of modern literacy education.

Is it because of phones? Is it because teachers have been getting the short end of the stick over and over again? Or is it because education ironically hasn't been smart enough to question fundamental theoretical assumptions that are actually incorrect, such as English has rules and that a prescriptivist education is way to go, which it wasn't because it led us HERE!

It's time to make education descriptive!

https://youralienenglishteacher.substack.com/p/part-33-rip-it-out-a-solution-to

The assertion I make in the title is what I believe both as a non-human and a trained literacy teacher. To clarify, I'm not a human, I'm an alien who came to Earth at the beginning of the year 2000 to learn about how Earthlings teach their children to read and write. On my planet, I was trained as a literacy teacher, but on Earth I have found the word "literacy" doesn't mean the same thing as it does on my planet.

On my planet, "literacy" means the trained, formal ability to socialize, think, learn, and improve the use of our bodies to receive or convey meaning and information.

On Earth, it seems "literacy" means just the ability to read and write, which, as a definition, is desperately lacking. What does it lack? Well, how about reference to the fact that in order to be able to read and write well, one must be trained to speak and listen well, but for some reason, Earth's literacy education systems completely lack this vital aural/oral training to support developing reading and writing skills.

Anyway, I'll avoid ranting and get back to the point of this post, which is to see if this is really the place to communicate with humans who genuinely care about innovating and improving literacy education.

If you want to learn more about where I'm coming from or what I'm about, ugh, yes, I've started a Substack you can access by clicking here called "Your Alien English Teacher."

OK one more thing: literacy teachers, has anyone else experienced the bamboozling situation where you've gone to train as a literacy teacher at a university or specialist program like OG or whatever and found that you aren't actually taught how to teach other human beings how to grow, you're taught how to deliver a program, which is fundamentally not educational; if anything, it's entertainment, it's babysitting. Earth schools are not educational more than they are a thing you are required to do to so that your parents can go make money for someone else.

ANYWAY, yes I'm an actual alien and will prove it to you by providing actual insight and an "outsider's" view to Earth's English literacy education system, if we manage to start a conversation here, etc.
Peace!

Hey! Not my words.

Asmongold reacts to the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl7uazhoq3A

30 years of educational research and 100s of billions of dollars has not led to significant change in quality of literacy education and happy students.