A Positive Perspective on Prison Education
A Positive Perspective on Prison Education
Prison Education Many people would agree that continuing an education is key to surviving in society. Therefore, education is very vital for every individual to maintain, regardless of how or where they obtain it. Even though people believe that education is important, many people disagree with education being taught in prison. Prison education is providing inmates with an opportunity to enhance their education. They are offered general education courses needed to attain a G. E. D, and courses they need for a higher education. Many of the inmates are high school dropouts or have an eighth grade education or less; therefore, they need to receive an education. For that reason, by educating prisoners it provides an opportunity for them to learn how to become better readers and expand their knowledge. As stated by James Vacca in his article “ Educated Prisoners are Less Likely to Return to Prison,” “their reasons for dropping out of school included a greater rate of grade retention, school transfers, misbehavior, poor attendance, and poor grades. Inmates also experienced less time in extracurricular activities and very little time with a school counselor during their time in school” (301). For many people to succeed they have to be motivated , it’s always hard to stay focused when so many obstacles are put in front of anyone. Education can reinforce goals people have, their culture beliefs, and how important education really is. Many people lose that focus when they feel that they are not meeting up to the expectation given to them, once that occurs they lose their desire to have a gratifying and productive life. Therefore, by providing prisoners opportunities for education benefits society as well as inmates because education will help them adjust to civilization, reduce inmate recidivism rates, and improve their social skills. The idea of prison education has changed over time, it has
Prison Education Many people would agree that continuing an education is key to surviving in society. Therefore, education is very vital for every individual to maintain, regardless of how or where they obtain it. Even though people believe that education is important, many people disagree with education being taught in prison. Prison education is providing inmates with an opportunity to enhance their education. They are offered general education courses needed to attain a G. E. D, and courses they need for a higher education. Many of the inmates are high school dropouts or have an eighth grade education or less; therefore, they need to receive an education. For that reason, by educating prisoners it provides an opportunity for them to learn how to become better readers and expand their knowledge. As stated by James Vacca in his article “ Educated Prisoners are Less Likely to Return to Prison,” “their reasons for dropping out of school included a greater rate of grade retention, school transfers, misbehavior, poor attendance, and poor grades. Inmates also experienced less time in extracurricular activities and very little time with a school counselor during their time in school” (301). For many people to succeed they have to be motivated , it’s always hard to stay focused when so many obstacles are put in front of anyone. Education can reinforce goals people have, their culture beliefs, and how important education really is. Many people lose that focus when they feel that they are not meeting up to the expectation given to them, once that occurs they lose their desire to have a gratifying and productive life. Therefore, by providing prisoners opportunities for education benefits society as well as inmates because education will help them adjust to civilization, reduce inmate recidivism rates, and improve their social skills. The idea of prison education has changed over time, it has
Cited: Davidson, Howard S. “Schooling in a Total Institution: Critical Perspectives on Prison Education.” Westport, Connecticut, London, 1995 Central at Indian School Road, Phoenix Ar: Orxy Press, 1994. 5-82. Print