When Prison Education Programs are Cut, We All Lose
By Janice Chamberlin
I teach literacy and GED classes to 50 adult male inmates each day. In 2010, Indiana literacy, GED, and Vocational prison educators were told our services were no longer needed. We became victims of the economy and the current trend of “restructuring,” better known as privatization. I’m obviously not pleased, but “it is what it is.” The new company eventually hired half of us back; we were asked to teach ten more students each day and work five more hours a week, all for the bargain price of fifty percent of our prior pay. And we’re told to be grateful for a job in this economy!
In 2011, it was announced that funds for inmate college courses will be discontinued as of May 2011. There are rumors that some universities will attempt to assist inmates who are very close to completing their degrees. If that occurs, it will be done on the universities’ dime. Otherwise, the State said it intends to focus on offering job training skills. For over 25 years, the prison at which I teach in Indiana was the site of a Purdue University campus. Other prisons in the State were staffed by professors from Indiana State University and Vincennes University, among others. Prisoner students earned one-year certificates, associate’s degrees, and bachelor’s degrees.
There is more to this issue than good teachers losing their jobs, incomes, or collective bargaining rights. There is more to the story than teachers who now contribute less to the tax base and sometimes collect unemployment dollars. There is the tragedy of prisoners losing the possibility of a second chance! Indiana used to be very progressive when it came to prison education programs. The quality of the schooling was unsurpassed. The State administration knew that education lowered the rate of recidivism. They promoted and supported educational programs. Now, the programs have been slashed to a bare minimum, while Governor Mitch Daniels and other politicians still proclaim that Indiana leads in the re-entry programs of its inmates.
Unfortunately, many other prison education programs in the United States are even weaker or on the chopping block. I’ve become more aware of the appalling circumstances under which prisoners attempt to educate themselves. Some aren’t even supplied with paper and a lousy pen! Certified teachers are a luxury, and red tape makes it difficult to take a correspondence class.
Many members of the public could care less; many think this “restructuring” is a good thing.
“They’re laying off my kid’s teachers and cutting back on children’s education, so why should I care about criminals?”
“Why should my hard-earned money pay you to teach those bums?”
“Those criminals are in prison, not a country club!”
“I can’t afford to send my kid to college, but those creeps get a free ride.”
Sound familiar? Many would agree with these comments. I’m on a mission to change how people think about this issue. And I’m looking for like-minded people to help me spread the word. So, let’s look at the other side of the story and spread the word to every corner of the world!
Most prisoners will be released back to society sooner or later. Their chances of surviving on the “outside” are very slim if they aren’t educated. Statistics tell us they will re-offend, often out of desperation, and return to prison unless they have the tools to survive. How many of us could obtain decent employment without a high school diploma or GED? We can rant all day about the criminal’s poor choices, getting what they deserve, or how it “serves them right.” We could discuss the lack of fairness when a person commits a crime and then gets the “privilege” of an education that “my kid can’t get.” And I could expound for pages and pages on the lack of choices that many prisoners had in their youth. I’d tell you how some people aren’t taught the skills you and I consider common sense. Research could be quoted that shows how education and age are the two things proven to lower recidivism. I could remind you that “there, but for the grace of God, go I.”
But let’s talk objectively about our pocketbooks. This may be the only way to get through to those opposed to correctional education. We can use our tax money to educate the offender, most likely helping them stay out of prison once released. This ex-offender can then be a tax-paying member of society. Or, we can let him sit all day for years on end, not spending our money on correctional education, and punish him until the cows come in. That way, we can continue to pay $25-30,000 yearly to house him and “punish him for his poor decisions!” That’ll show them!
Janice Chamberlin, the author of Locked UpWith Success, has been a licensed teacher since 1973. As a former public and private elementary teacher, Janice worked as a child welfare manager for several years. For the past 14 years, she has taught prison education in Indiana State Prison. She can be reached at either Locked Up With Success or on Facebook.
Published May 17, 2011 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Feb 16, 2024 at 3:49 am
