The free liberal arts program came about as the result of a joint effort between The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Bard College in New York.
Ms. Perez tried multiple high school equivalency programs, but the program offered by The Care Center was the best fit for her needs, as it offered her assistance with transportation, health care, child care (Ms. Perez is a single mother), and counseling services, which really allowed her to focus on her education.
The liberal arts program Ms. Perez is currently enrolled in offers her these same services.
Here's a great quote from the article about this program:
"It’s an education-first approach to ending poverty that the architects of the microcollege say gives them the best shot at ensuring that the short-term social services they provide translate into long-term upward mobility for the students and their children."
In this article by Amanda Drane, which also talks about The Care Center & Bard College's free liberal arts program, Drane shares a quote from a lecture given by Bard College professor Dr. Mary Anne Myers.
In her lecture, Myers discussed how women are continuing to make social progress, but that the progress has not been in a straight line.
This is a very interesting point, because I think our everyday life has conditioned us to a certain degree to think that women's social progress has occurred in a straight line pattern kind of like this:
When in reality it's been more like this:
It's probably pretty clear by my drawing here that I wasn't an art major, but hopefully it's clear that this is pretty much how social progress has actually happened- up and down, but generally getting better over time.
My belief is that if you were to substitute progress in education, health care, or poverty, in place of social progress, you'd see basically the same trend.
There's one last point I want to make here about the The Care Center & Bard College's program.
This program is very progressive, and I'm really happy to see the difference it's making for a lot of single mothers.
More education is always a good thing, so there's really no criticisms I have to make about this.
I will say from my experience though that I've worked with many single male parents.
I'd really love to see these same opportunities be made more readily available to them as well!
2. On the Inside: Prison Education Saves Money
Jan Walker reports that Washington State may pass a bill (SB 5069) that will offer adult offenders in prisons throughout the state to obtain associates degrees while serving time behind bars.
I've been talking for weeks now about how studies show that education in prison cuts recidivism rates, and it turns out that these studies form the basis of this bill.
Here are some alarming facts from the article:
"Mass incarceration nationwide is estimated to cost $80 billion taxpayer dollars per year. The studies cited by our Legislature include a 2013 Rand Corp. report that found every dollar spent on education inside prisons saved $5 in recidivism costs. A 2014 Washington state public policy study estimated a $20 return for every dollar invested in correctional education."
Walker states that investing in education in the prison systems makes society as a whole safer, and I am in complete agreement with her on this important point.
High school equivalency degree programs are becoming more and more common in prisons, but if this bill passes, it will be an even bigger leap forward.
Walker is the author of several books, including Unlocking Minds in Lockup: Prison Education Opens Doors. I am definitely planning to buy and read her book, as this is an area of interest of mine!
1. Kentucky Lawmakers Send Bill Gradually Repealing Common Core to Governor
While Kentucky was the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards back in 2010, an education bill with a plan to phase out Common Core was passed in the Senate this week with a 37 - 0 vote, and was sent to Republican Governor Matt Bevin.
If you read my round up a few weeks ago in which I discussed Kentucky House Bill 195, which eliminates the GED test in Kentucky and allows for replacement with another high school equivalency diploma instead, you'll see that we now have some more insight into the purpose of why HB 195 was written.
Since the 2014 GED test was designed to be aligned to the Common Core standards, and since Kentucky will likely be repealing Common Core, we can see that eliminating the GED test in Kentucky is the only option that makes sense.
Originally, it seemed that HB 195 was put forth in response to the significantly lower numbers of Kentucky adults taking it since it's 2014 implementation.
However, I now think it's very plausible that HB 195 was written mostly with the anticipation that Common Core will be phased out in the future.
All we can do for now is wait and see how this all plays out...
This concludes the Test Prep Champions' Adult Education & GED News Roundup for the week of Match 26th - April 1st, 2017! Thank you so much for reading it!
Other Roundups:
