Education Fosters Hope
From the documentary, “College Behind Bars”, one point that stood out to me the most was how education gave them hope and changed their outlook on life. Their motivations changed for the better and they were less likely to get into trouble while in prison. Throughout the documentary, a couple of the students mention how they live in the jail cell, but when they study at night, they feel that they are outside of their cell and can breathe. By striving to get a higher education, the students felt that they were learning about things other than crime. “When you have an absence of any programs in prison that facilitates any kind of growth, individuals are becoming perhaps disillusioned because they are not prepared for anything except what they have been doing, which is crime”. To them, this felt like a lifeboat because by getting a degree, they can find a decent job once they get out of prison. This also proves to themselves that they are worthy and are smart just like anyone else in the world.
What was interesting was seeing the difference between the prisoners who were in BPI compared to those who were not. From the documentary, I was able to see that the BPI students had hope, motivation, and happiness. Prison is seen as a place for reform, but in actuality, it is one of the student’s mentions that it is “not about rehabilitation or creating productive beings”. Prison to them, is a place where they get locked up and get impacted mentally and physically. With education, they can become productive and rehabilitate. One of the teachers stated how education allows the students to respect authority more, rather than disrespect them. For the students, they were given the chance to become educated. By being educated, they can see farther down the road because they do not have to worry about what they need to do to survive once they get out of prison. Knowing this, they understand the guards roles in prison and that they must respect them. Instead of going back into the real world and selling drugs to support themselves, they can go out to get a job. “You said you don’t want to be an example of what prison can do for you, it’s not what prison is doing for you, this is what education is doing for you”. The students did not let being in prison define them. They wanted people to see that they are being educated and how they have changed through this process.
From the personal stories that Miguel and Ke shared with us, I was able to see the burden that they still carry with them and how it has affected them. Just like the prisoners who went to BPI, they did not let their past define them. They’re past did shape them to become who they are, but they knew that they must change their mindset to change their future. One of the students says, “I don’t have a name for what I am”. Through all the challenges and mistakes that he has faced, he does not know what to see himself as because right now, he is trying to get an education and change for the better. Miguel and Ke have probably gone through similar feelings and emotions that the BPI students have experienced when they started learning more about the complexities of human life and perceptions of the world. Through Miguel and Ke’s experience and current motivation, I can grasp a better understanding of how education can change one’s outlook on life.
Through the film and the stories that were told by Miguel and Ke, I realized how I have been taking education for granted. I have grown up in schools and felt that I had no motivation to learn. It was not until recently, that I was able to connect to the documentary about the importance of education and how it gives a person hope. Up until this past year, I never liked any classes. I would always shut down when I did not understand a concept because I was not interested in learning. This past year, when I started my nursing classes, I felt something click and even though I was not able to fully grasp the concept, I wanted to learn and understand why I do not get it. The documentary connects with me because I was eager to learn just like the students in BPI. Once they were in classes, they did not want to stop learning. Although what I experienced is different from their experience, I can understand their eagerness to learn.
Learning about each person’s stories, I can connect this to my nursing major. In nursing, we cannot judge a patient based on their symptoms or treat them by what they are diagnosed with. This is the same for the prisoners because they must be treated as humans and not anything less. “Quite a few of the officers see me as a prisoner, not a student”. Through this statement, it is evident that the prisoners are not treated fairly like everyone else. One point that Ke mentioned, was that they are affected mentally. This is by the way the guards treat them and all the other prisoners. This changes my outlook on people I pass by daily because I should not judge others based on how they look or act. I need to know their full story to understand them.
One organization that interests me, is the College and Community Fellowship. College and Community Fellowship (CCF) was founded by Barabara Martinsons who is a sociology professor at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. She wanted to start up the program for the students who were in the facility to get an education or complete their degree after they were released. Three main programs are provided which are direct services, technical assistance, and policy and advocacy. Through Martinsons’ time educating the students, she felt a connection to them. She wanted to help them once they were back into the community to help complete their degrees because it is often difficult to get college degrees with the expenses to worry about. This is why she started up this program and had a connection to the students before wanting to create a change for them.
