WEWS: Rob Fischer, associate professor at the Mandel School and co-director of the school’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, said illiteracy has its roots in early childhood—along with income disparities, food and housing issues and mental health concerns.
“When you think about kids' views of themselves, they’re going to start considering whether an academic career is best for them,” Fischer said. “And as they disconnect from that, they might get more engaged in negative behaviors, delinquency behaviors and those have consequences that tend to snowball.”