humanities work in jail worth supporting (?)

looking for a charitable cause to support, end-of-year? 

support the LEAD program (Literacy Intervention for Adults in Detention) through the website http://popcultureclassroom.org

Verbatim feedback from students: 

"This is my favorite class." We've heard this no less than 15 times over the past three months. 

"Thanks so much for taking the time to come and work with us. It's great." I've heard this at least 10 times from various inmates. 

"Wow, the students seemed really engaged today. Even the guards were looking in through the windows, watching the art lesson, saying it was cool." - 1/25/16, from Ginny, program director for the women's programs at BCSO jail. 

My own opinion, after four months: 

Our class in unique in that we cover literature, creative writing, reflective writing, writing mechanics, artistic styles, and artistic methods... as well as history and politics (Maus-- second world war and Nazi policies, especially related to their impact on Jewish citizens, and Silence of our Friends-- civil rights and black/white relations in the 1960s in Texas). We have also built in a significant aspect of self-reflection for the inmates, through utilizing writing prompts and creative assignments to explore their own personal histories and challenges. This latter aspect is also explored weekly in our conversations. 

Star students: 

Round 2-- Danny. He invested significant time in both the writing prompts as well as his final project, which was an entire illustrated story which he bound and presented in colors as a book. The story's theme dealt with a fall from grace and losing sight of one's dreams, followed by hard work, leading to a major life change that results in personal empowerment and redemption. His final writing work was chapter one of a creative writing project with a young high-school student as the protagonist-- focused on life at school and gaining the attention of the girl that's caught his attention-- but his life is altered when bitten by an insect being used for research while on a school trip to a laboratory where the weapons and defenses of various animals and insects are being studied and used to clone a super-predator with many of these attributes combined...

Round 3: JJ is the most talented student we've seen, both in terms of depth and detail in the storyline, as well as in illustrations. One of his big works is in response to the prompt: "I need to speak to a human!" which is still being developed, but currently runs six pages with dozens of detailed illustrations. A second creation of his, in response to the prompt "Tell a Dog Story", is a quirky, inside-out retelling of "Of Mice and Men" mixed with "Old Yeller", in which a similar plot to "Of Mice and Men" is retold from a dog's perspective. Jacob is expresses gratitude towards us after every class for offering the class, which has allowed him to explore and develop talents which he hadn't accessed for years. (His material could/should be considered for inking and publication.)

Liam is a new student who joined us last week. He was nervous about taking the class due to no experience drawing-- he stated simply that he had never drawn-- anything-- in his life. He is 19 and his main goal is to be a decent parent to his son, who is three months old. I wasn't sure he would return to the class this Monday due to his repeated claims that he couldn't draw and just wasn't any good during the first class. He did return yesterday, 1/25, however, and was very excited about the book "Ghostopolis." He had read it three times through over the weekend and enthusiastically jumped into our discussion of all aspects for the book. He appears very excited to continue with the class, and I noted much less self-critical remarks during this second class as he engaged in Dion's assignment related to the anatomy of the human body. 

thx!

avoiding anger, pursuing education

cpr article/interview today worth checking out:

this gentleman was sentenced the same year I graduated high school-- 1987. The main evidence? He'd appeared in the victim's dream...

http://www.cpr.org/news/story/clarence-moses-el-avoiding-anger-was-key-release-prison

Round 3--

Started things off Monday with a simple name-go-around (so I could learn their names), plus a mini-prompt: "State your name and one thing you really enjoy doing." Here's what came up as interests: climbing mountains (me), drawing (Dion), the from the inmates-- spending time with my family, spending time with my kids, video games, hunting, yeah, hunting-- me, too, motorcycles (-- "Are you a harley guy?"i asked. "well, i have a shadow," he replied--"like a harley, but it doesn't break down...")

