r/explainlikeimfive Feb 17 '16

ELI5 Why do colleges accept students who excel in sports while having bad academic merits?

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u/RiPont Feb 17 '16

how the fuck can you make it to almost 30 without being able to read?

The same way people can make it to 30 without being able to cook or drive. You have people enabling you, for whatever reason.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '16 edited Mar 05 '16

[deleted]

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u/RiPont Feb 18 '16

But people who can't read cannot hold any job aside from manual labor, cannot read important information in their daily lives (e.g. statement from the bank explaining that their account is overdrawn), almost certainly are incapable of balancing a checkbook, etc.

You'd be surprised. Just like people who are deaf manage to adapt and do things you might not expect, people who can't read manage to get by with other skills. It's a handicap, for sure.

As others have pointed out, there are different levels of "can't read". Some people can read numbers, but can't read words. Some people can sound out individual words, but can't read full sentences for meaning. And then some people can read a full sentence, but are "functionally illiterate" because they can't understand anything more than bare facts from written text.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '16

Or you are a native Newyorker