Well to begin to answer this question, we'd have to look towards the purpose of Prisons and incarceration as a whole. Prisons were made to punish individuals of society, but also to reform them by giving them time alone from the general populace to think on their actions. Wouldn't additional assistance to the Inmate Populace be warranted to assist in the reformation of these wayward people?
In an article published by PrisonEucation.com (https://bit.ly/2J4Rcsj) around 40% of the prison population as a whole do not have at least a High school diploma or GED. As we all know having that alone could mean the difference between being able to get employment. For those who wouldn't have the opportunity to even get such a degree and begin their freedom on the right foot may be drawn back to more criminal activity by sheer necessity rather than desire.
Look at the E.U, but mainly Sweden. The Institute of Constant Adults Education, or IDEKE for short, is a group dedicated to the purpose of providing educational opportunities to individuals in prison, and had noted that their general prison population has been in decline with the addition of programs like theirs. (Here is their PDF containing their information. I hope you read it http://www.as.edu.rs/pdf/articles/50.)
Should such policies and opportunities be given to our country's inmates, the amounts of repeat offenders may decrease, as during their incarceration they may have received the help they needed, and reformed.
1
Prison is a place where people serve time to realize what they did wrong. It is technically a punishment, because people go there because they did something wrong. Incarcerating people serves society by removing a current danger or a threat to people, although removing them doesn’t mean that everything will be safe. There could be a lot of different reasons why they did it, and not all of the reasons might be ill intentions. Because of this, the purpose of prison should not be to punish but to help someone learn their lesson. Prisoners are not aIl wicked. Some of them might be, but I believe that most of them cannot be that evil in reality. I feel like we have a biased opinion towards prisoners and that we think that they are all malicious killers. Most of them are just normal people who made an unwise decision in their life. Incarcerating people helps society by showing them why their actions are wrong and helping them to fix their mistake by giving them a chance to prove themselves to society again. Even though once, they might have done committed crimes, they get a chance to improve themselves.
I believe that prisons should be about shaping the criminals in our society into normal, working class people. It's not fair to just detain them until their sentence is done because they will just go to prison again because they can't get any jobs or don't have the education in order to get a good job. We should teach them so they can get a GED and have a chance in the world when they get out of prison, they will no longer have to resort to doing crime. Maybe they can change our world for the better. But, if we don't give them the education that they deserve, that will never happen and we treat them like animals in a zoo. Most prisoners are not in prison. In fact, about 45% of prisoners are in prison because they were selling drugs. That's not an excuse to not give an education to inmates. They most likely had to sell drugs or else they'll be broke and waiting to die. So, in conclusion, we should give inmates a second chance at life and to make a good living instead of forcing them down a path of violence, drugs theft, etc... We all deserve a second chance, no matter what we've done.
I think that incarcerated people should get an education. Because most people end up in prison from dropping out of high school and having to steal and break the law and they end up in prison. Now i also think this has to do with the amount of time and money we put in to our public schools however, we still cant make those decision for to go. Also i think it should be optional, and safety measures should be take in the prison to make sure no body is hurt during this activity. i also think that we should change the way people think about Fellini so ounce they get out and get there diploma they don't go right back out and do it again because they don't have the money to support them selves.
Prisons should be a place for correcting and constructing wrong behavior and making inmates better for society. If inmates are just "put into storage" at a prison facility, they are not contributing to society at all. Why waste so much money to have millions of people sit in a concrete building doing nothing, when they could be getting educated so that when they get out of prison they can find a job and pull their weight in society. The other side of this argument could also be that we need to pour more money into public education, to reduce the amount of people incarcerated. As stated in the article, "education level is a far stronger predictor of future incarceration than race." Consequently, putting more money and effort into improving public education can also have a positive effect on prisoners. Essentially, the real problem in prisons is education. If you get a good education in school, you are less likely to make a bad decision and land yourself in prison. If you are educated once you are in prison, you are less likely to make that same decision again once you get out. You would also be able to get a job and start making some money to get your life back on track.
I personally think that prisoners could have educational opportunities because not only does it hopefully better them as people but also gives prisoners a chance to have knowledge on a certain skill for when they get out and try and find a job. This helps people become more capable of turning their life around and becoming productive members of society once again. Prison should be a place of rebuilding and reshaping not just a punishment because essentially your going to have a rebellious spirit inside the prisoners if they are just sitting there and not getting help and learning for their actions. Besides education is a sort of human rights that each person is guaranteed in the United States of America so if your prison is in the US why wouldn't you still get that same right. Many would say you gave up that right when you committed a crime but does that mean we shouldn't let inmates eat either?
I mean if they never learn that could affect inmates later in life like they could struggle with simple task, like someone could struggle with multiplication something you learn in elementary school. Also I know that people will say that they will escape with their newly found knowledge but there is a reason we have guards right they do their job well and keep the inmates in.
Prisoners should get an education because think about it the longer they don´t have school they become less intelligent and if their IQ goes down so does their chance to find a good job once they get out.
Prison should never just be about punishment, sending people to prison just to lock them up and sit there doing nothing is absurd. Ms. Hinton's believes that prisons should be a place for rehabilitation a way for those who have shown they cant be in society can prove that and can work towards being a member of society. Education is a right and providing inmates with educational opportunities could help many of them get a foothold when they go back into society. Many people are in prison for very minor crimes and many shouldn't be punished so much that once they go back into society they are behind. I think that high school level education all the way to college should be available for people in prison. Prisoners can learn all kinds of things, can learn how to do better in society, how to get jobs, be an adult and more. I fell as though many prisoners would use these opportunities if they only had them, many want to be back on their feet but we aren't giving them that. Thinking that taxpayers money is being wasted is to me missing the point, these people are gaining skills that they can use to make our whole society better impacting us in a positive way. A fear of 'smarter criminals' is just a scapegoat argument, teaching can be geared in a way that doesn't inspire riots or escapes and the fear of that happening can keep us from at least trying. A prison should leave prisoners better then they came in ready to start a new life.
