Education: the Key to Unlock the Golden Door of Freedom

          The United States has more people in prisons than any other developed country in the world (Freudenberg 2). Of those 2.2 million prisoners, nearly three quarters of a million will be released from state, and federal prisons this year. Of that number, about half of them will be back in prison over the next three years, and continue a cycle of deviance (Katel 4). Recidivism means to have “a tendency to lapse into a previous pattern of behavior,” and in this case, criminal behavior. A sociologist, Robert K. Merton, developed a concept called a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” He explained, “how a belief or expectation, whether correct or not, affects the outcome of the way a person will behave. Thus, labeling someone a criminal, and treating that person as such, may foster criminal behavior in the person who is subjected to the expectation”.  With prison populations expanding at a phenomenal rate, and our country spending six times more on prisons then higher education, it is crucial to decrease the recidivism rate, and the best way to lower this rate is through education (Crary 3).  The solution to decrease the recidivism rate and keep our prisons from being overcrowded is to create programs that focus on academics, parental education, and vocational training.

          There are some programs in our country that focus on inmate vocational training, as a way to decrease the recidivism rate. One of these programs has been created, and implemented by the LifeTech Institute. The program focuses on providing technical workforce training to parolees (Johnson 10). Another program that has been created is called Project New Attitudes. This program was created by the country’s largest law enforcement agency, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, in Clearwater Florida. The residents of this program learn many life skills, along with vocational skills. The curriculum of the program focuses on interpersonal relationship development, self-development, communication skills, job skills development, anger management, and accessing social services. To test the success of the program, two measures were used. Both re-arrest rate, and length of the arrest were calculated to come to a conclusion about whether, or not this program decreased recidivism rate among those who entered the program. After careful review, this nine week program proved to be effective, and it is continuing to educate its’ residents. Although this program was successful, even programs that show moderate success rates in decreasing recidivism more than cover the cost of the programs themselves (Jalazo 11). Programs that focus on educating prisoners, or former inmates in vocational training, help them enter the work forces, which decreases their likelihood returning behind bars, and therefore decreases the recidivism rate.

          There are also some programs that focus on the academic growth of an inmate. Some of these programs allow for inmates to receive their general equivalency diplomas before leaving prison. Palmetto program in South Carolina is one of the programs that are created for inmates to receive academic education. This program is like many of its kind, and aims to reduce the recidivism rate by educating inmates. These programs are slightly different then vocational training programs, because their aim is for the inmate to receive academic training, rather than trade training. California is one of the states that make it easier to create programs that focus on academic growth for prison inmates. A law called “Secure Re-Entry Facilities” was passed in 2008, and the law decreased the total number of inmates in the states prisons by more than 4,700 in only 18 months. With the passage of the law, the number of inmates enrolled in academic programs, like the Palmetto program, rose to 11,925 to 14,050. Tim Terry was in the GED program in Palmetto, and said that the “program played a big part in his life when he got out of prison after serving more than 15 years on a voluntary manslaughter charge”(Barnet 9). Programs that focus on academic education, also help inmates enter the workforce, while helping them feel more confident about themselves, which leads to a decrease in the recidivism rate.

          Another way to reduce the recidivism rate is to reintegrate inmates into family in a productive and positive manner.  Partners in Parenting curriculum is a skilled-based program focusing on promoting positive behavior, by strengthening family relationships. One of these programs was started in Colorado, and focused on mothers who were incarcerated. 219 mothers participated in this program, and the success of the program was measured. Results revealed that the mother who were a part of the program, and participated in parenting education classes demonstrated improved skills in parenting. “Research suggests that children who have a parent in prison are more likely to develop emotional and behavioral difficulties such as withdrawal, aggression, anxiety, depression” Parenting education programs help the child, as well as helping the mother.  However, not only are these parenting education program are beneficial to the mother and child, but they also help reduce the recidivism rate (Gonzales 6).

          In conclusion, it is possible to decrease the overwhelming recidivism rate in our country. Educating our inmates in vocational training academics and parent education can help us achieve this. There is intensive research that has been done by many sociologist and criminologists, which study ways of lowering the recidivism rate. Many of these research studies show that we can achieve a lower recidivism rate by creating programs that focus on education, while increasing the inmate’s confidence. With education, former inmates can learn the life skills necessary to continue their lives, and not return behind bars. Not taking the proper action in creating these programs will result in even more crowded jails, and more of our tax money spent on prisons, instead of other programs that need to receive funding, such as higher education. We cannot continue to spend six times the amount of funding that we spend on higher education, on prisons instead (Crary 3). There are a few things that can be done to advocate for these programs: lobbying, or talking with local elected officials, and state elected officials, is the best way to create more programs for inmates, and to decrease the recidivism rate.

Marc Mauer.  "The Hidden Problem of Time Served in Prison. " Social       Research  74.2 (2007): 701-707. ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.  12 Jul. 2010.

Freudenberg, N., J. Daniels, M. Crum, T. Perkins, and B. Richie. "Coming Home From Jail: The Social and Health Consequences of Community Reentry for Women, Male Adolescents, and Their Families and Communities. " American Journal of Public Health  : Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved 98.(2008):  ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.  12 Jul. 2010.

Crary, David. "Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison." Newsday (Long Island, NY). Feb. 29 2008: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 09 Jul 2010

Katel, P. (2007, April 6). Prison reform. CQ Researcher, 17, 289-312. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2007040600.

