ipl-logo

Illiteracy In America Essay

600 Words3 Pages

Every day, every second, someone in America is committing a crime. With crime rate being so high, there has to be an underlying issue with these offenders. In 2006 over 72 million people were under some form of punishment including probation and parole. (US Department of Justice) 60% of prison inmates are functionally illiterate, which is a high number of individuals. Could you imagine not being able to read? In a world where reading is a necessity, it is our job to set up resources to help individuals learn to read and possibly decrease crime rate.
Crime isn’t something that will ever go away, but there are things we can do to help improve it. Illiteracy is the root issue to bigger problems, one of those problems being crime. Illiteracy is …show more content…

Since most children learn to read in school, we need to direct some of our attention on adult reading programs.. Even with the few programs I have found, many of them only focus on giving families books. This is a good idea, but it does not help if adults in the family cannot read.
Illiteracy is not always a choice. Adults who are illiterate face embarrassment or have come from illiterate backgrounds. According to Becky O’Dell, Executive Director of Community Literacy Centers, many adults feel, “ embarrassed about it and they think they’re the only one who cannot read. “ With that being said, I think adults could benefit from counselling services along with some of the reading programs mentioned above. Counselling could give adults the encouragement they need to start a reading program with confidence.
Since crime and literacy are linked, we should focus attention to incarcerated individuals. Records show, for many inmates with criminal records, a portion of their education was often obtained during incarceration. (National Center for Education Statistics) If we increase literacy in prison, we could cut back on the number of repeat offenders. Decreasing crime rate would not only help offenders, but taxpayers as well. It is necessary to give inmates resources to help them be successful in

Show More
Related
461 Words | 2 Pages

However, the penalty stands to be only temporary. Studies have shown that only seventy-one percent of those released from prison are convicted of a serious crime within only three years after their releasement ( ). Is prison housing the criminals or teaching them? A correctional facility is built to correct and rehabilitate, however prison systems in America appear to be only a short stop before the production of the criminals grand plan. The majority of those who are sentenced to prison have a high rate of returning due to their difficulty in gaining a position with a self-sustaining wage and a lack knowledge on a life without crime.

Read More
1097 Words | 5 Pages

Today in the United States, there is more than 7.1 million individuals under correctional supervision. For every 100,000 people, there is approximately 737 people incarcerated, nearly seven times higher than the world average incarceration rate of 166 per 100,000 people. This rapid explosion of prison populations over the past 25 years can largely be attributed to The War on Drugs and mandatory minimums which have primarily target the African-American community. Mandatory sentencing guides have led to many individuals being locked up for minor drug offences and non-violent crimes. As a result, prisons are overflowing with incarcerated individuals.

Read More
417 Words | 2 Pages

Reading can help a person in different ways as Schwalbe say “it can change live”. At third grade I didn’t know how to read, so my parents were really scared that I was going to fail the year. My father

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

Speaking to Holly O’Mahony of the Guardian, Dewar-Langridge scoffs at people who say that young prisoners do not deserve an education because they’ve already committed crimes. For Dewar-Langridge, education is the best choice for rehabilitating young male offenders, prevent more crimes from being committed, and allow them to become important members of the community. She said that most of the young offenders have had negative experiences at school. This means that it’s going to be a tough challenge engaging them in an educational background they did not choose for themselves.

Read More
304 Words | 2 Pages

But in reality, prisons do not allocate enough resources for the rehabilitation of inmates. The work, schooling, moral influence and discipline all take place in prisons but do barely anything in terms of rehabilitation.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

There’s a multitude of things that need to be repaired in our system, and prison is one of them. Prison reform is an important issue because we need to take care of everyone and with the way we treat criminals, we do not see them as equal. We need to assess illegal acts correctly instead of trying to put people in jail for the rest of their lives. We also need to work more on how we try to rehabilitate people. Instead of barring convicts off from the rest of us, we need to teach them how to integrate, so they can live better lives than they did

Read More
1738 Words | 7 Pages

If low-middle offenders continue to commit their crimes, the economy will worsen. Additionally, evidence shows disproportionate sentencing, which contributes to the recidivism problem. There is clearly a debate about how to deal with this dilemma. Are these individuals meant to be punished or is there a way to fix

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

Schooling within prisons helps reduce the amount of violence so well known in prisons. This creates a more safe and more comfortable environment for prison staff and prisoners. Schooling would also decrease our unemployment rate. In the United States alone we lose $60 billion for what could have been made by formerly incarcerated people if they were able to obtain jobs easier. Having an education would improve self-esteem, social skills, and involvement in their communities.

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

Thesis: It is very important for the sake of Americans tax dollars that we change the way that prisons are run and increase the productivity of inmates so when they are released from jail they are ready to be a productive member in society and have the confidence to achieve new goals. Introduction: Day after day, millions of inmates sit in jail doing nothing productive with their lives. We are paying to house inmates that may not even have a good reason to be there. For example, drug offenders are being kept with murderers and other violent offenders.

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

As an educator passionate about literacy and supporting at-risk students, I draw inspiration from my childhood struggles with learning to read. Throughout my K-12 experience, I was that struggling reader and only became motivated to read and write more fluently after finding books that interested me and working closely with a teacher who did not allow me to give up on myself and my goals. My initial pursuit of elementary and special education gave me a unique perspective on education from both lenses. Throughout my teaching career, I have sought to implement and embrace the best approach to literacy instruction and intervention for my students. While teaching special education at a public school on the south side of Chicago, I discovered my aspiration to become a reading specialist during my time in the Wilson Reading System (WRS) Level 1 practicum.

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

Prisoners should at least have the skills of reading and writing up to a high school level. That is what is needed in order to get a job. They also need to learn to take pride in their work, in hopes that they’ll bring that into the outside

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

Through each resource we have covered different perspectives and solutions for mass incarceration. There is not one finite cause of mass incarceration, but a culmination of issues like the war on drugs, prison-industrial complex, and increase felony charges. Reforming the law and looking at cases individuality can help put checks on district attorneys and prosecutors. Educating the public can be one of the best methods to reduce the rate of incarceration, but until then the issue will remain

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

Does it make sense to lock up 2.4 million people on any given day, giving the U.S the highest incarceration rate in the world. More people are going to jail, this implies that people are taken to prison everyday for many facilities and many go for no reason. People go to jail and get treated the worst way as possible. This is a reason why the prison system needs to be changed. Inmates need to be treated better.

Read More
1066 Words | 5 Pages

My Journey to Literacy As kids we are taught literacy without knowing it. Our parents or teachers have sat down with us and helped us write out our letters, sound out words, and form sentences. We were all given crayons at restaurants and a piece of paper that had fun games, cartoons, and tic tac toe. There are few people who have not learned to read and write, or have learned in a different way or at an older age.

Read More
914 Words | 4 Pages

There is a third reason which is the Most important reason, is to get a great picture of the cultural diversity of the United States of America. Knowledge of others, their cultures, their sciences and way of life, is useful for learning about a new culture. Some cultures have good qualities and bad recipes, or perhaps do not fit the nature of our lives. For example, my presence in America has made me learn a lot of American cultures that if I find them in my country and may be useful to me or in raising my children such as opening the door to the person walks behind me, honestly I like this behavior which I miss this in my country. In general, the idea of quoting the culture that suits our societies may help us to develop from the reality of our lives.

Read More

More about Illiteracy In America Essay

Related Topics

Open Document