The ignorance issue

This coming Friday (5/29/2015), I'll be presenting a program; I've been asked by a few counselors to discuss the benefits of education over ignorance. Yeah, ignorance is a real problem in here. Guys talk in their own lingo--"I can't call it" and "true fact." They believe every inmate.com rumor that goes around ("did you hear the governor just brought back 65%?" there never was 65%!). And guys show up for their second, third, sometimes fourth time and tell you, "This is it. Ain't coming back to this rodeo again." Only they do the same stupid things: "I don't need no education; I'm fine just the way I am."

No you're not. The late great Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, "every man is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

Here are the facts:

Poor black kids have almost no hope of reaching the American dream if they come from impoverished backgrounds, no education, and lack two parent families. The only way to break that cycle is getting a college degree.

This nation has a major problem with economic disparity, and, as most realistic people are beginning to realize, you can't separate economic disparity from racial injustice. Poverty is, in many ways, black and white.

A felon has almost a three times higher unemployment rate than a non-felon; add to that the fact that society stigmatizes the newly released, and you create a toxic stew of failure for those who really want to work and make a decent living.

What breaks that? Education. A college-educated felon has an unemployment rate at about the same level as their non-felon counterparts.

American dream? Here's a real eye-opener--the wealthy are getting wealthier and the middle class and poor are languishing. Not since the gilded age or the age of Morgan and Rockefeller have we seen such a disparity of income. Meanwhile, politicians keep talking about more tax breaks for the wealthy (like the estate tax--how many families have the net worth covered by the estate tax? not many).

And we continue to lock up poor people at greater rates than wealthy.

Hey, black kids and white kids use drugs in the same percentages; it's just black kids go to jail and white kids go to rehab.

I'll tell the 150 guys listening to me that the idea of being an "entrepreneur" is a gamble at best--most have no start up cash--who's going to stake you to begin? Plus, over 90% of start up businesses fail in the first year. "Get your degree; get a job with a company with benefits; get your life going."

Those are the hard facts--but ignoring them doesn't mean they don't exist. That applies as well for the country. It's time for a real discussion by politicians about economic disparity, racial disparity and the effects of mass incarceration, poor education, poverty, and economic unfairness in wages on this country's goal of all its citizens reaching the American dream.

Facts are facts. They are not always pleasant, but the truth will out.

Heed Victor’s Words

This blog was written in November, 2014.

            French author Victor Hugo once said, “Every time a school door opens a prison closes.” Powerful words. Hugo, in his novel, “Les Miserables” showed great insight into the problems confronting the incarcerated. His words, contrasting the power of prison over the power of education, are as true today as they were when he wrote them. There is a battle underway between those who want prisons to flourish, those who make profit off these horrible places, and those who understand that an educated mind can go beyond these walls.

            I am frustrated. We have an extraordinary college program going on in here with 40 men. Every man is either a self-pay student or a veteran using GI benefits. This program succeeds because of a dedicated school principal who knows the power of education can change lives and a handful of extraordinary women from the community college who give their time and effort to see these men succeed and go on to better lives. I am in awe of these women because they see something in here that I so often miss. They see decency, and healthy inquiry, and minds being challenged rising to the occasion.

            And they come to this place and have “security” drag their feet as they try and bring books and materials in. Remember, it’s a battle between the powers that be in DOC who want an ignorant, slothful inmate population and these community college people who know that education can – and does – change a life. It is a battle. Most people who work in corrections – the re-entry part anyway – despise the success of the college program. Why? After all, aren’t they both working for the same result?

            You would think so. Here’s the thing – prisons fail at rehabilitation. Prisons fail at re-entry. The re-entry program at most facilities is heavy on words and mindless rote exercises and light on meaningful skill building. It is dominated by psychology babble with no real preparation for life “beyond” the walls. And the “counselors” – well, they counsel no one. Fact is, I give better, more accurate advice to guys than any counselor. The entire re-entry program is set up to get guys to “toe the line” and passively agree with the facilitator. “Write a ‘thinking report’ when you ‘feel’ angry.”

            Meanwhile, the prison is full of men with no high school diploma and lacking basic job skills. “That’s ok; we’ll give them a page of face pictures and ask them to pick the one that resembles how they’re feeling today” That’s re-entry. Worse, the guy in charge of “cognitive programs” wants to cut the pay of teacher’s aides. So you know, we get 45 cents per hour and max out at 50 hours a week. I attend every college class (assisting the instructors); I coordinate all college programs, tutor in the building, and answer dozens of questions each day.  I haven’t seen just a 50-hour week in a year. This schmoo wants to cut that, and the GED tutors. Will he tutor?

            Education prevents re-offense. Fact: Higher education is the only sure program behind bars with a proven track record of creating successful offenders at release. The state pours millions into re-entry and not a single dollar into our college program. Wonder why (especially considering the dollars the prison-industrial corporations spend on lobbying and campaigns)? You shouldn’t. Every man that succeeds in our college program is a man who won’t succumb to the difficulties present at release. It’s the return business that keeps DOC operating at $1 billion plus a year.

            Education matters. Education is a right that free, democratic societies understand is necessary for a well-informed electorate. And well-informed electorates understand that crime can be reduced with opportunity. Virginia has an excellent community college system but the system only works when delivery goes to the farthest reaches – to the textile workers who need retraining because their mill closed, to the inner city neighborhoods where single parent families are trying to get job skills to move up, and to prisons. Our community college partner and these amazing educators believe that … and their dedication and belief brings amazing results in spite of DOC.

            Money matters. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has $6 billion. Over $265 million is given every year by them to “elite” universities. We can run our program for a year on $25,000. I’ll put the work we’re doing in here up against anything they’re doing at Harvard.

            Victor’s words. He saw the correlation between education and incarceration. Do you?