Gerald W. Bracey, The 16th Bracey Report on the Condition of the
Public Education, Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 88, No. 02, October 2006,
pp. 151-166.

I am a sociologist preparing an article following-up on a recent work published in Societies without Border’s by Smith and Hattery (2007). “If We Build It They Will Come: Human Rights Violations and the Prison Industrial Complex”. My approach is twofold: first, to outline the problem/highlight the issue as a public awareness/education issue and second to suggest teaching approaches as part of a sociological framework (perhaps network theory? social movement theory? Feminist/anti-racist/anti-classist positions?) to create change, In a conversation recently with Judith Blau, we both lamented that the problem is getting students to move from knowing something about the issue to doing something about it. How do we shift from awareness to action?

I would welcome your comments and thoughts on these ideas. In keeping with the participatory framework of Sociologists without Borders ( http://www.sociologistswithoutborders.org/ ) I would encourage any of you that would like to consider co-authoring this piece with me to contact me directly at adbrown (at) alcor (dot) concordia (dot) ca or via gmail where I am adudleybrown

Best

Alan Brown
Montreal, Quebec

The Reading Teacher Vol 57 No. 7 April, 2004
Article: One Size doesn’t Fit all: Slow Learners in the Reading Classroom by K. Cooter and R. Cooter
The references at the end of the article are great:
School to Pipeline Part1…Part 2…Part 3
Also contact Johanna Wald-Policy analysist at Civil Rights Project @ Harvard Univ. i think she has published a book.
Google School to Prison Pipeline and so much info will be available.
So far, I have documented these states;
Indiana…2nd grade Rdg Scores (EDWEEK 12/3/99)
Ohio……3rd grades Rdg Scores (Rdg. Tchr 4/04
California…4th and 9th grade(Rdg. Tchr. 4/04
Iowa…5th & 8th grade NAEP Assesment Scores
Texas and Florida according to T. Willard Fair

I agree with David Boulton and add that it is also a crime that NCLB and other govt schemes underresource (cheat) urban schools. That is the biggest crime. HOW DO WE FIX IT????
Ruth

Personally, I don’t think the issue here is the lack of the utility-skill of reading or even the lack of literacy acquired knowledge, though both are extremely important. Rather, the more damaging effects of literacy difficulties happen deep in children’s sense of themselves and in turn affect their learning in general in ways that go far beyond reading.

What happens to a child who develops an emotional aversion to the feeling of confusion?

What happens to the health of their learning in general?

What happens to how well they are able to learn their way through complex cognitive challenges?

An automatic subconscious (like reading itself) aversion to the feeling of confusion decapitates learning at the threshold of the confusion.

Parents, teachers and society as whole unintentionally yet insidiously participate in contextualizing reading in ways which cause children who struggle to read to feel as if there is something wrong with themselves.

What happens to a young children’s life-paths / learning trajectories once they start self-talking themselves into believing that they aren’t smart - when, in order to protect themselves from the shame, they develop emotional>motivational>attentional habits that disable their learning in order to avoid the painful feelings?

I think our lack of understanding of what is involved and at stake in learning to read is the real crime.

David Boulton
http://www.implicity.org/tour1.htm

Thanks for chiming in and for the link.
As I posted, I’m trying not to make assumptions, just quoting people where there seemed to be indications that they did in fact use reading scores to predict future imprisonment.
This isn’t to say that it’s an accurate lone indicator, just that it is actually considered.

Stay in touch.

@Marilyn: AWESOME!

I ran some correlations on percent of state populations imprisoned, reading below basic level, and living in poverty. Those data are, I think, instructive. To be sure, more analyses are needed, but just this preliminary glance is helpful:

http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/

“Based on this year’s fourth-grade reading scores,” observes Paul Schwartz, a Coalition principal in residence at the U. S. Department of Education, “California is already planning the number of new prison cells it will need in the next century.”

I have tried to track down Paul Schwartz, too. I have called his former schools in NY that he was the principal of and people have told me he has retired. I have contacted the Dept. of Ed., ERIC, the Pew Chritable Trust, Lesley Morrow, Walter McMahon, Henry Levin, Lance Lochner, Enrico Moretti and googled the topics with NO luck finding ANYONE that knows of the original study or report.

PLEASE…If anyone can help, I’d greatly appreciate it! Much thanks!

You can get all your local clubs to support the finances you need to get reading books into your schools. Here in Durango, our Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club, etc, etc, all have programs within their clubs to provide books and club members to read at our elementary schools.

The Kiwanis Club sends around a roster, for members to sign up and spend an hour reading to Head Start children in our school’s. The Club provides money for the school’s to buy hundreds of books. The children get to keep the books, after the club member has gone in that week to read to them. These children probably would never have a book to read at home, so it’s rather nice that they get to take them home with them to keep after the reading session.

Hope this helps. Perhaps your local newspaper would be able to help support reading books for children in your school’s too. Our local paper asks the business community to sponsor putting newspapers in schools so that the students can read the paper in class every day. Plus your local library, might have some Pre-K reading books they can give to your organization to put into the schools. Ours has a clean out once a year.

Sorry I can’t help you more then what I found online. You could contact that gentleman in the quote, or the author of the paper it’s linked from.
If I have time later I’ll try and do that myself.

Based on this year’s fourth-grade reading scores,” observes Paul Schwartz, a Coalition principal in residence at the U. S. Department of Education, “California is already planning the number of new prison cells it will need in the next century.”

Everyone says it but where is the study that determined this? I REALLY need to see it. Can anyone help? Please send me the link.

We do have a video that discusses the correlation: http://www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/c1/socialdanger.htm

It’s much easier to understand the underlying reasons for the correlation if you also look at our segments on “Emotional Danger” and “Shame”

All the best to all of you

David Boulton

prison beds third graders

and various websites come up. One is The National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice, and you can email them with your questions.

About 7 years ago, I read surveys had been done, and over 80% (I forget the exact percentage, but it was just over 80%)of youth in prisons surveyed, were illiterate.

Based upon that statistic, it would make sense that some states are basing their prison population/beds upon the test results of elementary school aged children.

The crime of course, is that we don’t teach them to read.