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?