Comments on: Predicting imprisonment from reading data http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/ Evidence-based teaching methods for helping students who are at risk for school failure or who have disabilities. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:46:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Rosevita Warda http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/comment-page-1/#comment-68721 Rosevita Warda Mon, 12 May 2008 02:38:46 +0000 http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/#comment-68721 Sherry, I would love to hear more about your research into this. The connections between lack of education (in particular reading/literacy and vocabulary), poverty and crime seem obvious... yet the fact that the correlation is accepted enough to become part of prison planning, but not to mobilize our entire society to make sure our kids learn to read by 3rd grade is just mind-boggling to me. Now there's another drastic 10% cut to the education budget in California, along with the state taking an expensive loan to build more prison beds. This insanity does not make any sense, not practically, morally, or economically. The nonprofit I manage, eSpindle Learning, will provide free vocabulary tutoring licenses to all 3rd graders in the SF Bay Area for the 2008/09 school year. We're a small organization, and this will be a big push for us, but I seriously losing sleep about these stats along with what I see just in my immediate surroundings and talking with teachers and administrators. Sherry, I would love to hear more about your research into this.
The connections between lack of education (in particular reading/literacy and vocabulary), poverty and crime seem obvious… yet the fact that the correlation is accepted enough to become part of prison planning, but not to mobilize our entire society to make sure our kids learn to read by 3rd grade is just mind-boggling to me.
Now there’s another drastic 10% cut to the education budget in California, along with the state taking an expensive loan to build more prison beds. This insanity does not make any sense, not practically, morally, or economically.
The nonprofit I manage, eSpindle Learning, will provide free vocabulary tutoring licenses to all 3rd graders in the SF Bay Area for the 2008/09 school year. We’re a small organization, and this will be a big push for us, but I seriously losing sleep about these stats along with what I see just in my immediate surroundings and talking with teachers and administrators.

]]> By: JohnL http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/comment-page-1/#comment-68007 JohnL Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:09:14 +0000 http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/#comment-68007 Sherry, thanks for the news. It is valuable to talk with people and get their observations and opinions. Did your informant have any evidence about the frequency or likelihood of construction planners checking reading results? Did your informants also disclose that they look at poverty rates? Now, that would be an interesting survey to conduct: Find the folks who bid on contracts to build and actually do build prisons. Interview them intensively.... Sherry, thanks for the news. It is valuable to talk with people and get their observations and opinions. Did your informant have any evidence about the frequency or likelihood of construction planners checking reading results? Did your informants also disclose that they look at poverty rates?

Now, that would be an interesting survey to conduct: Find the folks who bid on contracts to build and actually do build prisons. Interview them intensively….

]]> By: sherry http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/comment-page-1/#comment-68006 sherry Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:58:32 +0000 http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/#comment-68006 It is true. I have actually interviewed someone who is involved with building prisons and he confirmed that they look at student test scores for projections. I am an education writer currently working on a story about this. Sometimes data won't tell you what people will, if you bother to ask. It is true. I have actually interviewed someone who is involved with building prisons and he confirmed that they look at student test scores for projections. I am an education writer currently working on a story about this. Sometimes data won’t tell you what people will, if you bother to ask.

]]> By: JohnL http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/comment-page-1/#comment-57686 JohnL Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:59:48 +0000 http://TeachEffectively.com/2007/12/12/reading-imprisonment/#comment-57686 George, these are wonderfully comments. Your insight and contextualization (may I make up that word?) help to remind us that these simple statements (% reading problems ==> number of needed prison beds) are simplifications. Also, I agree that there is likely a relationship between weight of cumm files and imprisonments. Hill likely had that right (among the many things he had right!). What should we do about these relationships? I suggest that we explain them clearly when we talk with the press. Your more nuanced comments point the right direction. George, these are wonderfully comments. Your insight and contextualization (may I make up that word?) help to remind us that these simple statements (% reading problems ==> number of needed prison beds) are simplifications.

Also, I agree that there is likely a relationship between weight of cumm files and imprisonments. Hill likely had that right (among the many things he had right!). What should we do about these relationships?

I suggest that we explain them clearly when we talk with the press. Your more nuanced comments point the right direction.

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