As each guy checked in, he had to first go through the names of the guys before him: he's Toby, he likes the mountains, he's Dion, he likes drawing, etc.-- and they took a little poetic license and changed things as they wished-- he's Bill, he likes killing things-- Nope! I didn't say that! I eat what I kill, though-- he's Danny, he likes fake harleys"

Then the next guy: I like playing my guitar. He was the guy that walked into the room and said, "this is where we had the guitar class before (i wasn't aware there was a guitar class)-- yeah, I can sense it-- a little Eddie Van Halen in here." Guy's about my age, definitely referring to the music I grew up on. "So what do you play?" I asked, "classic rock, van halen, Zeppelin? -- Ah, anything, man, I like it all." He went on: "Hey, you know that one guy that sky dived from way up, like space, into the atmosphere?" (Other people knew what he was talking about, I'm not so sure-- gonna have to look it up.) "Yeah, anyway-- I wanna be like that guy! Except when I'm cruising down towards earth, I'm gonna have my guitar, and I'll be wailing away on something!"

Well, dang man-- that's a first. Don't think I've heard that one as a personal goal.

"You bet, man!" he confirmed. "That's gonna be me!" This guy has plenty of energy every class thus far. I'm not a big one for using explanation points in my writing-- I've seen too many middle-school girls use them in their writing just about every other sentence, but this guy-- he needs the explanation points after pretty much EVERY thought and statement. He delivers them ALL with gusto...

So anyway, art homework? "Draw yourself as you introduced yourself-- engaged in that favorite activity. "

"You got it man! I'm gonna draw that tonight!" He assured me. Let's see what he comes up with-- I'll try to post it next week.

Council--

I threw in a different activity at the end of yesterday's class with the women. It was the last class for one-- she'd already done a complete cycle with us. The others started halfway through the cycle and will stay on to read the first books that they missed (Yummy, Ghostopolis, Star Gazing Dog).

They shared out their final projects first. Several had done self portraits with self-affirming words or statements worked in. Kaylice-- the one graduating-- had finished work on a detailed piece on which she'd spent a lot of time-- a mermaid with a perfect, beautiful body but a fearsome, grotesque face with long, dagger-like teeth.

Additionally, she'd completed a 6-panel, illustrated story. The illustrations showed an older woman shopping at the store and grumbling about the weather. Fearful about making the walk to her car, she went ahead anyway and sure enough, fell down and couldn't get up. She started hollering for help. A small boy came over; his face peered down from above:

"Are you making snow angels?" he asked.

She misunderstood him, thinking he was offering to help: "Yes! Yes! Help me!"

"Ok!" he smiled, then got down and made a snow angel next to her.

She looked over in disbelief, then realized the ridiculousness of her situation... The last panel is simply laughter-- both of theirs.

*****

So after the other women shared out, we spent a half hour discussing the last third of "Maus" (the Pulitzer Prize winner about one man's survival of the holocaust, in graphic novel format). Not an easy read-- our densest and perhaps most intense read.

We had twenty minutes left so I proposed a Council session. This is not something we'd done before. Council is a practice I learned at my last job-- along the lines of what is taught and practiced by the Ojai Foundation (http://www.ojaifoundation.org).

In its essence, it's the practice of sitting together and sharing personal stories of experiences related based on different prompts. Because it is a practice of oral storytelling, it seemed like something relevant and potentially helpful to introduce to this class, a class which is in design focused on telling stories with both words and illustrations.

The rules for participation are simple:
*speak from the heart
*listen from the heart
*be spontaneous
*keep it lean

(What comes up for people can be deeply personal. Confidentiality is a rule as well; all names in this blog have been changed anyway. )

I gave the prompt "Tell a story about something you've survived." (A pretty loaded prompt, given the setting and circumstances, but this is exactly what we'd been exploring in Maus.)

One woman shared a rafting story when, as a child, she was flipped out of her boat but caught by the pant leg by her mother. The current pulled her head and shoulders under the boat; her mom in fear of losing her wouldn't let go. A scene ensued in which the girl's head stayed under water and the guide was screaming at the mother to let go, but she couldn't, or didn't, until finally he jumped to her side and pried her fingers from the girl's pant leg. The girl disappeared under the boat then popped up-- safe and still alive-- on the other side, where the guide-- having jumped back-- grabbed her. (Decent river guide, huh. And I couldn't help but point out that such a story could make a perfect mini-story for a 6-panel final project...)

The other women shared stories of drugs, addiction, being stranded south of the border, diabetic comas, witnessing death, rolling cars, walking away unscathed, recovery...

