By Samir Sobhi Things used to be much simpler in the past. An illiterate person was someone who couldn't read and write. Now we have other forms of illiteracy: computer illiteracy, technical illiteracy, social illiteracy, visual illiteracy and political illiteracy; the list is endless. Being literate is not just being able to decipher the written word, but being able to decipher modern life. Look at all the graduates, millions of them, who leave college every year to join the ranks of the jobless. Is the country really short of opportunity, or are these graduates short of marketable skills? This is the question we must face. If you ask me, I would say let's turn the whole thing upside down. Let's turn the liberal arts schools, especially the literature departments, into high schools or perhaps continuing education schools for adults. What we need is an educational system that can identify and develop talents. We need people who are good at what they do. We need people who love their work and are qualified to do it. We need a system that can tell us who is good at poetry and who is good at football, who is going to be an exceptional mathematician, and who has all the makings of a brilliant plumber. Let's start thinking of literacy in terms of excellence and compatibility: excellence at a given job, and compatibility with the market. Let's learn more about the latent talents of our population and help those who are really interested in developing their skills. We don't need a nation that can simply read. We need to eradicate industrial illiteracy, agricultural illiteracy, artistic illiteracy, etc. We need schools that teach us how to speak and how to listen. We need institutions that teach us how to walk in the streets and how to drive. We need a nation with a purpose and vocation. We need literacy -- the other literacy. This week's Soapbox speaker is deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram.
