Skipping Through Prison Gates: Why We Choose to Teach Here
Back again!
We are back inside — at least for the moment. This semester started out with more of a whimper than a bang since most of the prisons were locked down (COVID again). When will this ever be over? It was only for one week for most of my classes and then I was allowed back in. I practically skipped my way through the prison gates. My students were happy to see me, and I was happy to see them. They were actually pretty surprised that I was so happy to be able to teach them in-person. I told them that I much preferred to do class in-person and that it was frustrating when I was not allowed in to answer their questions. I wanted to answer their questions. We ended up spending some class time just decompressing about the difficulties and the frustrations of learning through the mail. I explained a bit of the process on the other end so that they could understand that we were all trying our best to get through it and why getting their grades or getting feedback on their work was taking so long. I hope it helped.
One of the issues we are encountering is that the sentence credits they receive for taking each class has been reduced from three weeks to one. This reduction is going to take effect pretty soon and some of our grades have not yet been submitted to the prison. This means that a class they finished before the reduction will only give them one week instead of three. We are all very concerned about that and are trying our best to finish out the semester before that happens. The good thing is that the grades only have to be submitted to the prison and not our system, which can take longer. I did not teach a class this summer so all my grades are in. Whew! I tried to reassure them that we knew of the problem and that we were trying to get our grades in, but if we do not get the work from the prison, there is really nothing we can do to hurry it up. A lot about this is unfair but a lot of their lives have been unfair.
The students do seem to be used to this unfairness. They struggle with it as we all do, but it is not unfamiliar. In addition to this general unfairness, they are always trying to figure out what anyone is getting out of working with them. They are looking for an ulterior motive, so one of my students asked recently if I was paid more for teaching them. I have received this question a few times since I started teaching inside. I never give them an exact number, but I do not lie to them either. I say I get paid extra, but the amount of money would not be worth it if I did not want to be here. I have extra paperwork to do. I have to fill it out for each prison individually. Getting inside is a hassle. It is a pretty long drive. Sometimes, I end up in a classroom for a half an hour without any students only to be told there was a lock down and no one was coming. There are a lot of obstacles and stress that is part of doing this work, so unless I enjoyed it, I would not do it. Since the start of the pandemic, I have sometimes met with my students individually by going to their housing units. I mask up, and they remain in their cells. It is hot. The housing units are not close together, and so I am dragging my teacher cart from unit to unit. It is a pain, but I prefer it to trying to do this via correspondence. In this way, I know that I have their work and I am able to answer their questions. I can even do some teaching sometimes (even if it is only through a glass door). It is easier than waiting for their material to show up on campus incomplete or done incorrectly. If I did not want to do this, the money would not be enough. All the teachers who come here to teach in-person feel the same way. We all want to teach here. I think they are surprised by that.
Some of the reasons why I enjoy teaching these students: they do their work, they ask questions, they participate in discussion, and they are motivated learners. I am sure I am not the only teacher who feels this way, but I will do a lot to help a student who is motivated. Even if that student is behind, or frustrated, or having trouble learning something, if they are motivated and they work hard, I will work hard to help them.
Back again!
We are back inside — at least for the moment. This semester started out with more of a whimper than a bang since most of the prisons were locked down (COVID again). When will this ever be over? It was only for one week for most of my classes and then I was allowed back in. I practically skipped my way through the prison gates. My students were happy to see me, and I was happy to see them. They were actually pretty surprised that I was so happy to be able to teach them in-person. I told them that I much preferred to do class in-person and that it was frustrating when I was not allowed in to answer their questions. I wanted to answer their questions. We ended up spending some class time just decompressing about the difficulties and the frustrations of learning through the mail. I explained a bit of the process on the other end so that they could understand that we were all trying our best to get through it and why getting their grades or getting feedback on their work was taking so long. I hope it helped.
One of the issues we are encountering is that the sentence credits they receive for taking each class has been reduced from three weeks to one. This reduction is going to take effect pretty soon and some of our grades have not yet been submitted to the prison. This means that a class they finished before the reduction will only give them one week instead of three. We are all very concerned about that and are trying our best to finish out the semester before that happens. The good thing is that the grades only have to be submitted to the prison and not our system, which can take longer. I did not teach a class this summer so all my grades are in. Whew! I tried to reassure them that we knew of the problem and that we were trying to get our grades in, but if we do not get the work from the prison, there is really nothing we can do to hurry it up. A lot about this is unfair but a lot of their lives have been unfair.