Yes prisoners should be offered education. A majority of the people in prison do not have a high school diploma or really any education, and because of them being in prison, they never will. The prisoners becoming more educated will be able to get jobs once they get out of prison and thus becoming better citizens as well as getting them away from committing crimes like the ones they did when they got incarcerated.
Becoming educated or at least the right to get educated is a human right. Everyone deserves to get educated or at least attempt to, and just because they are in prison doesn't mean that they aren't human and I believe that that is the argument being made in the article.
Yes, I believe that prisons should offer incarcerated people education. Education is a basic right of being a human and even the people who have done wrong should still have access to it. Maybe by being educated it will change their lives and make them better people for it. It will give them a chance to make a change in their lives when/ if they get out of prison. Maybe people would be able to get jobs easier and make the world a better place by being educated in Prison. I know that education can change the lives of many people.... even those who have done wrong in the past.
While inmates are sent to prisons as a punishment for crimes they have commited, the main goal for all prisons should be rehabilitation. Although it would be so easy to write off all inmates as violent people and turn our backs on them, eventually they will return to the public. Once this happens, are they just supposed to return to the same places they were in that got them sent to prison in the first place? Many wind up falling back into the same patterns, as one may expect when they have spent years locked up with nothing to do. Turning prisons into “colleges” would help set many of them in the right direction.
All prisons should offer their inmates education. Education is a right that all of society shares, and that doesn’t change when someone is incarcerated. It is undeniable that educated inmates are at a lower risk for re-incarceration. Not only will it pave way for inmates becoming active members of society, but education will also provide inmates with understanding and an ability to be more empathetic.
With the overpopulation of America’s prisons, clearly the current prison systems are not being effective. With the indisputable link between mass incarceration and undereducation that is mentioned in this article, it is apparent that these changes need to start with education. This doesn’t only include the education of those already incarcerated, but also with youths who are not currently receiving the adequate education that they are entitled to.
The American system of prison should take a page or two from the examples set by the
Scandinavian countries as a whole. Their prisons are designed with the purpose of rehabilitating their
inmates so that they can be productive members of society - their goal is to never see their prisoners
after release.
In comparison, American prisons lack both the direction and capability to pull this off. Because
the USA has a largely for-profit prison system, owners and lobbyists are more interested in
maintaining prisoner counts and repeat offenders than aiding them to become productive members of
society.
The Declaration of Independence states that all men have these unalienable rights - life,
liberty, and a pursuit of happiness. While those men who have been imprisoned for breaking the law
forfeit their basic access to these rights, it should still be the aim of these prisons to help these men
fulfill these goals to the best of their abilities.
Not only that, education in prisons is proved to work. Education in prisons results in lower
numbers of repeat offenders, higher overall happiness levels, and more former convicts who are able
to find work after being released. The Civilization series of games defines the victory of an empire in
measures of progressiveness relative to other empires. The USA should be putting every effort into
improving the prosperity and conditions of the people who live in it - including the prisoners.
pt 1. Prisons are not necessarily supposed to be a strictly punishment. That is not the goal of the majority of prisons have. They are to help correct and better the people that walk through the facility. To give them a better life for after prison. Now one must consider the life sentenced prisoners or the prisoners that will most likely not be able to go back to the life outside of the prison. To give these prisoners a sense of that life through education could be a very important thing to them. It would give them the chance to look forward to something other everyday. This is something that may become necessary to their life as it is grueling mentally to be in prison, especially when the prisoner has a longer sentence. These are still human beings so why should they be treated like cattle when in reality loads of prisoners feel remorse for what they do. They want to get better, they want to make a change in their life so why is it we can't help them in the right direction by giving them an education. Education would be even more important to the people that are in prison that have not finished their high school education and dropped out. This would be vital to them being able to get a job after their prison time. An education may also provide inmates with a way to escape the lifestyle they maintained before they went to prison.
There are undeniable merits to funding education. Education builds a better society and provides opportunities for jobs. However, turning prisons into universities is akin to Type II diabetes. You treat the problem through insulin (no one says you shouldn’t), but it could have been prevented through a healthy diet. Instead of correcting class and education gaps in prison (which lead to longer sentences for the same crimes), why not correct these problems from the beginning? We should help our disadvantaged, through community outreach, mental health support, and fund public schools. I go to school in a wealthy suburb of Philadelphia. I have college counseling, guidance support, and teachers’ attention. My brother teaches in Kensington, Philly. Children come from rough homes and because they don’t have the support they need, often follow the paths of the people around them. Lack of funding means classes are overcrowded, teachers pay for their own basic supplies and have to act as both teacher and guidance counselor. Don’t get me wrong, I do support education in prisons. Critics say this will cost more money, but educated/rehabilitated convicts have lower rates of recidivism, which is ultimately costlier. Educated convicts will also have better chances of becoming functioning members of society and boosting the economy. We can’t ignore the racial and class disparities of urban areas when focusing on this issue. We can’t think of convicts without thinking them as people first.
