“He who opens a school door closes a prison.”
Since the war on drugs began, the lives of prison inmates hasn’t exactly been a priority for Americans. Luckily, that seems to be changing. Some prisons are beginning to shift their attention towards education for prisoners. But the thing that many don’t like about this- their education is free.
The problem some Americans have with this is related to money. The argument goes: while some prisoners have the chance to a free education, regular working Americans don’t. And what’s more, it’s those hard-working Americans’ tax dollars that are paying for those criminals free education. But wait- before we jump to conclusions, let’s break it down.
First and foremost, let’s address why these prisoners should be educated. Why don’t these people stay out of prison once they’ve been released? Well, to start, they’re fighting a stereotype. They’ve already been labeled as criminals, even after they’ve served time, and it’s no easy task to convince people otherwise. Those who do return to prison often do so because they have a lack of education, and a lack of skills. If they can’t get an education, they can’t get a job, and without a job how can they provide for themselves? How can they ever hope to provide for a family? It’s no surprise that they turn back to crime. As education level increases, the level of crime decreases. And only 5.6% of prisoners with an undergraduate degree go back to prison. That percentage gets even smaller when they receive a higher education than undergraduate. If we want to decrease crime, the first step can be through increasing education.
Once it’s understood that crime most often comes from a lack of education, it’s easy to see how Americans are actually saving money through prison education. It costs less for us to pay for their education than to pay for their incarceration, especially the second time around. With 2.3 million inmates in its jails and prisons, the US incarcerates people at a rate far higher than any other developed country in the world. So it should seem more obvious than ever — let’s help educate people, reduce crime, and save money doing it. What else could there be to hold against prison education?
Some still see it as unfair that citizens who have committed crimes get the education in a place that should be designed as punishment. And what about the safety of professors and instructors employed at prisoners? This seems a good place to mention that 70% of America’s prisoners are nonviolent offenders. So why shouldn’t they have a chance at an education? And this is the part of the argument where some bring up those inmates that have committed violent crimes. An opinion piece on the subject of prison education argues, “A teacher delivers instructions through the bars. They will not be able to use the knowledge they gain because they will always be in jail. So what’s the point?”
The documentary “The Fear of 13” on death sentence inmate Nick Yarris does a better job of explaining the answer to this question than I ever could. After serving years for a crime he didn’t commit, Yarris found education, choosing to spend his days reading, the only thing that brought life to his otherwise dim isolated days. He aspired to free his mind, even if his body couldn’t follow, and read more than 1,000 books in three years. And after learning more and more, he was able to take a path that allowed him clear his name, and free himself from the shadows of crime. What’s the point? It could be freedom of the mind — or even freedom from prison. Education can help in places we could never even imagine, so we ought not to refuse it to anyone. I think it was best stated in the words of Victor Hugo, “He who opens a school door closes a prison.”
But even still, it’s the irony of the situation that has some Americans so tied up in bitterness.
Parallels to similar situations can be seen even in literature. John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” portrays a son, Tom Joad, who goes with his family in search of employment during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. In a previous time, when Tom was a prisoner, he was given food, a stable shelter and the necessities to live. But once he’s out in the world with his family and on the job hunt, the Joad’s often find themselves hungry and more desperately in need of food than ever before. It’s the same paradox: prison is providing something otherwise absent in society at large.
It’s easy to become frustrated at the irony. The idea that violence can lead to education is ironic in itself, and education in prison doesn’t mean people should start committing crimes. Even worse, it’s easy to point the finger at the prisons. It is hard not to feel the injustice of the idea of free education for prisoners and not for the eager minds of the youth.
But it isn’t the prison’s fault, nor is it the fault of the prisoners. It’s a great opportunity for them, and we shouldn’t feel bitter about the option of education for anyone. Rather, just like in “The Grapes of Wrath,” this shows a wrongdoing in society. It’s not the prisons that need to change, but the world outside. This should be another wake-up call, and just as historical measures had to be taken to get food regulated and in supply for everyone, the same needs to happen now with college educations.
Free education is the answer. So let’s make it happen; in prisons, and outside.
