Your pieces make my heart ache for these humans. I'm contemplating that while Americans believe criminals "get what they deserve" and think our prisons aren't "as bad" as other countries, do they really think this is an environment for rehabilitation? It seems like it would take a lot of will and confidence to believe you are worth doing and being better if you were placed in that environment.
Thank you so much, Kiley. I completely agree that we have to do a better job at looking at rehabilitation. The system that's now in place is not designed to help these men and women improve themselves and their lives, and it is so tough for them when they do get out. If I were incarcerated, I really don't know if I would survive it without being a very different person, and not in a good way. Every time I leave the prison gates - especially now, when I can start to smell the spring air - I am so grateful for my freedom and so mindful of all those people who are locked up, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade.
What I love so much about this whole series of pieces is YOUR voice - YOU are our lens into your classes and the men in them. I love to hear their voices, but YOU are always there as the writer, and I love hearing that.
Once again, fabulous piece! I was younger and more rebellious when I taught at a women's prison. Once, I brought what the guards would've considered contraband- a baggie of cinnamon, hard candy, a bottle of lavender essential oil, and other things gs I don't recall - to do sense memory exercises. Now I understand the level of trouble I would have been in. But the stories!!
Thanks, Staci! I've never tried to sneak anything into prison. Too risky - I don't want to get thrown out or do anything that threatens the program. But I'm always nervous when the guards rifle through the papers I'm bringing in - mostly articles written by incarcerated guys. They could confiscate anything, but so far I've been lucky. But the men in the class say they are convinced that correction officers read what they've written in the composition notebooks I handed out at the beginning of the year. I'm sure it stifles what they are willing to put down on paper.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out the guards had read their work and I'm certain the self censor because of it. There is zero privacy. After working as a life coach on an ex-offender re-entry program, I see all sides of the coin. All I know is that ignoring someone's humanity is not the answer. It takes a lot to teach inside a prison. I admire you for it.
Your pieces make my heart ache for these humans. I'm contemplating that while Americans believe criminals "get what they deserve" and think our prisons aren't "as bad" as other countries, do they really think this is an environment for rehabilitation? It seems like it would take a lot of will and confidence to believe you are worth doing and being better if you were placed in that environment.
Thank you so much, Kiley. I completely agree that we have to do a better job at looking at rehabilitation. The system that's now in place is not designed to help these men and women improve themselves and their lives, and it is so tough for them when they do get out. If I were incarcerated, I really don't know if I would survive it without being a very different person, and not in a good way. Every time I leave the prison gates - especially now, when I can start to smell the spring air - I am so grateful for my freedom and so mindful of all those people who are locked up, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade.
What I love so much about this whole series of pieces is YOUR voice - YOU are our lens into your classes and the men in them. I love to hear their voices, but YOU are always there as the writer, and I love hearing that.
Once again, fabulous piece! I was younger and more rebellious when I taught at a women's prison. Once, I brought what the guards would've considered contraband- a baggie of cinnamon, hard candy, a bottle of lavender essential oil, and other things gs I don't recall - to do sense memory exercises. Now I understand the level of trouble I would have been in. But the stories!!
Thanks, Staci! I've never tried to sneak anything into prison. Too risky - I don't want to get thrown out or do anything that threatens the program. But I'm always nervous when the guards rifle through the papers I'm bringing in - mostly articles written by incarcerated guys. They could confiscate anything, but so far I've been lucky. But the men in the class say they are convinced that correction officers read what they've written in the composition notebooks I handed out at the beginning of the year. I'm sure it stifles what they are willing to put down on paper.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out the guards had read their work and I'm certain the self censor because of it. There is zero privacy. After working as a life coach on an ex-offender re-entry program, I see all sides of the coin. All I know is that ignoring someone's humanity is not the answer. It takes a lot to teach inside a prison. I admire you for it.