Prisons should educate their prisoners. Not only would this benefit prisoners, but it would benefit the prison system. In the current prison system, prisoners must wait to get an education. Most of the prisoners who are incarcerated and freed return within the year. This is due to the fact that the individuals who are being freed cannot find an alternative. Currently, a third of the prisoners in the US have a bachelor’s degree or higher, this would seem to be positive, however, there is a lack of care for those who were unable to complete high school or college. Society seems to immediately dismiss the people who were incarcerated, considering them to be individuals who already had their chance. But sometimes the charges for a crime don’t necessarily match up with a sentence. Moreover, not everyone who goes into the prison system is a hardened criminal. Yet we as a society deny them the right to learn just because we don’t think we should “waste” resources on people who have committed a crime. But sometimes it’s necessary to commit a crime. Not only would this new system of education allow prisoners an actual second chance it would help with the betterment of society. Generally, there is the consensus that a higher education leads to a decrease in crime according to the Georgia Institute of Technology. The correlation is obvious, and extraneous values do exist. However, the lack of care for prisoners in the US should not be tolerated. Opportunities for prisoners should exist.
If we could turn prisons into ‘colleges’, I believe this would be very helpful for the inmates and a definite step in the right direction. Prison is supposed to be a place for rehabilitation and reflection. Instead, it tends to corrupt people or make them even worse when they are released. Additionally, people tend to fall back into the same patterns when they are in a similar environment or situation. If they originally were uneducated before jail (which could have been a reason they were put in jail because they sold drugs or were involved in other illegal activities) then putting the same people back on the streets with the same level of education that made it hard for them to make a living in the first place and then expecting a different outcome…...What did Albert Einstein say again about insanity??....ahhhhh! With offering education to these individuals will give them the tools they need to further themselves in society, and potentially will help them be successful in the future. Education in prison will give them the chance to do better. Whether they choose to be a lawful citizen after that is up to them, but at least this time they were given an option.
America’s justice system is broken, and the overpopulation of our prisons is the perfect example of that. America only accounts for 4.4 % of the world's population, yet it constitutes 22% of the world's prisoners. We obviously need to change something, and I think education for the incarcerated population could help solve the problem. If inmates had access to college classes, it would help them get jobs after they were released, and therefore possibly preventing them from being arrested again. Although some people may argue that this is just wasting money on criminals, it would actually save taxpayer dollars by lowering the prison population.
Prisons should offer some type of education to incarcerated people. My parents have told me about someone going to jail and not being able to do anything when they get out because of a lack of education and because nobody wants to hire someone with a criminal background. This only leads to them having to steal, and do things that would get them into jail again. The prisoners should not learn things like chemistry and calculus since they will most likely not go into a field where they need it. They should be taught things like proper english, law, and maybe even a second language like Spanish though. This won’t necessarily guarantee them a job, but it will increase their chances of getting one. It seems a little far fetched when I think about it since there are so many prisoners, but people have the ability to teach themselves things, so it’s not like they need a teacher. The idea of having prisoners learn things has worked in the past too. Like when Malcolm X was transferred to Norfolk. He was able to join the debate team, and heavily influence the civil rights movement. I don’t see why another prisoner couldn’t do good after getting out of prison like Malcolm X did.
Criminals in prison should be offered education because without knowledge what are they going to learn, but what they were trained for. Let them see what they can do to better their life, and stop being a criminal were they treat you like trash because of the horrible thing you did during your lifetime to deserve this. They would be aloud to get smarter. They can take online class so they can get help from professional teachers. Also when they get out they would be able to find jobs and live there life peacefully.
Giving inmates the chance to educate them self in prison is a step in the right direction. It would be easier for people who a have diploma to get a job, and when they have a job they will not be as motivated to commit a crime. Everyone should have the chance to be educated, no matter who you are.
In the article it states that inmates have a 13% higher chance of getting a job out of prison if they took classes. This may not seem like a lot, but it is. They have a better chance of getting a job over another inmate who choose not to take classes. It also states that inmates who took classes have a 43% lower chance to recommit a crime. if we were to offer classes at every prison and give the inmates opportunities the national crime rate would decrease.
Prisoners should have access to quality education because it will prevent them from committing future crimes. As said in the article, it will "help shrink our prison population." And, once they are out of jail, it will be easier for them to assimilate back into society if they have some sort of diploma. Instead of reverting back to the streets, they can now support themselves and/or a family if they choose. I think that having a diploma is very important when looking for a job, and that criminals who can find a job will further be able to support themselves, instead of reverting to theft. Ms. Hinton has a bright future for incarcerated people and thinks prison should reform criminals to make them better people. I agree with her ideas, and believe that taxpayers should be willing to pay for this program. In the long run, crime rates will go down, meaning that we won't have to pay for another repeat offender. Convicts do not have an edge over law-abiding citizens because when an interviewer asks something along the lines of, "have you ever been arrested?" then they have no choice but to answer truthfully. Of course, law abiding citizens will be hired over convicts, but it makes it easier to convince your boss to hire you if you have a diploma. Intellectual criminals will realize the importance of serving their time and keeping good behavior so that they can get out of jail faster. I agree with Ms. Hinton's statement and believe that criminals should have a right to education.
I believe that education should be offered to everyone no matter where they come from or what they have done. I truly think that by providing incarcerated people with access to educational programs will lower the possibility of them coming back, and make these inmates more successful. By not having educational programs in prisons, these men and women do little jobs around those prisons, but are not performing to what they are capable of. Just imagine if these incarcerated people had good educations. They could be working on much more complicated tasks that the prison needs to hire people for, instead of just washing dishes or cleaning the bathrooms. If these men and women come into prison uneducated, and come and receive education, they can walk out of prison as a productive member of society. I think that if prisoner were to give educational opportunities, they should go as far as a public high school curricular. Most of these men and women come into prison without a high school diploma, so offering college courses would do no good expect to sit there and have no inmates take up those offers. The prisons should offer high school level courses and make sure that their inmates are striving and succeeding in those courses. Overall, I believe that having educational programs in the prison systems would have a better outlook for the inmates future, as well as societies future.
