The Full Cost of Incarceration - Matt Ferner
Argument Statement:
Ferner argues that the cost of incarceration in America is much higher than typically reported. He argues that the cost is inflated due to social costs on the incarcerated and their immediate families.
Talking Points:
Even after a person is released from jail, they will still feel the effects of their time behind bars. This is the "social cost" of incarceration, Carrie Pettus-Davis gives us a figure of around $10 of social cost for every $1 of correction cost.
So what exactly is "social cost"? While this term isn't too familiar with me, its term Ferner uses to discuss the hardships people (and families) face during and after being released from a correctional facility. These include low wage jobs, lower life expectancy, negative effects of children of the incarcerated.
The first two "social costs" I mention in my last talking points were logical and not surprising, but the last cost was the one that upset me. Innocent children have to bare the cost of a guardian's mistake or bad choice. Children with incarcerated care givers are more likely to drop out of school, suffer from social or emotional issues, and/or fall into a life of crime themselves. It was just so sad to think that someones else behavior can have such a lasting and negative effect on the next generation.
What "Counts" as Educational Policy? Notes towards a New Paradigm - J. Anyon
Argument Statement:
Anyon argues that government and educational policies do not do enough for people in poorer communities.
Talking Points:
Throughout history there has been a plethora of policy reforms of both federal and state levels regarding education, yet Anyon argues that none of the policies had a focus on the poverty of families or the communities they reside in.
Some of the data Anyon includes in the article were quite alarming. Specifically the graduation rates for large comprehensive schools in NYC, for example, only "10 percent to 20 percent of ninth graders in 1996 graduated four years later".
Leah, don't you think it's interesting that a school like Cranston High School East has such a successful graduation rate when so many students are failing their classes? Because kids can go to credit recovery and take sophomore, junior and senior English at once,they are able to walk across the stage and graduate with everyone else. Students in honor's English, however can still fail and wind up not graduating due failing to only one class over the four year period. Completely unfair.I only write this as an example of skewed statistics - many more students are 'passing' so the data looks good in the papers. It's an example of illusory data.
ReplyDeleteYes Sheila! I was thinking the exact same thing while I was reading.
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