Challenges in High School Literacy

These kids are leaving

high school and going to college, and they couldn't fill in

four words.

Four words. I literally broke down

in the middle of class. This is only day two,

and I have seniors who simply

cannot

read

and seniors

who cannot write.

They can reason. They have the ability to defend their

reasoning

if it's talking to their homeboy, but applying that to a

written text, two paragraphs,

and they couldn't do it. Our young Black men,

our young Brown men,

our young Black girls, and our young Brown

girls