Eduction should be offered to everyone, even inmates. I respect the idea of giving an eduction to those who are in prison. At some point they will be let back out into society. Just them having a record limits them to getting a job. Having a job might help them out a little bit more when getting released. Not everyone would appreciate the college prison environment & deny the opportunity to get an eduction. Others would jump at the chance to learn how to write and read at an adult level. I feel like they should have it all. College and high school courses, & degree programs. If a professor wants to take time out his day to teach them they can do that as well. Now taxpayers may not be fascinated by giving criminals an eduction because they're going to pay more taxes now. But in its own way it can make society a better place.
Education is a civil right, thus it should be offered to every citizen of the United States. I like the idea of educating criminals, as Hinton says, "inmates who took classes had a 43 percent lower likelihood of recidivism and a 13 percent higher likelihood of getting a job after leaving prison." It would also help lower the amount of citizens without a high school diploma. Above all else though, prisons should rehabilitate criminals, so that they are no longer criminals. I'm sure not all prisoners want to be educated and would disrupt a college prison environment. I believe it should be an option open to those who want it and to those who need it. There is also the problem of it requiring tax dollars, a college level education is expensive and it would be ridiculous to have others pay for someone to be educated, especially if they won't take those skills anywhere. Maybe a college education for criminals could be a bad idea, but at least offer opportunities to those without a high school diploma.
Inmates should be offered an education not only because I agreed with Ms. Hinton when she said that education is a civil right. But furthermore because if they choose to further their education then that means that they truly want improve themselves. Thus doing their best to cease their life of crime.
Now do I think they should be offered the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree? No, I think they should be offered the equivalent of an associate's degree. I say this because then people might get the idea that they can instead of paying for college or working extra hard and getting a scholarship, they could just commit an act or several acts of crime and get the same amount of education as a person who worked their way to a better life without breaking the law.
I think that offering education opportunities for prisoners is a good idea. I believe that it would lower the rate of people being arrested after they got out of prison. If the prisoners have an education on how to get a job they will be less likely to commit another crime for money or for whatever they need once they are released. As the author said, “Today, only a third of all prisons provide ways for incarcerated people to continue their educations beyond high school.” I think this number is way to low. I hope more prions will offer education opportunities to inmates in the years to come.
I think that prisons should allow education to the people in there. If they do get an education in prison they might think of finding a job when they get out and changing the way they use to live. Also, people in the prison probably didn't have the money or time to get a proper education so allowing education can benefit many people in prison.
She believes that prisons are supposed to make you not want to redo what you did to get into prison, and if they just sit in prison, they aren't learning anything so they can't make their life better. She thinks prisons with colleges should make society safer, as the once prisoners would have enough education to work better jobs, instead of robbing banks to get money a second time, if they had a better job, they won't rob anything. For the people in the prison, they should be learning so they have another chance to do things right. A smaller percentage of people would go back to prison a second time if they learn educational things that'll help them get into profitable jobs. Prisoners should receive what they require to learn. If they need a computer, there should be a room with computers that they can do work on, with the supervision of course. If you need a book, you should be able to rent it out at a library. These prisons should be like colleges, with comfier beds to sleep well at night so they will be focused in the morning, classrooms where you learn, a library where you can check out any variety of books, where you can study in your free time. When they get out, they should pay a fee that will help pay for what they had to use to learn.
I think that prisoners should have an education system inmate. I think that they should offer college and high school courses.
I mean it'll be good that they get an education in jail, but what will they do with it? But it'll be a good idea to have them get an education.
I think that prisons should have education programs for inmates. Because I think that if inmates had the opportunity to learn something or if the never finished high school that they could do that. I think that this is a good idea because if he/she could get a degree in something that they want to do.
I believe that prisons should have educational programs for incarcerated people. Yes, they have committed a crime to put them in prison, but that shouldn't stop someone from getting an education to help better themselves. The educational programs should be offering the inmates a chance to get extensive degrees but I think it should be up to the prison warden what they should do about the teachers and interactions with outside people. When lawmakers say that they believe educating prisoners is a "waste" of tax money doesn't change my opinion that if someone wants an education, incarcerated or not, should be able to. Education is a right for someone to have and that shouldn't be taken away when someone is put in prison.
I think they should give opportunities to people they have a sentence they should have a right to get an education and start over once they're out of prison so they can stop doing bad things I mean isn't that the point of prison to learn what you did wrong and to face your consequences and to improve your life? if someone didn't really do anything wrong and they're not going to stay there forever then why waste your time in a cell all the time and not educate yourself so when you leave maybe go to college and can get a better job than what you were going to get without all the help from prison. It doesn't make any sense your supposed to be helping people as much as possible not hindering them what would be the point of having a prison if it doesn't help you get better and improve as a person.
I think it'd be a good idea to let prisoners have classes instead of taking up prison population and not doing anything useful. and they also have something to look forward to 'showing off' when or if they get out of prison.
i think they are in there for a reason and should not be offered collage and high school courses cause we paying for them to get educated
I think prisons should have an education system for the inmates. It would be very helpful for them so when they get out they can get a job and it could help them become better people.
