Capital Region Ex-Offenders Support Coalition (CRESC)
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Read, or Go to Jail

12/7/2011

9 Comments

 
When the State of Arizona projects how many prison beds it will need, it factors in the number of kids who read well in fourth grade (Arizona Republic (9-15-2004)). 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.

Low literacy is strongly related to crime. 70% of prisoners fall into the lowest two levels of reading proficiency (National Institute for Literacy, 1998).

Low literacy is strongly related to unemployment. More than 20% of adults read as or below a fifth grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage.

Literacy statistics and juvenile court
  • 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
  • More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate.
  • Penal institution recWhen the State of Arizona projects how many prison beds it will need, it factors in the number of kids who read well in fourth grade (Arizona Republic (9-15-2004)). 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.

    Low literacy is strongly related to crime. 70% of prisoners fall into the lowest two levels of reading proficiency(National Institute for Literacy, 1998).

    Low literacy is strongly related to unemployment. More than 20% of adults read as or below a fifth grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage.

    Literacy statistics and juvenile court
    • 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
    • More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate.
    • Penal institution records show that inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000 per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders.
    • Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure.” Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level. (Begintoread.com
    So, the moral of this story is that mentoring and tutoring kids (especially in reading) can directly lead to a decrease in crime over time. This is all so interwoven into poverty, which beckons me to realize even more that poverty is a vicious cycle that is multi-layered. Read or go to jail. Sorry for the lousy early 90′s graphic look on this wallpaper, but I think it's effective.ords show that inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000 per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders.

  • Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure.” Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level. (Begintoread.com)
So, the moral of this story is that mentoring and tutoring kids (especially in reading) can directly lead to a decrease in crime over time. This is all so interwoven into poverty, which beckons me to realize even more that poverty is a vicious cycle that is multi-layered. Read or go to jail. Sorry for the lousy early 90′s graphic look on this wallpaper, but I think it's effective.

9 Comments
vladhbg link
12/29/2011 05:30:04 am

Knowing this information, why aren't we as a society doing more to promote meaningful intervention as well as demanding mandatory Pre K & K be funded for all school districts? This is a simple and very low cost fix. Why can't we be more proactive, especially when the stakes are so high?

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Carlos Osorio link
7/19/2012 05:29:10 am

Some of us once we reach a certain age we consider ourselves too old to go back to school. The idea of spending time in a classroom and listen to a lecture is not appealing to us. Go back home and do homework does not fit our schedule. School is not the dream of many of us but we are certainly learning every day in a direct or indirect way. What we choose to learn is what will clearly mark the difference between success and failure.

When I was younger I started and quit school several times; I wanted to learn but because the learning process was too slow for me. For other student it was too fast and complicated. Education is a matter of what means we choose to learn every day. What works for me does not necessarily have to work for you. I have tendency of working better on my own and I surely learn better when left to my all means. Online education is the tool that fit my needs and maybe the life style of everyone that has a job and children at home.

Online education offers you the flexibility that conventional educational will never allow you to have. Classes do have schedules but they are recorded for review at a later time. There is no such thing as ”missing a class” unless you deliberately choose not to attend it. Grades are not based on your attendance but you progress. A lecture given on a subject is just the starting point of continuous research as you are mostly researching more information on the topic and writing about it.

Online education is made for people that do not need any type of external incentives to continue but are driven but their own motivation to succeed. Do you see yourself dedicating about 10 hours a week to you education? Can you let homework deadlines be your guide as of how to keep your assignments up to date? Do you like to write? Do you like to work without constant interaction with people but let your own research steer you through the process?

If you answered yes to the above questions then online education might be for you. I’m not saying that online education is like getting on a boat alone. I am saying that you have a guiding hand but you are the one doing all the rowing. There is constant support by the teachers as well as technical, academic and financial department but once again you are in charge of your success.
Education does not only refer to traditional education in which you receive a degree or certificate. Education is what we choose to learn every day. What do we watch on TV on a daily basis? What do we read? Who do we spend our time with? You might think that people that watch educational programs are geeks; that reading is for losers and that your friends from the block are worth spending your time with.

Carlos Osorio, Ex-convict, Author and Intensive Supervision Program Graduate. Mr. Osorio has successfully assisted program members with job search solutions and has given speeches to local ex-offenders. Questions or comments to cosorio@lj-solutions.com

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Kaja Vik Askeland
10/10/2019 10:59:30 am

Hi. This was an interesting read. Where can I find the sources for the information and the statistics? I need it for an essay I`m writing.

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