Illiteracy and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

The School-to-Prison Pipeline, as described in the American School Board Journal (2007), asserts that “what happens in schools – or fails to happen – determines, in large part, whether young people enter the criminal justice system.”  Students of color and low socioeconomic status are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system and this is in large part due to the education they have received.  In fact, many prisons plan for their future populations by looking at 3^rd grade reading standardized test scores.  If children do not know how to read by 3^rd grade, they are put at a disadvantage and continually go on “losing streaks” within the educational system.  Most commonly the students who do not receive adequate literacy education are those students of color or low socioeconomic status and it is these students who need the most assistance.  As written by Winn and Behizadeh (2011), “Low-quality literacy education is a key component of the school-to-prison pipeline.” 

Winn and Behizadeh (2011) argue that one of the contributions to declining literacy and the school-to-prison pipeline is the declining in academic rigor.  As the authors (2011) state, “To achieve academic rigor in literacy, students need a literacy education that is social, contextualized, and values multiple literacies.”  Currently, many of our under-performing schools are preparing students to take tests, but are not teaching students to understand and contextualize what they are learning.  Students in these schools are not receiving quality literacy education and this is negatively impacting their futures.

Winn and Behizadeh (2011) argue that our educational system needs to move towards seeing literacy as a civil right.  The authors (2011) state, “Education is a civil right, especially learning to read and write critically, for students to both interrogate written texts and disseminate their own writings.”  The authors later quote Fecho and Skinner (2008) when they state, “If literacy is a civil right, we need a literacy that gets beyond the rote skill and drill of phonics, decoding, and comprehension.”  All students need to receive quality literacy education that goes beyond merely preparing students for a test.  Reading and writing skills are essential for students to succeed in a society and educators need to help all students read and write critically.  In order to help students that are being disproportionately affected b y the school-to-prison pipeline, we need to re-imagine how we teach literacy in some of our most underserved schools.  Literacy is not something that can only be taught for a test; literacy, reading and writing, is something that must continually be emphasized and seen as a right for all students.

8. “Are schools responsible for the prison pipeline?”. (2007). American School Board Journal, 194(4), pp. 19.

9.  Winn, M.T. & Behizadeh, N.  (2011). “The right to be literate: Literacy, education, and the school-to-prison pipeline”.  Review of research in education, 35 (1), pp. 147-173. 

Organizations Working to End Illiteracy and other Resources

While researching this topic of illiteracy, I have discovered several resources and websites dedicated to literacy education and helping all children and adults learn to read.  Below are just a few of the resources I have discovered:

ABC Learn: http://www.abclearn.org/

            ABC Learn, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that has been working since 1996 to raise student achievement and end illiteracy by assisting students, parents, teachers, and the school system.

The Center for Literacy Studies: http://www.cls.utk.edu/

            The Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee supports continuous improvement in education through research studies and projects.

Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement: http://www.ciera.org/index.html

            The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement at the University of Michigan provides lesson plans, presentations, and other educational resources for teacher use to help improve literacy levels.

First Book: http://www.firstbook.org/

            The First Book project works to end illiteracy by providing over 85 million books to children in need.

National Children’s Literacy Project: http://www.child2000.org/lit-tips.htm

            The National Children’s Literacy Project provides literacy instruction techniques and materials to teachers and parents.

Read Alliance: http://www.readalliance.org/

            The Read Alliance works to improve the education of at-risk students by providing one-on-one literacy tutoring.

Literacy Council of Seattle: http://www.literacyseattle.org/index.htm

            The Literacy Council of Seattle is a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching reading and literacy skills, primarily to adult learners in the Seattle area.

Understanding the Stages of a Child's Literacy Development

 Work done by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (1999) and Loretta Caravette (2011) has focused on the stages of a child’s literacy development.  These stages include: 1) Early Literacy, 2) The Emergent Reader, 3) The Early Reader, 4) The Transitional Reader, 5) The Self-Extending Reader, and 6) The Advanced Reader. 

Early Literacy

At this stage, during a child’s early years (2-5 years old), parents are integral to early literacy foundation.  This stage is initiative by parents reading aloud to their children and involving their children in as much written and spoken language as possible.  According to Caravette (2011), research shows that “reading to a child from an early age influenced performance in school for the better.”  During this stage in their development, children begin to develop “vocabulary, sound structure, the meaning of print, the structure of stories, and language” (Caravette 2011).  Children are also beginning to learn the alphabet and the corresponding letter names and sounds.

The Emergent Reader

Students are typically in this stage of development during their year in kindergarten.  Teachers and parents utilize picture or story books and continue reading to children aloud.  Children begin to develop key literacy skills for the future.  Children begin to match spoken words with written words and learn to read from left to right on the page.  Students are still learning the alphabet, and the letter names, shapes, and sounds.  Teachers begin to teach students to write the alphabet and children begin to recognize upper and lowercase letters.