Prisons need to be a place of reform, not an endless cycle of inmates coming in and out of its doors. While I think it is important that convicted people serve proper time for the crime they have committed, I don’t see why they cannot use that time behind bars to turn their life around and give themselves a better shot at life when they get out. In 2013 the RAND Corporation published a study about inmates who participated in the educational opportunities offered in their prisons. Did you know that the incarcerated people who participated in these classes had a 43% less likely chance of reoffending? Or that taking these opportunities gave them a 13% more likely chance of getting a job once they were released? While these numbers may seem small, lives are being changed for the better because of them. When I was reading the article Ms. Hinton’s statement “While racial disparities in arrests and convictions are alarming, education level is a far stronger predictor of future incarceration than race.” stuck with me the most. I think that with more educational opportunities offered in prisons, and honestly across the country, that we could disprove this statistic and create a new one.
Prison is supposed be a punishment to let the inmates know that what the did is not okay. However, an education system in prison could be very helpful for the prisoners. Maybe when they get out of prison, then they might realize that they might be able to get a job with their new knowledge. Of course, prison is supposed to be harsh and strict, which it should be, but give them an education too. Therefore, prisoners should be able to have an education.
In our ever divided country very few issues are as divisive as our prison system. Many like to think that prison should be about "hard time" that they are paying their dues to society for the crimes that they have committed. Maybe instead of this "hard time" philosophy we should look more to rehabilitation something that will help out entire nation. If we can make the 2.2 million people that are incarcerated and reform even a quarter through education problems that could not only help make more good members of our community, but help cut down on the billions we spend each year on prisons and welfare programs once these prisoners are out of prison.
The other big game changer could be that we could help more of these individuals get better jobs other than minimum wage jobs just because they have "felon" on their application. With better jobs as I mentioned before earlier the re-incarceration rate will easily drop quite significantly and already have in prisons that have these programs that help to support the education of prisoners. These reforms are common sense and the only things that will stop them is the Republican right that believes in "hard time" and in essence payback for these crimes these people have committed. Only time will tell if these reforms will come to pass or not, hopefully for our entire country they will.
1
The argument that presents itself in this article is one that will most likely continue to be quarreled over long into the future. Americans as they stand now seem to be torn apart over whether criminals have the right to a proper education. After reading the article I personally believe that whether or not a criminal is to receive education should be based on the severity of their committed crime. Criminals that show there's a chance that they can be incorporated into a working society should be given the chance to do so as long as the crime they committed wasn’t too severe. A quote from the article states “This would be a boon to prisoners across the country, a vast majority of whom do not have a high school diploma. And it could help shrink our prison population.” I agree with what the author is saying here because by allowing prisoners(Depending on severity of the crime) the chance at redemption which is something their rarely offered. I thoroughly believe that the vast majority of them would make something of it rather than throw it away. This is because like this quote states very few in prison even have a high school diploma, imagine the good they could do if only given the chance. The prison system population would shrink and educated men/women would approach society with a new angle that shows them opportunity instead of revenge and bad mistakes.
1
In my eyes, educational opportunities are integral any kind of development and mental growth. I, like Ms. Hinton, believe that prison should serve as a venue for rehabilitation so criminals can contribute back to society rather than rot in a cell, wasting tax dollars. And, I believe a better educational system would instill a more positive message and outlook upon all prisoners, lowering repeat offenders. However, I wouldn’t go as far as to say prison should be like a college campus. Yes, prisoners need high-level, qualified professors, but you must be delusional to think this liberty wouldn’t be used for harm. Not all criminals are exactly the most responsible and rule-abiding people. It’s not like they arrived as model citizens. Obviously, there would be security measures put into place, but any situation where prisoners are given more freedom will not just cause some public concern, but also pose a real threat to society, especially the educators and other new employees. Over time, prisons should gradually work toward a model based on returning reformed, educated convicts back to society, but in the interest of money, public safety, and rehabilitation of more prisoners, Howard Gill’s model and Ms. Hinton’s argument should (and probably cannot be) not be as immediate and as freeing as they suggest.
1
Prisons should offer education to prisoners who will have an opportunity to return the society. Prisons offers an individual the opportunity to serve time for crimes committed and once their sentence is completed, they have a chance to succeed in life again. If we can help prisoners return to society and help them get a job, there is a very good chance they will not be back in prison. However, the federal government and states must consider the costs associated with educating prisoners. The will also need to determine which prisons and types of prisoners would be eligible. Prisons cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year. So any decision to start educating prisoners must be based on the expected benefits on society. The article stated that educating prisoners would be “a boon to prisoners across the country, a vast majority of whom do not have a high school diploma. And it could help shrink our prison population.” Prisoners can definitely benefit from education opportunities, but I don’t see how this will shrink prison populations. The education required to shrink prison populations begins outside of prison, and that this a totally different issue in American society.
1
Prison is intended for serving as punishment and giving criminals time to reform, and as well as isolation of people convicted of dangerous crimes. Some people locked away have been convicted of nonviolent crimes, and still serve many years in the system. These people grow up in incarceration, and when they leave, they are released into a trap. They are unable to get jobs, unable to make money, and most likely come right back to prison. Education is a human need, and should act as a privilege in prison. It should be given to everyone, for as lack of education could have been what caused them to be in there. I believe they should offer college and degree programs to people who will be released around the time when they would finish the program. This could direct ones to better options in spending time in prison, and give them access to a better life when they get out. I believe that prisons should have a library open to all. But have more extensive programs offered to people who deserve it. People coming from a less heinous crime could be able to get in extracurricular activities and access to tutors. This is because i believe prison should be used for reform, more than isolation which could destroy someone mentally, and even put in a worse environment than where they were before.
We need a penal system.
