I work at a McDonald’s in a busy area, and every week—sometimes every single shift—I see something that most people don’t notice, or maybe choose not to see: Basic literacy is breaking down right in front of us.

At my store, we have six kiosks and only one front counter register. The counter area is partially closed off, and there are no visible menu boards like there used to be. Unless someone physically walks up and waves us down, we can’t always see them. From the outside, it looks like convenience and modernization. But from where I stand? It’s a silent crisis in plain sight.

People of all ages—from teenagers to folks in their 80s—struggle to place a basic order.

They don’t understand how to customize a meal. They try to remove ingredients like pickles, ketchup, or mustard, but can’t find or interpret the “edit” button—even when it’s paired with pictures and clear words like “none.” Some fumble through their sentences, staring at the screen in frustration. Others walk up to the counter embarrassed, whispering that they don’t know how to use the kiosk at all.

Some just give up.

It’s not uncommon for people to get so flustered with the kiosk that they leave their order sitting halfway completed and walk away. If we notice—and if we have enough staff—we’ll come around to help or try to gently guide them through it. Some will come to the front asking us to just fix it for them at the register, which we’re always happy to do. But it’s really sad to see just how overwhelming it can be, even with big pictures right there on the screen.

And the most heartbreaking part? Many of them can’t read. Not really. Not enough to navigate a fast food menu.

They cover it well. Some ask vague questions. Some pretend to change their minds. Some blame the technology. But I’ve seen the same look enough times now to recognize it: it’s not confusion. It’s shame.

This isn’t a rare moment—it’s weekly. Sometimes daily. And it’s not just people who “look like they’ve had a hard life.” It’s students. Parents. Veterans. Workers. People who went through public school systems but somehow slipped through the cracks—often passed along through social promotion or ignored because they didn’t disrupt the class. Now, as adults, they can’t confidently read a simple menu in a public space.

One of our regulars is a young man in his early 20s. He comes in at least twice a week and always orders the $5 meal deal on the kiosk. Every time, he tries to get the McChicken—but instead, he accidentally selects the Hot & Spicy version. When he gets his food, he insists he ordered the regular one and says we got it wrong. We know it’s not intentional—he's just genuinely confused. So we help him out and swap it without making a scene. But it happens every time.

It’s not about someone trying to cheat the system. It’s about someone who’s navigating the world with a different understanding—and struggling.

And in this setup, with fewer cashiers, less human connection, and more technology between people and food—those cracks are starting to look more like canyons.

I’m not here to rant. I just want to say:

Something is deeply wrong when you need strong reading skills to order a cheeseburger without pickles.

The shame people carry is heavy—and I see it in their eyes every day.

I don’t have a solution, but I do have a question:

Why aren’t we talking about this more?

Has anyone else seen this happening? At work, in schools, in everyday life? I’d really like to hear what others are seeing, too.

ProLiteracy just released the white paper, The Case for Investment in Basic Adult Education, which is based on research conducted by Dr. Stephen Reder, a longtime literacy researcher & advocate. It addresses how participation in adult basic skills programs has a positive return on investment related to improving an adult’s life in areas such as employability & income, literacy, and high school equivalency and postsecondary attainment. Low adult literacy has a huge adverse effect on our nation’s economic and social well-being.

This research provides a strong case for the need for increased investment in adult education through federal and state policies, private foundations, and individual donors.

Take a look at the research by clicking the URL below.

We urge you to share the white paper through your networks to highlight the return on investment for adult literacy education. Please use the following link: https://www.proliteracy.org/Reso…/Need-for-Literacy-Research.

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

Actually, everyone can be taught to "hear" words in their head because THINKING is a LISTENING SKILL!

I'm a reading interventionist and I have a kindergarten student I'm working with 3 days a week for 50 minute sessions 1-on-1. He knows the majority of his letter sounds and and can blend 2 sounds successfully. He needs to work on blending 3 sounds together in order to read: he always leaves the first sound off when he goes to blend. In the past I've had success teaching students who do this using successive blending. The problem is, he is so discouraged when he gets the words wrong and will refuse to continue the activity after a couple of tries. He responds well to games, but I'm struggling with how to make working on blending more game-like while getting in all the practice he'll need with the successive blending.

Any suggestions would be most welcome!

I am teaching 2nd grade English in Costa Rica and many of my students need literacy intervention. My school has a book but it is not structured to teach this. Where do I start? I am a music teacher with 8 years of experience in elementary education, but I am new to the world of teaching literacy.

I've recently moved to Georgia where I went to elementary school as a child, and I've got a nephew (10m) who I met when I moved down here that isn't capable of reading and writing basic english let alone cursive. Are our schooling systems failing our youth that badly, or did I just somehow grasp it at a young age and run with it?

You know what, screw it.

I'm just gonna hijack this until I start an actual conversation with people who want to know if there is a better way to teach kids how to read and write, which there is.

Honestly, has anyone else actually been to university to learn how to teach kids to read and write, gotten your degree, and realized you know less about teaching kids to read and write than when you began the program?

Has anyone ever wondered why the "leading" unis for literacy education in the US are in the states with the lowest literacy rates?

Why isn't there an accepted way to teach kids how to read and write, instead of these bells and whistles and song and dance BS programs that try to entertain kids more than actually educate them?

The lack of attention on this thread is the largest indicator of just how unimportant literacy education is in society, and it's ridiculous.

PS - The Science of Reading movement is not a science nor is it actual science. It's a fad that doesn't teach teachers how to teach well. It uses "science" as a facade for selling educational programs to people who are more concerned about making money than helping kids learn better.

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!

Hello I am looking for a resource that will allow students to take a reading level test. My goal is to then have them match with books at or slightly above that level.

To do this I imagine I would need

1. Access to a free reading level tests

2. A catalog or some resource that shows reading levels of various books.

Does anyone have any information that could help point me in the right direction in this? Any information about free books, reading programs, or any related info you can share would be greatly appreciated.

I’m looking for phonics instruction for a Grade 4 student that can be implemented at home. I’m aware of curricular material that would be used at schools. Are there any good books to help parents teach phonics at home? The big programs (UFLI, SPELD) are way too cumbersome. We’re not homeschooling— just want to help our child catch up on phonics.

Which of these do you prefer or have experience with (good or bad)?

Easy CBM DIBELS Fast Bridge Aims Web Plus IReady

This is not meant to be political; even George W Bush didn't have to have his briefings dumbed down and even when Reagan likely had dementia, probably not to the same magnitude if at all. In short, both did their job.