Education Leads To A More Positive Future
NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ recently ran a feature on the story of Donnell Hughes, who served 20 years in prison for manslaughter and the sale of narcotics. Hughes entered prison at the age of 17 and credits an in prison education program run by Bard College – The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) – with giving him a college education. He says that liberal arts education changed his perspective of the world and “enabled him to “visualize” his future”.
Only 4% of BPI graduates are re-incarcerated post release compared to the US average of 50%. It has also been noted in a 2013 study by the Department of Justice and the RAND Corporation “that inmates who participated in education programs in prison were 43% less likely to be re-incarcerated after release.”
Speaking from my own experience, the journey of learning presents prisoners with more than just paper qualifications.
1) It challenges your idea of the world and your place in it
2) It gives you a sense of self worth
3) It develops thinking and reasoning skills
4) It provides productive occupation of time
5) It provides opportunity for discourse with people outside of your immediate peer group
There is continuous contention around funding education programs in prison, as some say that resources are better allocated to citizens in need outside of the penal system. But giving people a sense of self-worth, hope and confidence that they are able to choose a different path other than that of crime once released from prison, is an investment towards a safer society.
Image source: bpi.bard.edu