But sentences overall are way too long and solitary-confinement is inhuman.
No one is going to confuse prison for a college-campus.
Anything and everything that can be done, within reason, to improve prisoner's ability to return to society and make a positive contribution can and should be done. It makes no sense to penalize prisoners for life by taking away their ability to earn a living and make a positive contribution to society after they've served their time. Placing needless obstacles in a prisoners life, both during and after incarceration, adversely-impacts all of society and is a waste or resources and is cost-inefficient. After the sentence has been served and all conditions and requirements met, there needs to be opportunities for the ex-offender, instead of having their entire life lost and wasted after the prison term has been served.
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Prisons are institutions meant to rehabilitate those who have committed crimes in their society. In my opinion, prisons should rehabilitate inmates by allowing them to have access to education programs. By allowing incarcerated people to get an education while in jail, inmates will be able to learn from their past mistakes. An education will give incarcerated people the ability to properly integrate themselves into the society. The education opportunities should not necessarily be college-level but they should be extensive enough to teach people basic skills.
Prisons should punish the offender and protect society.
While people are in prison, they should be given the opportunity to reform and reject their past lives.
One should note, however, that jails and prisons are not filled with the best and brightest.
Most inmates had problems in school and in life.
The wrongfully convicted aside (and there are far too many incarcerated who have been convicted wrongfully), most are in jail for very good reasons.
Prison is where people are legally held behind bars and get punished for their wrong actions. It ensures that these people face the consequences of their erroneous decisions. Although some may haven’t done the best decisions to end up where they’re at, I still believe that they could provide them with beneficial programs. There wouldn't be many options since they'll be stuck with a criminal record for the rest of their lives.
I understand the message Ms. Hinton is trying to get through about converting prisons into a classroom environment and offering prisoners to have a chance at an education. I totally agree at giving prisoners a chance at this, to distract them in a positive way and with something beneficial, but if they totally change the environment around and change it into a school atmosphere it’ll defeat the purpose of why they were put in jail in the first place. I also think it’s a good idea to provide this because like it stated “education is a civil right that improves society and increases civic engagement’” it would be great for the people who might have just been put in jail for a crime that they may have not committed because it tends to happen from false accusations and crimes, and waste their years where they could've done something productive with their life. She brought up some great points, but I think there should be more thought applied to her idea, and go in deeper than just providing this for any incarcerated person.
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After reading the article, I do think that prison schools would be beneficial to society. as mentioned in paragraph 2, many inmates do not have a high school diploma, and so they would not have opportunities to jobs that could feed them.
Prison schools give them an opportunity to be an educated member of society, and they can get better paying jobs upon their release, with the possibility of a pursuit in higher education.
Education may be a positive for prisoners, but I don’t feel like prisons should look like a college campus. Prison is punishment for people who have broken the law, and prisoners do not deserve the same type of freedom that is handed to you on a college campus. While I disagree with the idea that prisons should look like colleges, I do feel like people who would like to make a change in their life, they should be given the opportunity. Educating prisoners would do just that. Teaching prisoners could make them into well-informed citizens, and if they ever get released, they will be less likely to make the wrong decisions they made before they went to jail.
While some may think that educating these criminals may make them smarter and defeat the purpose of a sentence, the education that they would be receiving would not be about making marketable decisions or how to escape. It would be about morals and it will teach them to be better citizens. The article states, “learning gives us a different understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and it provides us tools to become more empathetic,” Instead of worrying about the next bad thing that they may do when they get out, educating prisoners would teach them about decisions that keep our communities safer. These ideas will not only help prisoners, but it will help keep our society more informed and keep our streets safer.
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I certainly agree Josh, that while prisoners should not be granted the luxury of a college atmosphere, they should be given proper education. You are correct in saying that a vast majority of crime is committed by those who either don't know any better or lack another route in life. Just as stated by Hinton,I think that we should "believe education is a civil right that improves society and increases civic engagement". If we are to put funding into education for our prisons, surely good would come out of it.
I also agree that we should specialize their education, however, to best fit their success once out of incarceration, much like the Norfolk State Prison Colony. The only problem I see with this plan is funding. We already spend more on prisoners than we do students, and I believe that programs of these sorts would be unrealistically expensive. So while I do see it as an honorable idea, I also cannot imagine extensive education coming to prisons anytime soon.
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In my opinion, prisons should grant education to prisoners. I mean they did do something bad but they learn from their mistakes and once they get out, society won't accept who they are. So, prisons can offer educational programs to help soon to get out prisoners a 2nd chance. They offer them education so when they get out they can have knowledge to find a job. But, then again prisoners have to find a job in which they accept ex-convicts.
I think that prisons should offer inmates a chance to start learning again while in prison. One reason is that it gives prisoners a second chance at succeeding again. Another reason is that it gives prisoners a chance to learn more while in prison so when they get out they can get a job. That is why i think they should teach inmates at prisons.
Prisons should offer Incarcerated people education, because it would help them so many ways in life, like starting over with school. Some people today mess around and don't really get anything done when they are in school. Prison can change that by offering people who are in prison another chance.
Since he has been in jail for a while and he has been or is going to stay there for i while i think that they should at least help them become a better person. and help then turn there life around. so they will become a better person out there in the new world that will be his. and help them meet the new world with a better life to live in. they should also help them get a job or show them where they can go ask for some. make them look good or have what they need for that job but they will need to earn it too.
I thijnk that incarcerated people should be offered education so taht they have a better chane in the real world rather than them going back to the way that they where before they got into prision. I think that if prisioners got the chane to get egucated it will be better for everyone because they will have an even greater chance at getting jobs that define who they are.