Katel, P. (2009, December 4). Prisoner reentry. CQ Researcher, 19, 1005-1028. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2009120400.

Gonzalez, Patricia, Tony Romero, and Christine B. Cerbana. "Parent Education Program for Incarcerated Mothers in Colorado." Journal of Correctional Education 58.4 (2007): 357-373. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 12 July 2010.

Shrum, Harvey. "No Longer Theory: Correctional Practices that Work." Journal of Correctional Education 55.3 (2004): 225-235. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 12 July 2010.

Carter, B.. "Education Behind Bars. " Sentinel  12  Nov. 2009,California, South Newsstand, ProQuest. Web.  12 Jul. 2010.

Barnett, Ron. "Incarcerated Getting Educated." USA TODAY. Sept. 24 2008: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 09 Jul 2010.

Johnson, John A. "Lifetech Institute: Leading Change through Transitional Centers." Community College Journal of Research & Practice 33.11 (2009): 942-944. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 July 2010.

Jalazo, Michael D. "Life Skills Project." Journal of Correctional Education 56.2 (2005): 108-114. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 12 July 2010.

"self-fulfilling prophecy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Jul. 2010 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"recidivism." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 16 Jul. 2010. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recidivism>.

Shaping youth...

Yesterday, I was out on a family friends patio sitting with my parents, and some family friends, while they were taking a walk down memory lane. The radio was on, and it was one of those mainstream hip-hop stations. While we were sitting on the patio, there were two girls upstairs, resting, and listening to music after the fun day they had. The girls were 11, and 13 years old. A song came on the radio…And many of you probably already heard this song by Eminem and Rihanna, it’s called  “Love the way you lie.” Although the cuss words were bleeped out, I still couldn’t help myself in going upstairs and turning down the music, and explaining to the two girls that the lyrics in the song didn’t describe a healthy relationship. This was almost like a reflex for me, and that quiet honestly surprised me. I tried to find the right words to tell them why I was talking to them about this song, and why it was important to me. I think I did the best I could in that moment. I explained to them that the song described an unhealthy relationship, and that when they grow up they don’t need to have relationships like that. I explained to them that even though we sometimes look up to celebrities, which I know teens in that age group do, we don’t have to idealize them, because they are imperfect human beings. After that, I went downstairs. A couple of minutes later, the two girls wanted to go to the park, so I went with them. They were playing with a frisbee, and I was sitting down relaxing for a while. Then, the girls started talking to me about some of the problems that they were facing in their lives, and what was important to them. We talked about boys, being betrayed by friends, confidence, problems that they face in their schools, and staying away from the temptations of deviant behavior. While I was talking to them, I realized a lot about myself too. The reason why I wanted to help them, and talk to them was because at their age I felt completely lost. Although I had family members, at that age I wanted to do anything but to talk to family about the kinds of problems I was having.  I thought to myself, if I had a mentor at that age, someone outside my family, someone I looked up to, and someone who could listen to me, I probably wouldn’t have felt completely lost. Recently, I changed my major from Public Relations to Sociology, but now I know more about what I want to do. With talking to these two girls, I had a moment of clarity, where I realized that I want to work with girls in this age group. I want to empower girls and let them stay innocent for as long as they can, while we live in a society that pushes them to grow up too fast. I want them to know that their problems are important, and give them a listening ear when needed, and help them boost their confidence in any way I can. I feel that this is something that I need to do, not just a career path, but almost something that I'd not feel alive without doing. That night when I was going to bed, I felt more satisfied then ever. Eventhough it was not a big deal in the greater scheme of things, it was important to me, and I just wanted to share it with all of you. 

Tired, overworked, yet satisfied...

“Are college students today faced with more pressures than college students in the past?” “College Pressures” by William Zinsser, is an essay written in the 1970’s that informs and persuades readers about pressures that a student may face due to high academic expectations. Zinsser discusses these pressures and states that they are caused by, overachieving and trying to satisfy the expectations of others. I feel that I put a great deal of pressure on myself, along with pressures from peers, parents and our society. There are days that are harder then others when it comes to my academic life as a college student. I find today to be one of the harder days. I feel tired and overworked, yet I am still satisfied. Although I am overwhelmed, I find the strength within me to keep going. I think this strength comes from my will power and knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Some days it’s harder to find that strength within me, but I am always able to do it at the end of the day. Primarily because I know I am trying the best I can, and I know that I have a desire to contribute to this society. It has become easier to find that strength since I changed my major from Public Relations to Sociology. Now, I get my drive from my end goal, which is to help people. I don’t know exactly what I will do with my degree, but I know that I want to continue my education and attend graduate school. I am strongly considering Public Policy or Gender Studies for my major. Whatever I decide on going after I earn my B.A degree will be something that helps our society in some way, and hopefully will enhance the life of others. So, the point that I am trying to make is that the strength is within you—the college student—and it is possible to find that strength, however you have got to dig hard sometimes, and not give up on the hard days. So tonight, instead of dwelling on my tiredness and being overworked, I will focus on the satisfaction that I get from wanting the best future for myself, and the fact that I can even attend college to begin with. Many people do not get this opportunity, and an education has become a luxury than a right. It feels so empowering to know that my destiny is not prewriten, and that I can shape my future the way I want. 
I feel very blessed to have the opportunities I have, and I will never let anything stop me from taking full advantage of these opportunities. 

Cheers, 

Melissa Fenerci