While surfing though the hundreds of articles on my Aggregator, I came upon this article in the Washington Post. This may be a bit off of my original topic, but I think that this is a very savy way to deal with a very challenging problem. Many students who drop out of school turn to crime as a way of life. In the state of Vermont, the department of corrections requires all inmates under 22 years old, who haven’t completed High School, to attend 20 hours of classes per week, while in prison.
“Most states tend to abandon incarcerated youth and don’t provide much in the way of ongoing education,” said Sam Robinson, an official at the New England Commission on Independent Schools.
While requiring their “captive” students to earn their diplomas, the state of Vermont is hoping to reduce the amount of repeat offenders. I believe that this may be the best way to deal with the problem of reforming these young people. Without education, these young adults are released back into society without the hope of transcending the lifestyle that put them in jail in the first place.
“We are having an effect on the youth population we reach in the facilities because they’re not coming back in,” said Community High School Principal Steve LaTulippe, who went to work for the Corrections Department a year after retiring from his 30-year career as a teacher in South Burlington.
Making a difference in this crime prone segment of our society can have the ability to alter the future of these people and the world. The statistics of uneducated repeat offenders is staggering. Just taking an interest in these non-traditional students makes the difference.
Community High School board member Dwight A. Davis said that whenever he asks inmates if anyone had ever taken an interest in their education, they say no.
“As an educator, that’s difficult for me to accept,” Davis said. “A lot of our kids, if they had one caring adult, they would succeed. Unfortunately, they don’t. If we can correct that, we’ve corrected a gross error.”
I think that this type of education is invaluable for those students who slip through the traditional cracks of education. I think that if more prisons were equipt to deal with the educational deficit most of its prisoners face, many of these people would have opportunities beyond crime and drug abuse. This is a great way to deal with a difficult problem…congratulations Vermont!!!
March 2, 2007 at 1:32 am |
Wow this is such an interesting article. I think that was the state of Vermont is doing in their prisons is and amazing opportunity for the inmates. Just think… they are being giving a second chance to get their diploma and a second chance to change their lives around. It makes me wonder if these inmates understand what kind of an opportunity this is for them. I have a cousin who has been in and out of jail a lot of times. I know that at one point he was taking classes trying to get either his GED or diploma, i don’t remember which, but he certainly was happy about the opportunity to be able to learn, however he was release from prison/jail and didn’t get the change to finish or go back to high school, and so from there on out i feel that he didn’t appreciate himself. Its almost like he felt he was a failure so he might as well just continue down the road that he is familiar with and knows how to handle until he is put back in jail. The article talks about how if these men and women knew that someone cared about them that maybe they would try and change something in their lives and try to get their diploma and not end up back where they are. I think that its true. My cousin lived with my family for 3 years and while he was with us he knew that if he failed he would disappoint us. He did great while with us but as soon as he left he didn’t have rules or the guidance that he needed and he couldn’t make it. I think that as teachers we need to try and show all the students that we care about them and the choices that they make in life. That way maybe they will know that at least one person cares about them and that maybe there is something better out there for them.
April 16, 2007 at 1:28 am |
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