Essay on Prison Education
“If you treat an individual as he is he will stay as he is, but if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become as he ought to be and could be” (Goethe). The heated debate over prison education is much like this. Do we educate our prisoners and treat them as what they ought to be and could be, or do we treat them as they are, criminals? Do we give them a chance to change, or assume they don’t want to change? Many feel that educating our prisoners is a human right. The other side to this debate is that it would cost too much money. There are two very important sides to this debate and we must weigh the pros and cons of both.
Brian Noad, who wrote Adult Education in NSW prisons, has pointed out that “it is a human right that prisoners should be allowed access to education”. Prisoners are still humans and although they have made mistakes they have rights just like everyone else. People in prison should be treated like equal citizens and not just as criminals. Brian Noad has also pointed out that “the right of prisoners to educational programs is based on human dignity, and while one community view is that prisoners are enemies of society, they have dignity as persons”. In turn if they are treated with respect and dignity by given the opportunity to education, they will treat others with respect and dignity. Everyone is equal, even if prisoners are viewed differently; they deserve the right to learn.
Secondly, if you just keep them in prison and away from the real world they will not know how to function once they are released. This may lead them to a life of crime once again. After they serve their prison term and are released they need to be armed with the right tools to survive and education is one of these tools. According to Brian Nomad, “the goal of prison education is to provide development programs which are designed to prepare prisoners to lead law-abiding lives”. While in prison inmates should maintain the skills they have entered prison with and also develop and explore new skills, education would do this. Education would also help them to adapt to prison life easier and help them to make wise choices while in prison and when they are released. Entering prison leads to many complex changes, and certain educational programs could assist them with these changes. Educational programs could also prepare them for re-entry into the community, and to lead law-abiding lives. We should try to help them become better citizens once they are released. Prison just shouldn’t be about trying to punish them for their crimes we should be concerned with trying to shape them as a person. Read more…
