We must educate prisoners

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Jan, 1993 by Raymond Bell

An agenda

It is obvious that the particular problems associated with the education of these populations can not be addressed easily or readily. The problems are intertwined too intricately with social ills in the US. and, if the recent problems facing prison authorities in France and Britain are any example, around the world. State and Federal agencies and legislatures ultimately responsible might consider these points, however.

First, the specific standards and programs that apply to the treatment and education of individuals incarcerated in juvenile and adult facilities ought to be amended to address more fully the needs for adequate and sophisticated diagnosis and treatment for varying learning deficiencies and disabilities. It is necessary for the level of sophistication of professional preparation of teachers and counselors in such facilities to be increased and improved substantially. The needs of this unique population are much more complex, and must be addressed in such a peculiar environment, that the traditional professional preparation programs probably do not give the necessary level of skill and array of techniques.

Second, the demonstrated area of focus for programming is upon meeting the basic educational needs of the vast majority of inmates. These include increased emphasis upon functional literacy and numeracy skills in the context of vocational and social education in the most meaningful and practical sense. These recommendations require an increased expenditure for education. This is in complete contradiction to the trends in almost all state systems for increased security, not for treatment and education. Politicians will not go easily against such trends, being more willing to accept expediency than fact. It also is true that the process of alienation and recidivism of delinquents and prisoners is inescapable unless substantial changes occur in the number, quality, and degree of relevance and sophistication of educational opportunities.

Third, specific screening procedures should be instituted at intake into the criminal justice system to attend to inmates' particular sensory and neurological impairments. These have to be standardized and a common system of reporting and centralized record-keeping created. This particularly is needed in the array of agencies that cater to the juvenile offender. Additional emphasis, already beginning to emerge, ought to continue on drug and alcohol abuse treatment, prevention, and intervention. The public schools have a significant role to play in halting the vicious cycle that leads to prison. They should be encouraged to react more quickly to identify and treat the learning-deficient, abused, at-risk youth.

Fourth, the effectiveness of the juvenile system long has been in question. The evidence presented here indicates, yet again, that the longer an individual is in contact with the criminal justice system, the more violent and hardened he or she becomes. Correctional institutions often appear to be "schools for crime." Until diagnosis and treatment for juveniles in such facilities improve, rehabilitation will continue to be a myth. For the past decade, studies and commission reports repeatedly have called for more equitable, effective, and rigorous education at all levels of the nation. Such improvements are needed in America's prisons as well as its schools and universities.