As prison jobs go, for awhile there I had a great one: English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher and Tutor. I came up with the gig myself, partially just to break down some of the ethnic barriers in this place, and my co-teaching buddy and I gradually developed a curriculum that our supervisor described as the best ESL program he'd seen in his two decades with the Bureau of Prisons. In most so-called educational courses in prison, people skip class a lot, but we had a waiting list trying to get into our program, all Spanish-speaking guys hoping to learn English and better themselves. We worked hard at it -- a secondary benefit was me boning up on my Spanish along the way -- and we felt appreciated. Anglos to our toes, we were accepted by the Latino prisoners, earning Spanish nicknames and status as honorary members of the family. Eventually, we were teaching several classes a day, all without any outside instructors. Friends on the outside sent us used Spanish-English dictionaries, some easy-reading novels, a couple fill-in-the-blank school books, but the rest was all us.
And then....
Out of the blue, you guessed it, we got canned. No explanation, no justification, just canned. When our supervisor spoke to the head of Education about the work we were doing, about how we were the best possible instructors for these courses, she replied, "They're just inmates. We have 1200 others. Pick two and stick them in the job, it won't make a difference." Plug and play. After all, none of us are individuals with any skills or education that might help another guy get a leg up when he finally goes home. Interchangeable parts. That's all we are to her. I'd write more, but the whole thing brings me down.
Actually I think you are describing the tip of the iceberg. Our prison system is seriously lacking in rehabilitation. Unfortunately starting at the top and working its way down there is no hope for any change in the immediate future. The best we can hope for is a change at the top in 2020. Worst case scenario you will have a goal to work toward when you join us on the other side of the wall. We are on your team let us know what we can do to help start a reform movement. It is time we get in the 21st century and understand that reform not punishment is the name of the game that will really make a difference.
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