The themes of survival and redemption... Women well aware that they've behaved in careless, dangerous ways, still working through the pain of what's happened, thoughtful about what's happened and what's different for them now, or what needs to be different...

Jail-- punishment? a time-out? forced sobriety? a chance to slow down and think? the possibility of turning the corner? a chance to tell stories and move forward?

on redemption--

here it is-- stowed away in the drafts folder--

Our class conversation (LEAD-- Literacy Education for Adults in Detention) strayed to discussions of redemption-- is there a great story that is not in some way about coming into one's power? (This theme allows for easy translation to the comic book genre, for sure, as well as the movies-- Shawshank Redemption is a  jail house favorite.)

We've read El Deafo and Ghostopolis which provide straightforward case studies of kids coming into their own powers. Cece in El Deafo creates a superpower doppelgänger for herself; Garth comes into his extra powers after mistakenly being transported to Ghostopolis, then takes what he's gained back to the "real world"...

Yummy and Stargazing Dog and Maus are all more complicated. Conquering one's demon's proves to be a confused, unclear path-- and a deadened for some of the characters. Many more shades of grey to discuss and explore, to be sure.

One striking thing about working in jail: the inmates are often upbeat and optimistic. Things are going to get better for them; they have plans; they know what's next when they get out. Whether or not these plans will pan out, or for how many of them-- who's to say. But even without a ride home from jail, much or any money in the bank, and another jail time x on their record-- they're still upbeat. It's something.

Hope is a good thing-- as Andy says in Shawshank-- maybe one of the best of things...

why you pick all these HEAVY books, man?

Wednesday we wrapped things up with our second round. Final work included finishing the reading of "Maus" as well as completion of the final project, which was to develop the characters and storyline-- along with the illustrations-- for a mini-graphic-novel-style story of their own. Two guys showed up with completed, illustrated final projects. The other five shared out works in varying stages of development. They all had logged significant cell time working them up-- the most significant work was a full-blown story of redemption, illustrated and bound as a short book, telling the story of one woman's fall from the dreams at her high school graduation to a rugged life of abuse and prostitution, followed by a period of determination and change leading to enrollment in the police academy, and finally resulting in her coming into her own power as an officer on the streets, pursuing and arresting the men engaged in sex trafficking...

Another story of redemption, and someone coming into her own power. This is a theme we kick around a lot in class. We recently discussed whether there can even BE an interesting story without that theme of a person coming into their own power, a person fighting their demons and moving ahead on their own path of redemption. (I posted these thoughts a few days back but they failed to appear on the blog, so here they are again: )

Shawshank Redemption is a favorite of many inmates. They mostly have all seen it, and can jump into discussion of different scenes, struggles, developments in the plot. And it's all about the redemption theme-- the chance to set one's life straight. And of course serving justice to the real jerks in the story strikes a chord as well.

Similar plights and struggles come up in the books we read, from Cece-- the girl struggling with her hearing disability as an elementary student in a "normal" school, to Yummy-- the eleven year old gang member on the streets of Chicago, to the white reporter, the militant black activist, and the relations between police and different races in Houston in the 1960s, to Vladek-- the survivor chronicled in Maus-- a Pulitzer winner and one of the most effective portrayals of the day-to-day details and personal stories of the Holocaust I've come across-- in graphic novel format!

All of this provides good food for thought-- "Why you pick all these HEAVY books, man?!"-- the inmates ask from time to time. And simultaneously they have the long hours in jail, in their cell-- paging through the pages of their own histories and regrets, as well as their plans and hopes for the future.

https://www.gofundme.com/jailtimeliteracy

seeking donations to teach two new classes at the Boulder County Jail-- literacy based on the "Readers Write" column in The Sun magazine, and chi kung/ tai chi.

https://www.gofundme.com/jailtimeliteracy

thx much for your interest and support!

chess jail tale--

Once upon a time there was a kid that ended up in jail. He was a middle class kid, from a middle class neighborhood, with parents that cared plenty about him, took an interest in his activities, drove to his ballgames to watch him play right field where he hardly ever got much action, and when he did he was in lala land anyway and half the time didn't snap out of it quite quick enough to make the catch. But on those days he was dialed in he did make the play-- once a game when the ball game his way-- he had an arm and could toss the ball home from right field. And every once in a while when he got up to bat he could swat one over the fence-- he even hit a house in the neighborhood once-- but more often he struck out, or popped one up, or walked.

