Part 2
DR MARGARET NAKHID-CHATOOR
IT MUST have been more than 20 years ago when I encountered Lucas (not his real name), a nine-year-old boy who was referred to our programme that we were doing in some schools on youth empowerment.
Our primary schools were in lower Port of Spain and our groups were boys and girls who were selected by the principals as they were off-task, lacked focus and not heeding instructions from teachers or adults.
Lucas never engaged in the sessions despite many attempts and sat at the back. As was my custom when the session ended for the morning, I waited around.
On one of those mornings, Lucas remained behind. He stood out as he wore a heavy gold chain around his neck, stranger still that he was allowed to do so. I approached him and made light-hearted jokes. He smiled. After a bit, this little boy sat up in his seat and blurted out something which I have never forgotten:
“Miss, I just waiting ’til I turn 12 years. That is when they would give me a gun. The police shoot up my big brother and my uncle. I see that! I will do for them!”
School meant nothing to him. He was struggling to read and write, was not learning and only came because he was forced to. Game over.
There are many reasons why some children and teenagers engage in criminal activities, especially those who come from impoverished settings. However, the focus in this article will be on one pathway that is not quite understood and somewhat trivialised by learned administrators and educators who have not connected the dots: The presence of neurological deficits, learning disabilities and an inability to learn unless structured interventions are made.
In 2018, the US Senate passed a criminal-justice-reform bill called the First Step Act. The impetus for passing this bill was research done which found that prison populations have higher-than-average rates of dyslexia.
It was identified as a leading cause of illiteracy and a critical risk factor for criminal behaviour. It prevented inmates from studying and getting certain qualifications in the rehabilitation courses while in prison, making it more difficult for them to enter the workforce after being released and contributing to recidivism – their return right back into a prison cell.
The First Step Act included provisions for screening inmates for dyslexia and providing the supports that were needed for them to become literate while in prison.
Educate, rather
than incarcerate
Investing in our nation’s future means prioritising our children. In the education system, how seriously do we address the academic challenges and learning difficulties of our students, the majority of whom come from poverty-stricken areas? If we know what the root causes are which may lead to a life of crime for those disillusioned and disempowered, what has been the inhibiting factors that have prevented those in charge from taking additional steps within the schools?
Kudos go out to initiatives taken by the Ministry of Education, like the Adopt-a-School programme where corporate groups lend a financial hand to schools of focus and where more counsellors are set to be placed in schools to tend to those children who are emotionally dysregulated.
Unfortunately, these are just a few drops in a bucket that seems to have a permanent hole. Our society continues to be more punitive than rehabilitative, where children and teenagers who cannot learn in the traditional way and who are “different” are suspended or parents told to find other schools for them.
Many of these students are more likely to fall behind academically, drop out of school, and end up in prison unless (1) structured interventions are made, (2) monitored and tracked for improvements, and (3) progress evaluated.
Are not our priorities misplaced when there are security personnel for every school, but no trained remedial teacher in each school to address the learning fallouts of our children? Why wait until teenagers become incarcerated or locked within youth detention centres before we realise how serious a problem this is? One frustrated mother had this to say:
“I from Morang/Pasea. Parents here not educated and many children don’t return to school after primary school. Is real poverty here. The need for money to survive is high and parents take them out to earn a living, whether it is planting garden or selling on the highway because they failing in school all the time!
“Some parents want better for their children, but is like no hope. Who going to bother with these children who can’t read or write? Is easy for them to fall into gangs. I see them grow up from small, join gangs and some of them lose their life already. The need is for money, that is why they fall easy prey for the gang leaders around here. You think it easy for them to watch their brothers and sisters and them hungry? Who is we? Who really listening to we up here?”
In conclusion, whether you choose to engage with this issue or not, the facts are as follows:
* Children and teenagers with dyslexia often face significant challenges in school, leading to frustration, low self-esteem, and disengagement from the educational system.
* This frustration can result in poor academic performance and increased dropout rates, which are risk factors for delinquency.
* Without proper identification and support, they may not receive the help needed to succeed academically and socially. This lack of support can push them towards negative behaviours and negative environments where they are accepted and empowered.
We need to put things in place before a first step act. Who really listening?
Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor is a psychologist/educator and certified dyslexia screener and consultant
Credit – Newsday Newspaper, (newsday.co.tt)
See the original article here.