Yes, I think Prisoners should be able get an opportunity to get an education. Because there are some prisoners that are in there for life they all they do in there is eat , sleep , workout and do what ever else they need to do if they are able to do them . Some are able to be outside of the yard and not in the cell . They could a lot play basketball and a game where they hit the ball on a wall and it bounces back , its a fun thing to do but its also a work out for them .
I believe that prisons should give prisoners an education because everybody deserves to have an education no matter what they did or how bad of a person they are. If a person in high school or college makes a mistake and goes to prison I think that they should still be able to have an education because they were just getting an education before why take that away from them just because of a mistake. Prisons should allow people to come in and teach high school and college classes. Overall I believe that our prisons should let prisoners have an education.
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yes prisons should give education opportunities to incarcerated people. When people go to prison they sit in a cell for idk how long and they could be getting an education. many prisoners would like to get an education and learn. each day or every other day prisoners should get a class where they learn about math or biology or history , or any other class they are interested in. they would like it and i think they would be happy with the classes. they will be able to learn and be productive while being incarcerated. the inmates can use computers with specific websites blocked fro safety and they can do their work on there. They can work out of textbooks and take notes then over night or even the next day they can study together and take the test the next class. if they work while they are learning they will learn time management and responsibility. when they pass the test they will be happy and eager to take another level of the class.
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I believe that prison should provide incarcerated people with access to education program. They should because they have the right to learn and have an opportunities to still be learn and when they get out of jail they could be ready to start working and have a regular job. They could be prepare and they could maybe find a better then their old one. It wold help them to ,to maybe be come a better person and still nology. I don't think it should be extensive for their education I think it should be free for them. They should be offered college nad high school courses. Also degree programs, books for inmates to educate themselves. Of course prions should actually look like a college campus with classes taught by university professors. Also student government, extracurricular activities and library.
I believe that prisons should give prisoners an education because there are some prisoners who didn't get to finish high school or their college. Some prisoners probably do want to finish and receive a diploma, so they might take an advantage and finish what they started. Some prisons have already started teaching the prisoners about the bible and they have college like classes. Overall i do believe that all prisons should have an education for the prisoners.
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Incarcerated people should 100% be provided with education programs. These programs can greatly benefit someone who is serving time. When in prison, there can be a lot of violence and confict that goes on within the inmates. When provided an education, these inmates can learn discipline and respect. These principles learned can benefit their behavior within their cells and be added to their record as good behavior. An education can also help prepare them for the outside world when they are released(If they are released). They can learn valuable skills that can be mentioned when looking for jobs. Employers might have an easier time hiring an ex-convict who had an education while on the inside. Overall, there are no disadvantages that come with implementing an education program for incarcerated people.
Personally, I believe that prisons should offer education to those incarcerated. Those in jail aren't really focusing on what they did but just getting to a high level of impatience. Education will help them intellectually and as a person. Those who finished their time in prison will enter a world that is new, modern and fast. Those in jail are in an environment where it is the opposite.
I believe prisons should offer educational program to inmates to give them a chance to start over. Inmates would have the opportunity to gain knowledge that will expand their chances of becoming successful outside of prison. Inmates will be less likely to go back to prison if they realize how much there is for them outside of a life of crime. Prisons should offer at least a high school level education and once the prisoners are out they can decide whether they want to finish and go to college.
I do not disagree that our prison system is flawed but I don't think college level education for incarcerated people is the best choice. I am a high school student and I have an older brother in college. The biggest thing I've learned about getting an education is that it's expensive and needs to be earned. I spend all of my time thinking about my resume and hearing my brother complain about the debt he is in.
yes, I think we should offer incarcerated people education opportunities because that way they can straighten their life up a little and not fight or cause any problems in jail the only people who should get this opportunities are the trustees because they are trustworthy with the material and computers.
I believe that prisons should offer education to prisoners. One reason is that it gives them a chance to succeed in life again. Most of the prisoners are their because they could not get a job. If we get them an education they could look for a job when they get out. So when they get out and find a job they won't be coming back to prison. so that is why I believe that we should offer an education to prisoners.
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I do not disagree that our prison system is flawed but I don't think college level education for incarcerated people is the best choice. I am a high school student and I have an older brother in college. The biggest thing I've learned about getting an education is that it's expensive and needs to be earned. I spend all of my time thinking about my resume and hearing my brother complain about the debt he is in. Now people are saying that incarcerated people have an easier gate to education. I can not imagine a world were students get denied from college because a murderer has taken their stop or someone living in a pile of debt that they could have avoided if they had robbed a bank.
So tell me Ms. Hilton, why should prisoners be rewarded with education for their crimes while students are punished after working hard all their lives?
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I 100% believe that prisons should offer educational opportunities to inmates, and if not that at least the opportunity to learn a trade. I've never been in prison, so I don't know what it's like, but I imagine it's a lot of sitting around doing nothing. Learning or doing hands on labor will teach them responsibility and discipline, and will also prepare them for the real world. As stated in the article, people are more likely to be arrested based off of their education rather than race. If a prisoner gets out and cannot get a job due to their low education, they will turn back to their life of crime. If prisons gave them an education they could break that cycle, and make our country much better.