The Early Reader

Students often reach this stage in their literacy development in first grade.  Students continue to understand the alphabet and “symbol-sounds relationships” (Caravette 2011; Fountas & Pinnell 1999).  Students at this stage typically develop a set of high frequency words that they begin to use dominantly.  In addition, students generally develop greater writing skills and learn different kinds of texts including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

The Transitional Reader

Students generally enter this stage of literacy development during the second grade.  At this point students are becoming more fluent readers and begin reading for meaning (Caravette 2011).  Students develop their skills in the use of “meaning, grammar, letter cues, and phonics” to read more fully (Caravette 2011).  Students at this stage have mastered a greater number of high frequency words and rely less on pictures when reading.  Students begin to move away from picture books and towards books with more text.  Tools such as the dictionary and thesaurus are introduced during this stage.

The Self-Extending Reader

Typically by third grade, students are beginning to enter this stage of literacy development.  Students are “moving from learning to read to reading to learn” (Caravette 2011).  Students utilize reading in all of their other subjects and rely on reading to understand various content and applications.  Students have a large core of high frequency words and can utilize their reading strategies to learn and understand unknown or new words.  Students begin to understand the various purposes for reading and transition into a focus on chapter books.  Students at this stage begin to connect with characters and enjoy reading books with diverse groups of characters.

The Advanced Reader

Students generally enter this final stage of literacy development in the fourth grade.  Students continue to learn and develop all of the previously mentioned learning and reading strategies and will continue to utilize these skills throughout the rest of their life.  Students read a wide variety of texts for meaning and understanding.

While children and students develop as readers, it is possible for them to possess aspects of two different stages at once.  Teachers and parents need to work on understanding where each child is in their development to best aid students in achieving full literacy.  The various sociopolitical and historical influences on literacy and illiteracy, previously mentioned in the blog, can impact students at any stage of their literacy development.  Understanding how these influences affect literacy development can aid parents and teachers in helping all children become advanced readers.

6. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell G.S.  (1999). Matching books to readers, Using leveled books in guided reading, K-3.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Press.

7.  Caravette, L.  (2011). “Portrait of the reader as a young child”.  Children & librarians: The journal of the association for library service to children, 9(2), pp. 52-57.

Historical Context for Illiteracy in America

Looking at the current reading crisis and illiteracy rate in America, the question to be asked is “How did this happen?”  While I have already discussed various sociocultural factors affecting the illiteracy rate, I will now explore the historical context of this issue.

Beginning with the generation of the 1960s and 1970s large changes in the construction of society began to take place.  According to Morrison, Bachman, and Connor (2005), members of this generation were fighting for equal rights for all people, and rejecting the authoritarian parenting style of their parents to focus on a more positive and encouraging parenting style.  Trends in society at this time, highlighted by Morrison, Bachman, and Connor (2005) include: “1. Participation of women in the labor force, 2) Divorce and the family structure, 3) Educational attainment and family size, 4) Shifts in sexual mores, 5) Patters of sex-role behaviors, 6)Declines in religious service attendance, and 7) Changing educational philosophy and practice.”  At this time in society, women were achieving higher levels of education and being allowed more freedom and power in the work force.  In addition, divorce became more common as did cohabitation before marriage and greater sexual freedom.  However, for this look into the historical context of the problem of illiteracy, the two most important factors to consider are the shift in parental values and the concurrent changes in educational practices.

The shift in parental values towards a less authoritarian method can be seen as one contribution to the illiteracy rate.  Morrison, Bachman, and Connor (2005) suggest that it seems parents have not utilized enough discipline or control over their children and this has caused children to be less “independent, responsible, self-regulated learners.”  Students are entering the school system without the necessary self-regulation skills needed to acquire literacy and other essential skills.  Self-regulation is integral for concentration, persistence, and listening skills all of which are needed for literacy acquisition.  While parents had the best of intentions when emphasizing a more encouraging parenting style to create happier children, an unhappy consequence is that many parents have not raised children with the necessary attributes of independence and self-regulation.

