(1) A good friend of mine is the founder and owner of a "technology type" temporary employment service. He was commenting (lamenting?) that many technology training manuals are being re-written to aim at the LCD (you know, the lowest common denominator), so that the illiterate can comprehend them.
(2) About 20 years ago I was in a local "watering hole" in New Orleans during lunch time and began talking with a Navy recruiter. Having been in the Navy, we traded "sea stories." He was perplexed because one needed a high school diploma to get in the Navy and when they would enter, waving their prized possession, he would hand it back to them and ask them to read it to him. Many could not.
I know this is a can of worms that is best opened elsewhere at another forum but common sense tells me that we have to stop promoting students regardless of their lack of comprehension all in the name of promoting their self-esteem. All the self-esteem in the world won't get Johnny a job if he doesn't know how to read or add.
(3) We must motivate the students. However, this is hard to do when the teacher has to compete with the "entertaining factors" of TV and video games. Most teachers learn how to teach but aren't trained how to be entertainers. The occasional "dynamic" teacher motivates his/her students because he/she has the natural "gift" of teaching on an entertaining level that can compete with the other input factors the student receives during the rest of his/her day.
The solution? Who knows? Perhaps institutions of higher learning should start offering "Dale Carnegie" type undergraduate courses. At least they might have a chance at grasping the students' attention.
The ability to read, comprehend and make educated decisions, in my opinion, is a must for anyone to survive the competition with those that can.