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There's no doubt that prisons are necessary atmospheres in society. A consequence for a greater punishment. But should that mean that inmates can't even obtain a proper education? Sure, they've committed crimes and most of them are in there for the correct reason, but isn't the main goal for them to come out rehabilitated and able to integrate back into society? Integrating a college program into prisons would further this process and even be better for communities in the long run. When an individual goes to any type of school, they learn, and as the article states, this gives a better understanding of the world and allows them to become more empathetic. These are qualities many incarcerated peoples either lack or have learned to ignore. It is also a fact that many prisoners come from poor backgrounds with little to no education. Then they resort to crime and other means to make a living. In no way is this acceptable, but having college classes in prison would help them make up for their missed education. So once these prisoners got out of jail, they could give back to their community through the work force and use their newly-obtained education for the betterment of the world.
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Since the creation of jails in the year 1790, these closed in barriers were invented to punish criminals for their actions - some more extreme than others. I just can’t get this idea of education in jails past my head, because it completely defeats the purpose of a jail, prison or however one may refer to it as. If jalis are intended to punish, then why reward criminals with the power of literature and studies, something every criminal had access to before they decided that taking drugs or killing people took priority over studies? Yes, educating criminals may teach them life lessons that they can apply to their lives when they are released, but what about the people who deserve actual punishment for their actions and are instead treated with reading, writing and debating? That doesn't sound like much of a punishment to me, nevertheless taking place where punishment is the soul purpose. I am not all against the idea of educating prisoners with lesser crimes because, as the article states, “inmates who took classes had a 43 percent lower likelihood of recidivism and a 13 percent higher likelihood of getting a job after leaving prison.” I just believe that we as a nation are too afraid to give the punishment criminals deserve, and that educating them is only covering up their crimes and the hardship they have caused to the victims in the world.
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I disagree, yes most prisons are meant to punish the person that has committed the crime but they are also supposed to rehabilitate the inmates who have made mistake in the past. Education is a great way to do this. Many prisons offer different types of classes such as business and social-studies and some even offer the ability to get your high school diploma. Just because a person has done something wrong in there past that they regret does not mean they shouldn't be able to learn new things and explore new careers for when they eventually get out of prison. Also, being able to learn and take classes in jail does not take away from the fact that a person is in prison. The person still is only able to see their family a few times a week, they cannot use the internet freely, and they have awful living conditions, prison will always be prison, we will always take away a prisoner's right to go to the outside world, but that doesn't mean we should take away their right to learn.
I would argue that if "covering up" crimes with education works then why not use it? Punishment in prisons exists as negative reinforcement for avoiding crime, however as research shows it does not work well enough. Education in prisons serves the same purpose: encourage the avoidance of further crime. It is because this system of punishment has existed since 1790 which convinces you and many others that there is only one way to address crime and criminals.
I am a strong believer in more educational resources to be available within prisons today. Education is an important part in positive prison reforms, as I believe that the prison system is deeply flawed. it is important to rehabilitate and teach those incarcerated and not to ignore their humanity. We need to get them ready to be integrated back into society and an education would be a step in doing that.
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Education is one of the best ways to reduce crime. Providing education to people who have committed crimes is better for everyone. Not only does it teach them the error of their ways and allow them to better their lives after prison. This will help lower crime rates and the amount of people being incarcerated.
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I think it’s a great idea for incarcerated individuals in our society to have a chance to better themselves educationally. These prisoners have been cast out and sent to “correctional facilities” to essentially sit and wait for their sentence to be served. With education opportunities, they would be ready to return to society and participate in a positive way. Many could use these opportunities to really turn their lives around.
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Higher education is the most direct way to resolving our prison crisis. Although a 43% lower likelihood of recidivism and a 13% higher likelihood of getting a job after leaving prison does not mean all prisoners will improve, higher education causing less recidivism and a more peaceful environment can save prisons a vast amount of money. I also believe that a more college environment for prisoners would help, as it too would encourage good behavior and help with returning to society; although I fear that a difference in views on what places such as Germany (with lower recidivism and prison costs) see as learning how to fit in society, the United States sees as punishment for the wrong done in society and nothing more. One would think that decreasing private prisons, increasing psychological help, and increasing education opportunities would cost more, but by implementing these changes prisons would likely decrease in population over time—to an extent— and result in spending less on prisons. No matter what, there is a problem with prisons, and education looks like a promising part to the answer.
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Ms.Hinton, obviously very well educated, being an assistant professor at Harvard, thinks that prison should be a place to better yourself. She feels that providing education in prison is a surefire way to put a cease to the seemingly never ending cycle of people getting into trouble, going to prison, getting out, and then getting in trouble again. I completely agree with this. While I wouldn’t go as far as to say that prisons should look like universities, I definitely feel that education opportunities should be readily available to those incarcerated. If someone is willing to turn their life around, learn from their mistakes, and receive an education, that is one less person who might otherwise fall back into the notorious cycle.
Inmates should be given the opportunity to earn their high school diploma, or if they want to take their education further, take college classes to potentially earn a degree.
Regarding what some lawmakers have said about providing education in prison, and wasting taxpayers money, I disagree. Taxpayers are providing essential living things for those incarcerated already, and if those in prison got out just to come back, taxpayers would be paying a lot more for them to live in prison 20 more years than for some books for them to receive an education.
Providing an adequate education in prison could change many people’s lives, and I believe what could come of giving them an education greatly outweighs any negative thing that would come of it.
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Recently, Sixty Minutes did a segment about the prison system in Germany where this idea was implemented. The result: instead of letting prisoners wither away in their cells, each was given a personalized education and therapy plan. Prisoners were given the help that they needed, so when they were released they would not end up back in jail.
Education is a human right for all. It has the power to correct ruined lives, and to make a difference in all who decide to take part. Germany has realized that, and is using schooling as a tool to correct it's criminals. Even though the US is tough on crime, with the highest incarceration rate in the world, if prisons were to give non violent inmates education then maybe the rate can go down.
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