Hello All,
There are lots of different sources of information out there regarding issues in, and solutions for, providing instruction within a secure Correctional environment. I will post a new resource each week for us to talk about and to pass on to our colleagues and students. The LINCS Community is amassing an impressive collection of vetted resources, but there are also many other articles, studies and ideas available for general consumption. I'd like to encourage all of you to share any resources that you have found valuable with the group so that we can engage in meaningful discussion of current information and how that information impacts how we behave in the classroom.
The first resource I'd like to highlight -- A Re-Entry Education Model (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/reentry-model.pdf) -- is a Department of Education resource and was highlighted previously. With John Linton's recent post regarding the Vera Institute's newest Re-Entry Initiative I believe there is value in revisiting this innovative model and talking about ways in which we are, or can be, implementing it within our classrooms and facilities.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas!
Heather
Comments
Hello Heather,
Fantastic that the USDOE model is being highlighted. I work full time as Quality Improvement Program Analyst, in a local Public Mental Health agency here in LA County, CA. As my lens to this discussion is situated in my past expereinces as an inmate in the LA County and the State of California correctional systems, I was encouraged that the guide can assist policymakers, corrrectional administrators to strengthen collaboration. Safety and security of the insitution is the main driver in any correctional system, as I am sure we all know! Yes, there is value and I know here in the State of California with Realignment in full swing, my hope is innovative practices can be promoted. Thanks so much for the post.
Hello and thanks for a great comment! It's wonderful that you come to this arena with a view through a different lens, although I think there are probably many of us who have a correctional connection that motivated us to this work. I'm trying to highlight at least one resource each week while encouraging members like yourself to comment on and share their experiences with both the resource itself as well as how instructors etc are using it. Thanks so much for your positive response!
This past week we concluded the 8 week Prison Education Project at the California Institution for Women (CIW). With each certificate we handed out, we provided a copy of the Take Charge of Your Future document. The document was well recieved by the women. As the Prison Ed. Project is ancillary program to the Education Dept. in my conversations with a Teacher that we have provided the document to as well, the document is very well put together and provides valuable information. Also, the educators I have handed a copy to have very much welcomed the information given it assists them in responded to the various questions the inmates. The information that is provided to the inmates in this free document is providing a valuable contribution to the lives it is touching.
Having tutored math for 4 years at a halfway house, I know that people exiting the corrections system struggle with making good decisions.
It's a matter of how a person sees the world. Is it only a string of events ending with the question, "How did I get here?" Or can people see the individual choices AND the "big picture" at the same time?
This same kind of "both - and" thinking is what is needed to succeed in math as well. The underlying concept is the same in number sense and in decision making.
If you - or your colleagues - are coming to COABE next week, I'm giving a presentation on NUMBER SENSE on Wednesday morning. You will get a 10-minute test that shows you what really basic ideas about number relationships your students may be missing. The same conceptual basis applies to decision making and critical thinking.
Dorothea Steinke