Do children need to learn to read and write anymore?

I strongly disagree with you for a multitude of reasons. If we do not at least have the basic skills and there is a power or Internet outage we will have a society of morons walking around. What a disadvantage to daily living (survival) if we could not read the written word. Not to be able to curl up in bed with a good book without being plugged into an electrical connection..PLEASE! Etc., etc., etc., etc.! IMO I think this discussion happens to be the most idiotic one I have yet read on myLot! Thank goodness I was taught to read and write!

Definitely reading and writing are still needed. They still can't do away with following instructions that are written and correspondence is still part their way of life to communicate. And for me, literacy is not tyrannical (maybe through the course of earning it) but once you did what it takes to get it, it becomes a liberator.

You have a point here, but you see, ESKARENA1, reading and writing are necessities in life. Reading is a necessity even in the advent of electronic communication. Writing also needs to be learned most especially because some jobs require writing skills.

Hi ESKARENA1, I think you have forgotten completely that it is basic literacy skill that is responsible for todays growth and invention of electronic media.Everything is to be taught - even to know through electronic media.Basic literacy is like a foundation to multistoried building and with out the foundation the building will collapse.Like wise for a humans achievement in whatever profession one has to start from basic literacy. Good Luck.

I still beleive that the majority of people need good literacy skills to get a decent job. Aside from that I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the pleasure of reading a good book because they couldn't read.

if we don't learn the basic literacy skills of reading and writing,how we read articles in audio books?hehe we need some basic literacy skills so that we can read and write.

I'd have to say that reading is definitely still important, and I can tell you why as someone who has limited reading abilities. Writing might not be as necessary (especially cursive), due to typing, but reading definitely is. I have great difficulty with reading. Especially with glossy textbooks. Most textbooks are not yet on audio. Some can't be on audio. Try to find a way to put organic chemistry in audio format. You can't. Handouts aren't on audio unless someone does it for you. A lot of books are never made into audiobooks. Even if they all were, there are always signs and other things you need to actually read. I read almost all of my "fun" books on audio now. If it's not on audio, I probably won't read it. It takes me an hour just to read 6 to 10 pages. I'm sorry, but there aren't many books I find interesting enough to perservere through all of that. I'm currently reading Larry Adler's autobiography because it isn't available on audio. I've been reading it for I think over a month now, and I'm only on page 50. I have another book started that I've been reading for well over a year, maybe over 2 years. It is 400 pages and I'm finally past page 300. Reading just isn't fun for me unless it's on audio. I can listen to 6 hours a day of audiobooks easily. It is just so much faster to read on audio that when I can do it, I greatly prefer it to physical reading. But still, I have tried my best to perfect my actual reading skills so that when I do need to read something (like a restaurant menu) I can, even though it is a slow process.

I think children still need to read and write the basics even though there are other learnings opportunities. I know my daughter had to learn alot before she ever started in kindergarten.

Of course it's still important :) I don't want to have some machine reading to me, I want to read myself. I don't want to have some software adding for me, I want to know how to do it myself. THe day that the machines and the software fail, I will still be able to do what needs to be done :) The pleasure of being able to read and write can't be substituted by any gadget even if I use the same gadget to help me at times.

I think they still need to write it, here in the Phils people even the youngs are required to write on their own hands. In school there are forms that the children are required to write using their hands and the teachere will just explain the procedures to them. And by writing also we can form our own signature which makes every person unique. What will happen to us if there is no energy , the computer will not work how can we resume of what we are doing...I think we have to be literate in writing and reading still.

... What is wrong with you. Would you be making this post if you were not able to read/write? I'm just so bothered by this. If we have microwavable foods should we not learn to cook anymore? We have fake plants should we not plant anymore? You are so wrong in that thought. I hope this is a joke.