Comments by Howard_Scholar
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Posted on May 15 at 11:04 a.m.
I did a little research last night... here are my findings:
Evidence shows that children who do not read by third grade often fail to catch up and are more likely to drop out of school, take drugs, or go to prison. So many nonreaders wind up in jail that Arizona officials have found they can use the rate of illiteracy to help calculate future prison needs.
from- http://www.wonderofreading.org/statistic...
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Business contracts with the prison system to underpay inmates for jobs like answering the company phone. It is very very cheap labor. For the first time ever, in five states, more is spent on prisons than on colleges, according to a new report from the Pew Project on the States. Last year alone, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion spent 20 years earlier. However, the recidivism rate remains virtually unchanged, with about half of released inmates returning to jail or prison within three years. A close examination of the most recent U.S. Department of Justice data found that while one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is incarcerated, the figure is one in nine for black males. For black women in their mid- to late-30s, the incarceration rate has hit the one-in-100 mark. Pew also found that in the last 20 years, inflation-adjusted general fund spending on corrections rose 127 percent while higher education expenditures rose just 21 percent.
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In California "if the child isn't reading on 4th grade level when tested they will plan to budget building another jail cell. “Based on this year’s fourth-grade reading scores,” observes Paul Schwartz, a Coalition "Principal in Residence" at the U. S. Department of Education, said “California is already planning the number of new prison cells it will need in the next century.” from Democracy and Equity: CES’s Tenth Common Principle 1998 by Kathleen Cushman
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In Indiana prison information and they base it on 2nd grade scroll down to the
comments area #2 Investing in LiteracyThe former governor of Indiana has stated that determining the number of new prisons to build is based, in part, on the number of second graders not reading at second-grade level. Low literacy is the socio-economic factor prison inmates have most in common.
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In Arizona officials have found they can use the rate of illiteracy to help calculate future prison needs. Evidence shows that children who do not read by third grade often fail to catch up and are more likely to drop out of school, take drugs, or go to prison. So many nonreaders wind up in jail that (These statistics were provided by The Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Every Person a Reader by Stephen D. Krashen.)
Posted on May 14 at 1:55 p.m.
Natchezsouthside,
I agree that personal responsibility is important.
But when my mom is working 2 jobs that both pay pennies above minimun wage to insure that her children have food and clothes, who is at home to teach "personal responsibility?"
Or when a 10 year old, lets call her Samantha, has to raise her siblings because her mom is trying to escape her reality by using drugs, and Samantha is penalized for showing up to school late because she has "motherly duties" to fulfill... Is that not personal responsibility? Based on the school's attendance policy, after # of tardies Samantha is deemed absent. A certain # of absences lead to the lowering of a grade. So no matter how smart she is, because of her tardiness and subsequent absences, she will be viewed by school personell as irresponsible, unpunctual, that is unless, someone happens to "give" her the time of day to listen to her side of the story... and not just listen but stop "looking in the mirror" long enough to help.
And while libraries are never closed, I'm not aware of one library within walking distance of a non- White neighborhood in this town. Neither am I aware of any public transportation in this town that will take me there.
Finally, no man is an island and despite popular belief, no one simply "pulls him or herself up by their own boot straps". It takes the support and commitment of other people for ALL OF US to succeed. You might pull the strap, but you didn't make the boot, you didn't make the leather, and you didn't create the gravity that allows you to stand still long enough to pull the strap or anything else. IN OTHER WORDS, WE NEED EACH OTHER.
Community . Look it up.
As I said, one thing leads to another.
Posted on May 14 at 12:57 p.m.
I'm amazed at the great zeal and energy displayed to support the expansion of a prison. Wouldn't it be such a tribute to humankind to invest those resources and energy into eliminating the ROOT of the problem rather than the RESULT of the problem. Allow me to explain.
The unjust social structures that have plagued our great state for decades prevent all children from receiving a QUALITY education. Many teachers put very little time and effort into crafting lessons that will EFFECTIVELY engage the students. This could be due to the lack of resources available at schools within certain demographics. Some teachers, because of prejudices, fail to see the importance of learning pedagogical approaches that allow them to effectively relate to students of diverse backgrounds. The students become disinterested and school becomes a weekday social club. Teachers are frustrated and so goes the saga of how crappy schools get crappier.
So the unjust social structures led to poor education. Poor education leads to no employment. No employment leads to hopelessness and homelessness ( or poverty). When a person reaches the hopelessness/ poverty stage, he or she begins to use coping strategies to survive OR escape the reality of his or her life: Violence, drugs, sex and believe or not CHURCH. Unfortunately, the latter is sometimes ineffective and the former take precedence. Prisons are then built to insure that society doesn't have to deal with the monster that it helped to create. And because no one likes monsters, we're okay with pouring billions of dollars a year into keeping these monsters away from us. Why not just destroy the prejudices and social structures that create the monsters in the first place.
What if, instead of adding more beds to the prison, we built a trade school where individuals could learn brick laying, carpentry, wielding, etc. Upon completion of the program, the graduates would be assisted in starting a construction agency and each would own a percentage of the company.
What if, instead of expanding the prison, we built and educational center, complete with an educational arcade open after hours, an art studio, a computer lab, a parenting center, etc.
What if, instead of pouring all that money into more prison beds, we used it to fund a summer school where students could attend interactive classes in their favorite subject areas, making summer school a proactive incentive rather than a reactive penalty.
The possibilities are endless. The question is are we willing to address the ROOT of the problem or will continue to use billions of dollars of year to massage the RESULT of the problem. One thing leads to another.
But what do I know. I'm only 24.
Disclaimer:
To be sure, I'm not diminishing one's need and obligation to maintain self control and to govern one's self in a manner that supports the common good of all.
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Posted on July 7 at 11:25 p.m.
Thanks be to God for the life of James West, Jr. May we never forget what he has taught the world both in life and death.
Rev. Joseph A.C.Smith
On Obituary for James Tolbert West Jr.