Read or Go To Jail?

I've always known reading was important, but not how important.  

When I was in college I took a Parenting class.  The teacher often talked about the importance of reading to your children and one day went so far to say that if you don't read to your children, they will not enjoy reading and are less likely to become a Christian because they are much less likely to read the Bible.  Geesh... no pressure, right?  I was outraged... what a horrible conclusion to jump to!   

A couple years after my parenting class, I meet a friend who sold Usborne children's books.  In her presentation she would always say that the US prison system would judge how many cells they would need based on the current 3rd grade reading level.  Crazy!!!  

I'm currently reading "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates."  by Wes Moore.  It's a great book!!  I found this quote yet again... 

"Later in life I learned that the way many governors projected the numbers of beds they'd need for prison facilities was by examining the reading scores of third graders.  Elected officials deduced that a strong percentage of kids reading below their grade level by third grade would be needing a secure place to stay when they got older."  (pg. 54)  

So I did some internet searches and found some interesting info.  

"When the State of Arizona projects how many prison beds it will need, it factors in the number of kids who read well in fourth grade (Arizona Republic (9-15-2004)).  Evidence shows that children who do not read by third grade often fail to catch up and are more likely to drop out of school, take drugs, or go to prison.  So many non-readers wind up in jail that Arizona officials have found they can use the rate of illiteracy to help calculate future prison needs."

"Low literacy is strongly related to crime.  70% of prisoners fall into the lowest two levels of reading proficiency" (National Institute for Literacy, 1998).

Like anything else, there are exceptions to every rule.  I don't think that if you weren't read to, that you are going to jail and won't be a Christian.  Give me a break.  And to quote one of my favorite book trilogies, "May the odds be ever in your favor."  :)  

I am thankful that I had a mom that read to me and I'll tell you one thing:  I'm going to read to my children until their ears fall off.  

  

Warrick reading his favorite book at 3 months :)

It's never to early or late to start reading to your kids!  

Happy Reading!