The students do seem to be used to this unfairness. They struggle with it as we all do, but it is not unfamiliar. In addition to this general unfairness, they are always trying to figure out what anyone is getting out of working with them. They are looking for an ulterior motive, so one of my students asked recently if I was paid more for teaching them. I have received this question a few times since I started teaching inside. I never give them an exact number, but I do not lie to them either. I say I get paid extra, but the amount of money would not be worth it if I did not want to be here. I have extra paperwork to do. I have to fill it out for each prison individually. Getting inside is a hassle. It is a pretty long drive. Sometimes, I end up in a classroom for a half an hour without any students only to be told there was a lock down and no one was coming. There are a lot of obstacles and stress that is part of doing this work, so unless I enjoyed it, I would not do it. Since the start of the pandemic, I have sometimes met with my students individually by going to their housing units. I mask up, and they remain in their cells. It is hot. The housing units are not close together, and so I am dragging my teacher cart from unit to unit. It is a pain, but I prefer it to trying to do this via correspondence. In this way, I know that I have their work and I am able to answer their questions. I can even do some teaching sometimes (even if it is only through a glass door). It is easier than waiting for their material to show up on campus incomplete or done incorrectly. If I did not want to do this, the money would not be enough. All the teachers who come here to teach in-person feel the same way. We all want to teach here. I think they are surprised by that.
Some of the reasons why I enjoy teaching these students: they do their work, they ask questions, they participate in discussion, and they are motivated learners. I am sure I am not the only teacher who feels this way, but I will do a lot to help a student who is motivated. Even if that student is behind, or frustrated, or having trouble learning something, if they are motivated and they work hard, I will work hard to help them.
Back again!
We are back inside — at least for the moment. This semester started out with more of a whimper than a bang since most of the prisons were locked down (COVID again). When will this ever be over? It was only for one week for most of my classes and then I was allowed back in. I practically skipped my way through the prison gates. My students were happy to see me, and I was happy to see them. They were actually pretty surprised that I was so happy to be able to teach them in-person. I told them that I much preferred to do class in-person and that it was frustrating when I was not allowed in to answer their questions. I wanted to answer their questions. We ended up spending some class time just decompressing about the difficulties and the frustrations of learning through the mail. I explained a bit of the process on the other end so that they could understand that we were all trying our best to get through it and why getting their grades or getting feedback on their work was taking so long. I hope it helped.
One of the issues we are encountering is that the sentence credits they receive for taking each class has been reduced from three weeks to one. This reduction is going to take effect pretty soon and some of our grades have not yet been submitted to the prison. This means that a class they finished before the reduction will only give them one week instead of three. We are all very concerned about that and are trying our best to finish out the semester before that happens. The good thing is that the grades only have to be submitted to the prison and not our system, which can take longer. I did not teach a class this summer so all my grades are in. Whew! I tried to reassure them that we knew of the problem and that we were trying to get our grades in, but if we do not get the work from the prison, there is really nothing we can do to hurry it up. A lot about this is unfair but a lot of their lives have been unfair.
The students do seem to be used to this unfairness. They struggle with it as we all do, but it is not unfamiliar. In addition to this general unfairness, they are always trying to figure out what anyone is getting out of working with them. They are looking for an ulterior motive, so one of my students asked recently if I was paid more for teaching them. I have received this question a few times since I started teaching inside. I never give them an exact number, but I do not lie to them either. I say I get paid extra, but the amount of money would not be worth it if I did not want to be here. I have extra paperwork to do. I have to fill it out for each prison individually. Getting inside is a hassle. It is a pretty long drive. Sometimes, I end up in a classroom for a half an hour without any students only to be told there was a lock down and no one was coming. There are a lot of obstacles and stress that is part of doing this work, so unless I enjoyed it, I would not do it. Since the start of the pandemic, I have sometimes met with my students individually by going to their housing units. I mask up, and they remain in their cells. It is hot. The housing units are not close together, and so I am dragging my teacher cart from unit to unit. It is a pain, but I prefer it to trying to do this via correspondence. In this way, I know that I have their work and I am able to answer their questions. I can even do some teaching sometimes (even if it is only through a glass door). It is easier than waiting for their material to show up on campus incomplete or done incorrectly. If I did not want to do this, the money would not be enough. All the teachers who come here to teach in-person feel the same way. We all want to teach here. I think they are surprised by that.
Some of the reasons why I enjoy teaching these students: they do their work, they ask questions, they participate in discussion, and they are motivated learners. I am sure I am not the only teacher who feels this way, but I will do a lot to help a student who is motivated. Even if that student is behind, or frustrated, or having trouble learning something, if they are motivated and they work hard, I will work hard to help them.
