FT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM:
article by Susan Gill Vardon dated May 17, 1998
At the Hutchins State Jail, as well as at other
prisons, there are many reasons for inmates’ reading problems. Some dropped
out of school because of gangs or drugs or because a girlfriend got pregnant
and they had to get a job. Some came from families where reading wasn’t
valued – or where their parents couldn’t read. Others have reading disorders
such as dyslexia that were never diagnosed.
By learning to read, John
Bryant hope to break the cycle that start with his parents who didn’t take
time to help him in school. “I left school after 8th grade,” the
Dallas man said. “I just couldn’t do it, and my parents didn’t push too hard
either.” The father of two worked as a housekeeper at Reunion Arena before
he was jailed for misdemeanor assault. Now he is thinking about getting out
and helping his children with their homework. “I started the program, really
to make me fell better,” Bryant said. “It makes me feel bad when the kids
ask for my help and I can’t do it.”
William Griffin, 37, of
Dallas dropped out of school in 10th grade. Although he can read,
he said he has trouble with the “big words.” So he’s working on his GED
along with the reading program and hopes to start college when he’s
released. He has dreams of opening a restaurant. “It helps me a lot. I’ve
learned more since I’ve been in the program than all the time in school.”
“One of the most
important lessons inmates learn is to take the focus off themselves,” Lucy
Smith, founder said. “In HOPE, respect is an essential tool. Instead of
picking on the things they do wrong, we find the things they do right.” It’s
a lesson that tutor Randy Tidmore appears to have mastered. “I’ve basically
been a selfish person all my life. HOPE gives me the opportunity to help
someone in something that will be beneficial to them for the rest of their
lives.” |
