Aliteracy, the ability to read but the unwillingness to do so, is a growing problem in American society. Aliteracy crosses all socioeconomic levels, thereby allowing autocratic, charismatic leaders to influence thinking and decision-making. Social changes that have contributed to the problem of aliteracy include the influence of television on reading motivation and comprehension, the changing structure of American families, and state minimum competency legislation. A look at reading instruction in other countries, specifically Greece and New Zealand, can shed some light on possible solutions to the problem of aliteracy. These include deemphasis on the basal reading system, fill-in-the-blank workbooks, and teaching for competency tests. Reading must also be made relevant for students, by demonstrating to children that the reason for learning to read is so they can read and learn independently and enjoy the process. Modeling reading behaviors can work in the teacher education classroom as well as in the elementary or secondary classroom. Communicating ideas in writing is the vital connection between learning to read and becoming an avid reader: language arts methods courses must provide preservice teachers with writing confidence so that they can model positive writing behaviors in the classroom and teach writing processes more effectively. (HTH)