In late November, two teens ultimately set the Great Smoky Mountains National Park up in flames.
The two boys were hiking the Chimney Tops trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on November 23, 2016. Toying with matches, the teens sparked something bigger than they could have imagined. Fire spread from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; burning down thousands of homes and businesses. The incident management team reported a total of 15,653 acres burned.
The map below shows the fires starting point and the areas affected.
85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
Reading comprehension at an early age is undeniably a key component of individual development and an early predictor of success. On the otherhand, poor reading comprehension is an indicator of trouble, and lots of it. It has been reported that prison industries look to third-grade reading scores to estimate the number of prison beds for the coming decades. While this claim furiates some, even insurance company State Farm has conducted research which links education to crime. Let's take a look at the Gatlinburg Fire to investigate this idea.
The two boys charged of the Gatlinburg Fire were natives of Tennessee, which ranks no. 9 in America's least educated states, along with many other southern territories. Tennessee, in red, and the other states and their rankings are featured on the map below.
85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
Reading comprehension at an early age is undeniably a key component of individual development and an early predictor of success. On the otherhand, poor reading comprehension is an indicator of trouble, and lots of it. It has been reported that prison industries look to third-grade reading scores to estimate the number of prison beds for the coming decades. While this claim infuriates some, even the insurance company State Farm has conducted research that links education to crime. Let's take a look at the Gatlinburg Fire to investigate this idea.
The two boys charged of the Gatlinburg Fire were natives of Tennessee, which ranks no. 9 in America's least educated states, along with many other southern territories. Tennessee, in red, and the other states and their rankings are featured on the map below.
Meanwhile, Tennessee also ranks no. 3 in the states with the most crime. Hover map to see the 10 states with the most crime. Rate per 100K population.
Along with Louisina, Nevada, and Mississippi, Tennessee shares top rankings for both least educated and highest in crime. While this speculates a connection between education and crime, it doesn't consider the two boys elementary education: the proclaimed indicator of criminal behavior. The two boys, ages 15 and 17 (as of 2016), would have been in 3rd grade around 2008 (estimate).
Further investigating Tennessee and the juvenille's educational history.
In 2008, 37% of Tennessee third graders tested below-basic in reading. Going further, The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), collects and analyzes nation wide test scores of 4th and 8th graders in order to compare each state’s standard for proficient performance. The NAEP conducted an extensive report for 2009, approxtimately the year the boys were in the 4th grade. The figures below show the NAEP's findings for 2009.
While in 2009 the majority of states ranked below basic for the 4th grade reading assessment, Tennessee ranked lowest when compared nationally. In addition, through all four analyses, Grade 4 Reading and Mathematics and Grade 8 Reading and Mathematics, Tennessee falls in the below basic category. Putting to terms, the teen's juvenille criminal behavior is directly linked to their education.
The Gatlinburg wildfires were tragic. Proven by Tennessee's ranking and the boys' educational history, there is an indefinite link between education and crime. Given Tennessee's rankings for not only being the least educated and highest in crime, the national records for education in Tennessee in the boys primal development years was less than up to what is necessary for a solid education and healthy development. This case of the two boys charged of setting the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on fire further illustrates the importance of education and literacy for not only educational purposes but for the pursuit of role model citizens.
