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Contrary to common belief, I am at least 90%-95% of the security in my classroom. My biggest approach can be summed up as showing an authoritative, but also a caring, demeanor. It takes a little bit of work and a bit of balance. But it works well for me and I think probably for most people, if it’s done consistently. If I can overcome their poor attitudes, then discipline is obviously easier.

Often, people think since I teach adults, classroom discipline must be easier than when working with teens.  In reality, many of these men are physically grown, but are still mentally equivalent to young teens.  I have found by observing their behaviors, I can come pretty close to figuring out at what age they began using alcohol and/or drugs.  Their achievement test scores give me the second clue.

This week was week seven of Writing and Publishing. This week’s focus was upon preparing for the final examination.

What I’ve found in my career as a correctional educator is that you must sell the student on the idea behind the information you want them to memorize. I say this because incarcerated students are very willing to just do their time in the classroom, fail a test, and repeat the process. This can be seen in countless GED programs inside prisons.

This is the eighth blog post in the ‘Obvious Truths We Shouldn’t Be Ignoring Series.’ This series is based upon eight ‘Obvious Truths’ presented by Alfie Kohn in his “Ten Obvious Truths That We Shouldn’t Be Ignoring” published in the September 2011 issue of The Education Digest.

“Just because a lesson (or book, or class, or test) is harder doesn’t mean it’s better.”

When it comes to academic rigor, many misconceptions ensue. Many people believe that a difficult test is better than an easier one. By the same token, a more challenging class is better than an easier one. As such, we view something which is more rigorous as better or more complete. Sadly, this is not always the case.

This is the seventh blog post in the ‘Obvious Truths We Shouldn’t Be Ignoring Series.’ This series is based upon eight ‘Obvious Truths’ presented by Alfie Kohn in his “Ten Obvious Truths That We Shouldn’t Be Ignoring” published in the September 2011 issue of The Education Digest.

“We want children to develop in many ways, not just academically.”

While we certainly aren’t dealing with children when educating prisoners, we are dealing with many of the same issues. In Kohn’s piece, he notes that education is not solely about the child’s academic development, but much more.

By Baz Dreisinger

In a decade of teaching, I have approached many a semester’s end wistfully: another goodbye to students I have, week after week, intellectually bonded with. But this semester, wistful feels more like the blues.

I am soon to be exiled from pedagogical heaven: an English 101 class so academically voracious, they rendered my job effortless. My students not only read the material and took extensive notes on it, they read material weeks before I’d assigned it. They arrived armed with studied opinions about each text and page numbers containing relevant passages to shore up these opinions; they begged me for additional grammar worksheets and requested feedback on work they’d assigned themselves. When we read one particular Ralph Ellison essay, they groaned about how many times the piece had driven them to the dictionary, and I held back tears of joy: Oh for a roomful of students who studiously look up words they don’t understand!

By Michael Flinner

There are many forms of death sentence. The cruelest ones fall squarely upon the lives of those who don’t deserve them.

Cancer will touch the lives of every single living person at one time or another, either by directly affecting them, a friend or a loved one. No one is spared, young or old.

This is a tribute to the living memories of all of those who have endured the ravages of this destroyer of life and we at DeathRowInmate.org wish to speak our love and hope to the lives of those who have touched us, and whose bravery and dignity continue to inspire us.

Most of us know we will be released from prison. One day, sooner or later, we will be out on the street again. The question is: will that be a one-way trip? Will each of us leave the prison world never to return? To do that, we must know how to survive – no, not survive, succeed – when we re-enter society.
Statistics are stacked against us. Most prisoners get out and, eventually, most of us find ourselves back in. There are many reasons for the high rate of recidivism (the return of ex-prisoners to incarceration), but studies consistently show that the primary cause is unemployment. On the outside you need a job to eat. To have a place to live. To support your family. To hold your head high and know you can handle freedom.
But jobs are hard to come by when you carry a prison record with you. Still, we can’t use that as an excuse. With good skills and education – solid vocational training at the very least or, even better, an advanced degree – released prisoners can overcome a prison record. In fact – and this is the good news – 75% of college-educated ex-convicts are able to surmount the stigma of their criminal record to find stable employment.1