Reflection Paper

Question: Prepare a paper of 2-3 pages discussing your observations from the Learning Activities. Especially correlate the poverty rates based on education attainment. What does that imply about the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty? 

Module 6 Learning Activities:

  1. Read the excerpts from
  2. by Michelle Alexander, 2010, The New Press, 2012
  3. Read by John Tierney, The New York Times, February 18, 2013
  4. Go to  Please review the charts and read the entire report. It is full of interesting data.
  5. Go to  and click on Alabama on the map. Review the data for Alabama and consider how it compares to the national data you reviewed.
  6. Go to and see where Alabama ranks in the listing. Compare Alabamas incarceration rate to that of the U.S. and other countries.
  7. Read by Steve Horn, Prison Legal News, January 2019 Read by Bernard Kerik, Newsmax, January 2, 2019.
  8. Research the amount of funding by Alabama for the Department of Corrections (or the equivalent in Alabama) and also the amount of funding for other departments or activities. Note where the funding for corrections ranks in the total budget. That is, is it the largest budget item, or where does it fall?
  9. Go to and review the data, comparing the information for Dallas County to the Alabama average and other counties around Dallas County. In terms of the percentage of Alabama population living below the federal poverty levels and note what the federal poverty levels are for various family sizes.