San Quentin Prison, notorious for its reputation of danger and hostility, is the last place that you might expect to find computer programming classes being taught. However, that is exactly what is taking place under the Code 7370 Initiative, a project where prisoners are taught the computer skills they need to succeed in the working world. Using the superb instruction offered by the program, participants were able to find employment upon their release without fail, and some went on to make over six figures a year. Furthermore, it ended the cycle of recidivism that too many of the formerly incarcerated find themselves trapped in. The Code 7370 program has been deemed revolutionary by some, but fundamentally it utilizes a simple …show more content…
Around the world, people are prohibited from receiving an education based on discriminatory factors such as their sex, financial situation, or race. The latest United Nations report claims that over 57 million school age children are being denied even the most rudimentary form of education. The prospects are even worse for women who are often systematically barred from acquiring an education. Over two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population are women and only 75 percent of women in developing countries complete their primary education. Consequently, these educationally deprived individuals often fail to develop the skills that they need to succeed in the workplace. To combat this, more schools need to be developed to fit the specific needs of those that are being excluded. Funding would be used to construct special schools for the marginalized —including girls, the impoverished, and the disabled. A proper education will open doors for these oppressed individuals and allow for them to escape the vicious cycle of poverty. In certain situations, individuals are completely forbidden from going to school and must resort to other methods in order to receive an education. In these cases, books and other educational materials can be donated so that the individuals could teach themselves the skills they need to succeed. Every human has the right to an education and every possible effort must …show more content…
Socially disruptive trends such as crime and bigotry stem from a lack of education, and a comprehensive redress of the issue of education will yield positive results in those areas as well. Raising education levels has a particularly powerful effect in the alleviation of poverty. Research shows that wage levels and levels of education attained are positively correlated and that unemployment rates are lower for people with many years of formal education. A vast majority of those stuck in poverty cannot escape because they lack the skills needed to acquire work. Education gives children the ability to develop their passions, and eventually, go on to build a very powerful labor force, saturated with plenty of skilled labor. Some might argue that these funds would be better utilized if they addressed poverty directly rather than through intensive educational reform. However, direct poverty relief programs may only have fleeting results and will not serve as a long-term solution to the problem. An old adage states “when you give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; when you teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” No amount of reform can totally thwart the issue of poverty; only by addressing the root of the problem will major change come. In addition, the investment in education brings about intangible benefits. Studying in a school with like-minded and ambitious