According the the Bureau of Justice, 2.4% of Hispanic children and 6.7% of black children had a parent in prison in 2008. I hadn't really thought about having incarcerated parents until I saw this graph today, and I feel a little negligent for not being more mindful of this issue. It scares me, for it is just another item among the litany of factors that plague my students and undermine their potential to succeed.
And yet, I wish I hadn't seen the data. I've never experienced anything like this; I can only empathize. And the thought of having an incarcerated parent is so profoundly sad to me, but it is another thing I cannot change. I am starting to feel like an opaque window to an increasingly bleak future.
from the Bureau of Justice (via Chris Uggen)
*snaps* a) I've had students tell me about parents in prison and b) citing your source like a pro
ReplyDeleteYour summer of comp bio research buddy had an incarcerated parent for some time. (Still does, in fact.) I wouldn't have made it to a place like Brown without teachers like you, so please continue on this path. It may not be clear, but you are providing more than you know for those kids.
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