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I don’t fear the inmates’ intimidation, and I don’t usually fall for their manipulations. However, once in awhile I have been known to get duped.  I remember Mr. North*, who acted really innocent and sensitive.  I cringe now when I recall how I tried to help him get medical care.  He would cry, and tell me disturbing stories how the nurse would yell at him and not let him see a doctor.  I went out on a limb, making phone calls to advocate for him.  After three or four times of helping him with various issues, I started to finally catch on to his manipulations.

On March 5, 1959, a Mr. Clyde Hall of Pikeville, Kentucky, apparently got curious about a far off land called Tibet. This much I have guessed. Around that same time, Tibet’s spiritual and temporal leader, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, was preparing to flee his country in the face of an invasion by communist Chinese forces.

I had never heard of Clyde Hall until recently.  I was confined in a maximum-security federal penitentiary about 175 miles from Pikeville; a long way from my native Boston, in many ways. Through the prison’s inter-library loan program, I ordered a copy of the book, Seven Years in Tibet.

Concerning discipline and keeping the classroom safe, I find it important to stay as calm as possible. It seems some students feel it is their job to stress out the teacher. That’s how they “win” for the day. This was very apparent when I taught in the juvenile facility. I was called more names in the first ten minutes on my first day than I have been called in all my years teaching the adult inmates.  The juveniles were also expert at leaving little drawings on my desk.  These usually involved cartoons of me and one of the inmates.  I won’t go into detail, except to say they were shockingly pornographic and insulting to me.  One day, a similar drawing was drawn with pencil, three feet high, on the back wall of the classroom.

Effective February 1, 2011, the Federal Bureau of Prisons instituted national policy in regards to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) collection. This policy was promulgated under Program Statement #5311.01, entitled ‘Inmate DNA Sample Collection Procedures.’

According to the Program Statement, “DNA analysis provides a powerful tool for human identification. DNA samples collected from individuals or derived from crime scene evidence are analyzed to produce DNA profiles that are entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

It’s a Friday afternoon and the inmates of FCI-Petersburg — a federal prison in Petersburg, Virginia – are abuzz. Some are playing handball or basketball on the rec-yard. Others are watching ESPN and banging loudly upon tables and trashcans as highlights are shown. And still others are stealing food out of the kitchen or engaging in any other number of ‘hustles.’ This is typical of a federal prison.

What’s not typical is a group of what appear to be students, hunkered down in room 105 of the Education Department. They sit quietly at their desks, pens in hand, taking notes. Their instructor is not a staff member or a guard, as one would expect, but a fellow prisoner by the name of Bill Batton. And these inmates are not students, but inmate instructors in FCI-Petersburg’s Adult Continuing Education Program.

Introduction

This week was week eight of Writing and Publishing. Those of you who follow this blog know that week 8 is the week in which I administer the final examination, always an interesting activity.

This week I showed up for class at around 5:30 p.m., so that I could assist the two students who were absent from week 7, the class in which we prepared for the final examination. To my surprise, one didn’t show. Regardless, around five other students did, in addition to my one, to prepare for the final. During this period of time we rolled through the content covered by the final.

I have learned to be constantly observant and aware of my surroundings. If it’s too quiet, for example, I had better pay attention, because something could be wrong. Any difference in the norm is cause for attention; no matter how small a change may be, you kind of perk up a little bit and watch to see what is going on.  One morning, as early as 7:15 A.M., I had just thought, “Gee, it sure is unusually quiet.  They’re all studying nicely, but it almost makes me nervous.”  Within seconds, I heard a loud banging sound.  I looked up to see one guy standing over another, pounding the stuffing out of him. I phoned for assistance; the “cavalry” showed up, threw on the cuffs and dragged the two guys out by their feet.  The damage was minimal. I cleaned up the blood (using universal precautions, of course), and the guys simply went back to work. But the incident woke me up that morning, to say the least!

All too often basic Constitutional rights are taken for granted by the Americans who hold them. These include the right to bear arms, run for office, and even vote. To most, these are simply a part of what it means to be an American citizen. After all, they are guaranteed by the Constitution. Right?

For most, this statement would be correct. For most Americans the right to own a firearm, run for president, or vote for their state senator are protected. But for a growing class in America, these very rights have been stripped from them. They have been restricted because of a criminal conviction.

At times I feel as if I am an anomaly in both the prison setting where I reside and in my post-secondary correctional education pursuits. I say this because as I grow into a man — I’m 25 now after all — I have begun to ponder my future and what it could hold.

As those of you who know me well know, I wasn’t always the best-behaved guy. Prior to my arrival in prison I was a confused kid who had a serious alcohol and drug abuse problem. As such, all of my actions and even my very thinking occurred inside the thick fog of substance abuse. With the realization that I didn’t know or appreciate (as in value) my actions, it’s no wonder that I would end up in prison.

For the first time since I can remember, the case against higher education is being made by the mainstream media. Arguments centered upon the true value of a higher education are being presented. The question asked is: “Is higher education really worth the time and expense of pursuing one?” What a profoundly foolish question to present!

Since the age of academic and social enlightenment, a common sense, no-questions-asked protocol has presented itself concerning education in general. The protocol states that first a child goes to elementary school, then middle school and high school. After high school, the socially acceptable and economically advantageous move is to go to college. After college, the person enters the workforce.