Reading, Writing and Arithmetic are Spiritual

From my daughter Candace’s pen I was reminded of the following.
"HOW IMPORTANT IS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION? VERY!
"In 2008-09, just 48% of Philadelphia school children could read at grade level. 31% of those children are tested Below Basic, the lowest level. Philadelphia's high school graduation rate is 57%. (from PhilaCares.org)
"What can WE do?! We can provide quality early childhood education! Quality early education cuts the number of students placed in special education by 50%, and increases high school graduation rates by as much as 31%!!! (from americaspromise.org)"
Ten years ago Spring Garden Academy was established in part because of the alarming condition of the Philadelphia education system. Our discovery of functional illiteracy of high school graduates alarmed us as we considered the future of the church. It didn’t take long to realize that people coming to our altar and trusting Jesus to save them were waking up the next day unable to read the Bible given to them with strong encouragement to read. Applying for employment or a driver’s license is a huge hurdle for someone who doesn’t read. Checkbooks are written in indecipherable code for those lacking basic math skills. How does one negotiate a road trip when road signs are unclear gibberish?

While vacationing recently, I read a book by Cardinal Fulton J. Sheen who served as archbishop of New York decades ago. One of the many pungent lines that challenged me read, "For the church that does not reproduce, that is not missionary, is weaving its own shroud."¹ A "one size fits all" theory of ministry leads to colossal failure if the failure proof plan assumes everyone is academically prepared to complete lessons and in places where common societal achievements are affirmed.

Saturday afternoon I will chair a meeting of the Spring Garden Academy board of directors. We will wrestle with the usual challenges of relating to finance, personnel and property. And we will pray and dream together as we refine our passion and consider the worthiness of the mission on which we have embarked. We will discuss the findings of "Begin to Read."
"The harsh reality that 2/3 of all students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the 4^th grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
"85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
"More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate.
"Penal institution records show that inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000 per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders. Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, ‘The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure.’ Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level."²

Begin to Read’s website (http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html) adds the following sobering statistics.
Literacy is learned. Illiteracy is passed along by parents who cannot read or write.
One child in four grows up not knowing how to read.
43% of adults at Level 1 literacy skills live in poverty compared to only 4% of those at Level 5.
3 out of 4 food stamp recipients perform in the lowest 2 literacy levels
90% of welfare recipients are high school dropouts
16 to 19-year-old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts.
Low literary costs $73 million per year in terms of direct health care costs. A recent study by Pfizer put the cost much higher.
Highway Tabernacle leaders have established "The Next Generation" ministry, an intense discipleship program which acknowledges the unique challenges of making competent followers of Jesus from among those with deficits in reading, writing and basic math skills. The circumstances are spiritual and require spiritual people to act!

The initial apparent success of The Next Generation is indicated in a socially, emotionally, and academically "at risk" youth who participated the last two summers is thriving in Ground Zero Master’s Commission. Another is attending a fine Christian college. Two young ladies are scheduled to graduate from high school and are dreaming of a college education.

Why do I repeatedly address the issues mentioned? It is my passion! It is my personal conviction that until urban young people are prepared for life and ministry in the city, the urban church will continue to struggle. We must equip the next generation of Christians now, beginning at the earliest possible age. Those who have been blessed, as I have been, with a great education and familial support, must minister to those following us now and who lead others later. We must be people of an unwavering commitment, those who make sacrificial investments. The effectiveness of the urban church making disciples until Jesus returns is being determined in part by those addressing daunting educational challenges today.