Culture of Education

Growing up under my parents’ roof, I constantly heard them reminding me to study, do my homework, and pay attention in class.  At the time, it was a bit of an annoyance.  I wanted to be indifferent to my schoolwork because I recognized its time-consuming nature rather than its practical applications.  Fortunately for me, my parents emphasized the latter.  By worrying about my success in the classroom, they created a culture of education inside our home that kept me and my sister focused on learning.  To them, the word nerd was not demeaning and intelligence was never something to be belittled.

When I moved off to college, I joined a student organization that tutors inmates at Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia in their GED requirements.  Repeatedly low turnout plagued the program.  Sure, we had a few men that showed up enthusiastically and consistently—and I have the utmost respect for their desire to learn—but beyond that it was clear to me that the prison did not have the same culture that I had known since birth.

Guest professor gives lecture to Alexandria inmates on Martin Luther King Day

This is especially unfortunate because access to education while incarcerated can increase the chances of post-release employment by 13% and decrease the odds of recidivism by 43%, compared to those who don’t receive an education.[1]  Inmates that attend tutoring sessions give themselves opportunities that those who don’t may regret not having later in their lives.  These opportunities stem from their conscious decisions to take education seriously, a decision some inmates neglect to make because they value other activities on the cell block more.

While I’ve never been to Wayanad and I can’t speak accurately as to how effectively parents there encourage their children’s success in school, I would imagine that encouragement to focus on schoolwork has less effect when students need to worry about the cleanliness of their water.  Every project initiated in Wayanad either directly or indirectly contributes to an effective educational structure.  For example, projects like the Children’s Counseling Center contribute to a culture of education by decreasing the distractions caused by their everyday stress.  More directly, projects such as the Children’s Club give children the resources to learn skills that supplement and reinforce those that they learn in the traditional classroom.

Currently, Profugo is contributing to a culture of education among Wayand’s students through the Student Sponsorship Program, an initiative to provide school supplies to 150 of the district’s most impoverished students.  By providing school supplies, we decrease barriers to education—barriers that give students reason to pay minimal attention to their studies.  If you want to contribute to the children’s success, please consider donating here.  Just $20 provides one student with the supplies needed to learn for a whole year.

[1] http://www.rand.org/news/press/2013/08/22.html