COREY BROOKS: Chicago schools are failing kids at the one skill that can change their lives

Biblical Context

Children’s instruction and parental responsibility are directly relevant to Brooks’s call for parents to read with their children and to his plan to establish a school. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 places the regular teaching of children within ordinary family life, while Proverbs 22:6 emphasizes intentional formation and instruction. These passages support the importance of diligent guidance but do not prescribe phonics, a particular school model, or a specific education policy. The article also describes people struggling to read job applications, leases, medical information, and workplace messages. Proverbs 31:8-9’s command to speak for those who cannot adequately speak for themselves provides a relevant principle for protecting vulnerable people and addressing conditions that limit their ability to participate fully in society. This is a broader application rather than a direct statement about modern literacy programs. Scripture’s concern for wisdom, instruction, and practical understanding also makes educational failure morally significant, but the biblical texts do not establish that illiteracy is the sole cause of poverty, unemployment, or incarceration. Nor does the reported decline correspond to a particular biblical prophecy. The connection is therefore meaningful and relevant to biblical responsibilities concerning children, diligence, and care for vulnerable neighbors, while remaining distinct from claims about prophetic fulfillment.