Push reading skills at prison

Building reading skills among prison inmates represents the kind of small idea that can pay off with much bigger results for those incarcerated, as well as the larger community.




The work of Rose Kreitinger, the Read Right coordinator at the North Dakota State Penitentiary, addresses a key barrier to getting a job and getting along in life for many prison inmates - the inability to be an effective reader. It's an obstacle to getting a good job. It's a hindrance to good citizenship.

We like that it's a practical, pragmatic program. It's no sea change. No silver bullet. No social makeover. It's a program that assists people with a fundamental skill: reading. It doesn't fix people; it gives people a tool for fixing their own lives.

Twenty percent of the 520 inmates at the state pen do not have a GED or high school diploma. That lack of basic education speaks loudly to the potential for recidivism. Prison authorities require those without a high school degree, or equivalent, to attend educational classes aimed at earning a diploma. It's a common-sense requirement.

It's hard to imagine the difficulties that people returning to their communities face after serving time. But to face the music with limited reading and other basic learning skills must be overwhelming. It leads to the "same old, same old." This not an issue for public sympathy; rather, it represents the potential for more lawlessness, for which the public pays for in taxes and is the victim.

Pumping up a felon's ability to read will not guarantee a job, a better life or a law-abiding life. But it can help. Effective reading also requires the development of logical thought processes and critical thinking. Add to that access to ideas and knowledge, all of which one might hope improves judgment.

Those prison inmates who constructively take part in the program have an opportunity to change their lives. That's the best anyone gets. The rest must be earned. What percentage of them will succeed, we do not know. We are not naive about the prospects. Turning someone's life around is remarkably difficult, as experience indicates.

The work of Kreitinger was presented by Tribune photographer Mike McCleary as a "Neighbors" feature on Monday. Her work deserves support and acknowledgement. She's making a difference.

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