In addition, a shift in the educational practices at this time created problems for literacy acquisition.  The educational system began moving away from an emphasis on discipline and authoritarian practices towards a more progressive system that emphasized freedom and openness.  In the wake of this progressive shift in education, reading instruction was changed as well.  The early utilization of the phonics method of literacy instruction was replaced by the whole language approach (Morrison, Bachman, & Connor 2005).  This whole language approach focused on exposing children to meaningful literature and contexts with the understanding it will be easy for children to read once they decide they want to read.  However, the exclusion of phonics instruction (instead of using it in conjunction with the whole language approach) has been detrimental to literacy acquisition in students.  In addition, at this time, many highly-qualified women who would normally have entered the teaching profession decided to enter higher-status professions as a result of the greater freedom for women in the work force (Morrison, Bachman, & Connor 2005).  This meant that the teaching profession was being filled by average, less qualified teachers.  Also, these teachers had all received varying degrees of teaching preparation.  As a result, a less uniform and more variable style of teaching emerged which meant children began receiving variable instruction.  A variable applicant pool of teachers combined with the less effective whole language approach was detrimental to literacy acquisition for children.

However, it is important to note that the current illiteracy problem is a result of the combination of both the shift in parental values and the shift in educational practices.  If only one or the other shift had occurred, the current reading crisis may not be so severe.  However, it is the combination of these two historical shifts that has contributed to the current illiteracy problem in America.

5.  Morrison, F.J., Bachman, H.J., & Connor, C.M.  (2005). The “perfect educational storm”.  Improving literacy in America (pp. 155-170).  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

World Literacy Day

Below is a video from Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.  The video is from World Literacy Day in 2010 and focuses on the importance of increasing literacy rates, especially among women and young girls.

Also, find a message from Bokova from World Literacy Day 2011:  http://www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Documents/08-09%20Message%20International%20Literacy%20Day.pdf

In this message, she emphasizes the connections between literacy and peace. 

Illiteracy - Global and Local

Currently, illiteracy is seen as both a global and local issue.  According to a 2011 report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the worldwide adult literacy rate is 83.7%.  This means that 793.1 million people worldwide are illiterate.  The youth literacy rate is listed at 89.3% (UNESCO 2011).  Worldwide 127.3 million youth are considered illiterate and do not know how to read or write. 

In addition, based on data collected from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States is currently ranked 45^th in terms of their literacy rate (UNDP 2009).  The country of Georgia is currently ranked first with a literacy rate of 100%.  Other high ranked countries include Cuba, Estonia, Latvia, and Barbados.  While the United States is listed with a literacy rate of 99%, it is important to note that this a figure used based on our country’s status as a developed nation because no data was actually collected by the UNDP.  Current Census estimates could have United States literacy rates in the 80% range.  More detailed research needs to be done to determine a better estimate of the literacy rate in our country.

The data also brings up interesting questions for further research.  How can other countries emulate Georgia and other countries with high literacy rates?  What methods are utilized by these countries?

3. UNESCO (2011).  Adult and youth literacy.  UNESCO Institute for Statistics.  URL: http://www.uis.unesco.org/FactSheets/Documents/FS16-2011-Literacy-EN.pdf

4. UNDP (2009).  Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development.  URL: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf

A Reading Crisis In America

In Marcia Clemmitt’s article “Reading Crisis? Do Today’s Youth Read Less than Past Generations?” the author explores the topic of literacy and if there is currently a reading crisis in our country.  The authors cites a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) survey which revealed that all Americans are reading less than in the past (Clemmitt 2008).  For example, from 1982 to 2002, the percentage of 18-to-24-year-olds who stated they read novels outside of school dropped from 60 percent to 43 percent (Clemmitt 2008).  As stated by Sunil Iyengar in the article, “Reading is currently not promoted as much in the mainstream culture.”

There is currently a noticed trend of a decline in reading among the younger generations.  In fact, there is less reading among younger generations, while their time using electronic media increases (Clemmitt 2008).  The average amount of time students spend reading is declining, as is their likelihood of utilizing public library services.  Research has noticed a decline in the habit of regular reading and in the reading ability of students.  There is a growing gap between high-achieving readers and low-achieving readers.  All of this data add up to contribute to a growing reading crisis amongst today’s youth.

However, some researchers argue that there is not a reading or literacy crisis.  They argue instead that our definition of understanding of literacy is changing.  Currently, society is shifting towards an online literacy, where blogs, emails, and websites are the basic locations for reading and writing.  While it is important for students to develop important technological skills, it should be considered: Is this online literacy detrimental to traditional literacy?  Research has shown that reading online is not as effective at developing key reading skills as reading novels or other print sources.  Students spend less time reflecting on what is read when they read online and often only skim the articles.  This is negatively impacting comprehension and vocabulary acquisition.

While our education system is currently placing a large amount of importance on literacy and reading, our society appears to be placing less emphasis on reading outside of the classroom.  This is negatively impacting the literacy of our students and educators need to find a way to encourage the reading of books and discourage over-usage of online or electronic media.

2. Clemmitt, M. (2008).  Reading crisis? Do today’s youth read less than past generations?  In CQ Researcher, Issues in K-12 education (pp. 281-304).  Washington, DC: CQ Press.