I attended an education session about how to keep boys in the classroom, and learned quite a bit.  The one fact that REALLY stood out was how the government and private prison corporations determine how the number of prison to build.

For the past ten years, I heard that the third grade reading scores of students, mainly minorities, are used to determine the number of prisons that will be built.  And, it’s been repeated constantly by public officials, educators, and other experts of all nationalities, races, and colors.  There is some truth in this finding.  That’s not the whole story. What has not ever been said by any of these people is that census forms and income tax forms are also determining factors.

Apparently, the government looks at the number of single-parent households headed by mothers which is significantly greater in minority communities, and call out their production crews.  And, yes, both the census and income tax forms easily give this information, especially the income tax forms.  Who knew?

Ok, I just had another thought.  What if the government’s production crew consists of imprisoned fathers building prisons that will house their own children?  Isn’t that cruel?  It’s not impossible, though.

I just had another thought.  That’s why that school to prison pipeline is so effective.  People have already studied the patterns, and have determined that prison is the best place for disturbed children instead of  counseling, mentoring programs, and other resources that can help them stay out of prison. Why would they want to help these people when education and prison are big, booming businesses?

Anyway, I just wanted to share what I found out and give you something to think about.  Please share this post with other parents, teachers, and other adults that genuinely care about the state of young people today.

What are your thoughts on this topic?