Pathway to Promise (BLOG)

I often think about a prison visit that I made with a colleague of mine who is also a literacy ally.  I am Black, and Tammy happens to be White.  We visited our friend, Betty, who was the instructor for inmates who were working to earn a G.E.D.  Betty is stout, with twinkling blue eyes and a warm, yet no-nonsense demeanor. We decided to visit two of her classes in Livingston, Texas, home of the TDCJ Polunsky Unit, where Betty taught 60 male inmates all subjects to pass their GED. Betty is also a literacy advocate who recognized foundational literacy skills were a struggle for the men she served.  Previously, she was a high school reading interventionist and brought all of those skills to bear, while producing an overflow of success stories for inmates who learned to read fluently as well as comprehend text under Betty’s watchful eye.  A few of the inmates called her “Momma.”  I will never forget one inmate with tattoos covering his face stating emphatically, “I love Miss Betty; me and a bunch of the men would kill for Miss Betty.”  I admired his loyalty and, at the same time, never doubted the authenticity of his desire to protect the mentor who loved the men unconditionally. The respect and honor they gave her was something to behold. Betty always communicated her firm belief in their ability to achieve their academic goal of passing the GED while becoming better men in the process. 

Tammy and I interviewed the inmates she affectionally called “my men” in two groups of 30.  What happened to be the common denominator among them?  Poverty. The majority were people of color or White men from poor neighborhoods who had unsuccessfully attempted to navigate the warzone of poverty. About one-third had been warehoused in special education classrooms and did not gain the literacy skills they needed to succeed in life.  We discovered that at least another third were diagnosed dyslexic adults, and the rest had attended sub-standard schools that had not been preparing them for a 21st century knowledge economy where the currency is literacy. Many did not recall having an aspirational, caring adult in their corner, neighborhood, or school.  As they failed at their first job to become a reader, and it was difficult to conceptualize a future that would allow them to become successful unless they overcame the obstacle of being functionally illiterate.  There is a proverb my father taught me that comes to mind when I think of these men and this unforgettable day: “For lack of vision, the people perish.”  Literacy gives us a vision that allows us to defer gratification.  Although we may not be able to see it at that moment, there is something great inside of each of us, beaconing us to press on through the murkiness of what is unknown and towards the things we hope for that have the promise of being bigger than our circumstances. 

The average cost to house an inmate is $31,000 yearly.  The average cost of solitary confinement is $75,000.  State prisons cost societies $43 billion annually.  Almost every state has the same track record.  This does not include the incalculable loss of lost human potential.  The lack of will and focus to prevent reading failure by investing in evidence-based practices in schools is irrefutably tied to functional illiteracy.  The failure to plan to sustain those same practices with a focus on powerful, evidence-aligned intervention is also a sad commentary about what is valued in our country.  Illiteracy is tied to high levels of recidivism when inmates fail to learn to read and is drastically reduced when they do. The science of how we learn to read reveals that our brains are wired for language but not for reading.  I am convinced that our souls are wired for reading.  Our illusive spirits can be broken or built to last by words and take us anywhere through books.  

So, it comes down to this: justice is about making wrong things right. In this country, do we have the vision to focus on literacy success for all as a civil right in this 21st century-knowledge economy? If America is to remain internationally competitive and free, it is imperative that we get reading right the first time. If the scholar is dyslexic, we must intercede with a deep sense of urgency until the opportunity gap is closed as we would for a three-alarm fire. This expectation must be the same, regardless of zip code, or we are bowing down to classism.  Parents who are forced to choose between private therapy at a beginning rate of $50 an hour or groceries and survival do not have a real choice. In the experience of our nonprofit Neuhaus Education Center, whether the scholar lives in Appalachia, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas where most students are EL learners, or an inner-city school where the majority or students are Black and on free or reduced lunch, these systems experience double-digit growth that begins to dramatically close the opportunity gap through the actions of skilled and well-coached teachers, interventionists and leaders.  

What will we choose? Will we lay down our swords, end the “reading wars,” and insist that the science of reading lead the way to an equitable future for all Americans?  Every time literacy allies do what they can based upon what is proven, with outgoing concern for those who cannot advocate for themselves, a measurable difference will be made. We must never underestimate the power of being willing to do the right thing repetitively until we get different results. We are in this together for the child, whose parent is forced to seek private therapy which will cost them a minimum of $50 per hour, and for the parent in poverty who must choose between rent or therapy. The stakes are high – destinies will be changed because of what you do on your watch and what we do collectively. Let us make literacy success for all our collective moonshot. As Fredrick Douglas stated with great wisdom, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”  

Covid-19 has underscored the need to reinvent education and co-create a new social contract with families across the nation. The current social contract as it exists, in too many cases today, is that we will accept having the highest incarceration rate in the world with a quarter of the world’s prisoners being housed in our country. To provide context, Americans make up only 4.4 percent of the global population. Let us demand the highest literacy rates of adults and children in the world. The science is proven. It is now imperative that we put a stake in the promise of investing in a re-envisioned educational system built on a foundation of evidence-based practices. It is for the sake of our children, our society, and our collective future.

 

By Dr. Tracy Weeden

President & CEO

Neuhaus Education Center


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