Letters to the editor: Western Massachusetts should boost
literacy efforts  Letters to the Editor By Letters to the Editor
on October 21, 2013 at 4:10 AM  I read the article on U.S.
adults lagging in literacy (The Republican, Oct. 15) with great
interest. A while ago, there was an article in The Republican on
how important parental support and encouragement is to
education.  Another problem that has led to the literacy problem
is social promotion. When a child gets moved ahead because of
age and years in school, it does them no favors. They are not
learning what they need to learn in the basics of reading and
mathematics, and they just get further and further behind until
they quit.  It is so wrong that a nation with so much wealth
spends so little on education, or it’s not spent in the right
way. How do we reach out to these individuals who do not have
the education (whether it be reading, math or technology) and
get them to a place that can help them? For many it is a great
embarrassment to admit they are v