Even though the OP states they live in Philly, it is entirely possible that English is not their first language. Spanish and Chinese are both languages that a fair number of folk speak at home in that city, and thus it's just conceivable that the OP is in that situation.
It's also possible the OP may have learning or other developmental difficulties. It's way to easy to criticize others for not being fluent in English, but we should be cognizant that there could be valid reasons for that.
Or it could be laziness. Dunno.
Just saying is all