Today was the first day of sentencing for 11 of the APS School Personnel convicted of racketeering. The Judge said something which stabbed me in the heart. "These children come into my courtroom at 17 and unable read. They commit crimes, because they can not read and I have to put them in jail for ten years." I did not really hear anymore.
However, I had never thought about how judges must hate to send a kid to jail because they haven't really been given a chance.
Here is where I beg parents. PLEASE! Be sure your children learn to read well by age 8! There is a phenominon called the School to Prison Pipeline. The American Penal System uses 3rd grade reading scores to predict the number of jail cells they will need in the future. There are many workung to change the practice, but parents are the great equalizer. Make absolutely sure your children are reading well by age 8. This will decrease the likelihood it will be your child standing where those former educatots stood today. Standing before a judge awaiting sentencing.
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