The years passed and his number one big dream never panned out: playing for the yankees. He didn't make varsity, either, and in college didn't bother going out for baseball. He made some good friends though, and got himself a girlfriend and things were going just fine. (We all have to adjust some from our childhood dreams, right? Well, not quite all of us.)

But then things weren't going so fine. And one loud, late, difficult argument with the girlfriend ended physically, and the police were called, and the boyman was hauled in. The twist was-- nobody knew he was there. In jail, you can only call out collect, and cell phones don't accept collect calls. His parents had cellphones. All his buddies only had cell phones. And he was too ashamed to call the one landline he knew-- his grandma's.

In the meantime, he was in jail, and while he was 6'1" and over 200 pounds, he was feeling like one of the smallest guys there. And he was feeling pretty white, too. And privileged-- though not so much at this particular moment. And uncomfortable, and not sure how he was going to keep his head above water in this new environment. Party nights, frat buddies, and college classes were no longer part of his reality.

Back in first and second grade, when he was really still a boy, he logged quite a few hours of online chess. Dad was into chess, you see, and introduced him. And he was taken with the novelty-- the ability to play people halfway around the world who were staying up late playing chess, whereas he'd just had breakfast. He liked the IM feature especially-- maybe even more than the chess. Chatting with people during the games, finding out random things, like age and favorite sports. His opponents weren't always gracious, either, when they found out his age--7-- after he'd beaten them. Though he didn't always win. He was no prodigy, just a kid logging hours on the chess board that liked chatting with opponents in Australia and Germany while he played.

But he got pretty good. He took 2nd place in an elementary K-5 tournament, as a 2nd grader. Then he grew up-- went through middle and high school and into college and pretty much quit playing.

Until jail. There was a board, and the guys played to pass the time. The boyman kibitzed a few games, realized they were no masters, got up the gumption to call "next game." And sat down and beat his opponent, then held the table for the rest of the morning.

Suddenly, the pressure eased up. "Yo, man-- I like this kid! He sure 'nuff can play, that fo sho. He kinda funny, too-- whatcha name, college boy?" He figured the kid's background and predicament without asking.

And with that, the boy did his time. Another kid he befriended made the call once he got out (two days later), parents paid the bail, and he was out. College boy that caught a break, was his name. Not that his predicament ended there, but jail time did...

1989, a story--

I volunteered at Green Haven Correctional Facility, upstate New York, a 35 minute drive from my college. I met with inmates in the Pre-Release program-- a program designed to help inmates think about planning for life after their sentences, after release. How I might have any real expertise in this I have no idea. I'd never held a job outside of hosting at a barbecue restaurant in OKC, running the buffet on Sundays, shelving books at my college library, and escorting lone students home across the quad late at night (whew! that was a tough one-- they were about 100% female, and I was 18-- glad to escort, for sure.)

Anyway, I got to know some of the inmates pretty well. AJ was one of them-- solidly built black guy, early thirties maybe-- he told me about secret martial arts training sessions that took place during meditation class, after the guards had come to trust the group and their intentions and decreased supervision (martial arts training was forbidden for obvious reasons).

He also told me about the first time he did LSD, which took place in prison. That's another story...

There was another guy named Brian. He wasn't in the Pre-Release class but would meet us at one of the doors on our walk into the prison and through security (we had to pass through seven different locked doors and security screens. Green Haven is a maximum security prison.) It became regular after awhile-- he would look out for me and we'd walk together and chat for three minutes on my way to the class. One day he told me the story of his crime; he was in for 25-life: he'd already served close to 20 years. Here it is:

So, I was in Vietnam, and you know, basically it was my job to kill gooks over there. So that's what I did-- I killed a few. Did my job, you know? That's what the government wanted me to do. 

I get discharged, come home. First weekend I'm at a bar, living it up, feeling great, you know? I survived all that craziness in Nam, and here I was back home, drinking, looking at all the pretty girls. Hard for me to believe, I was pinching myself...

So I get to talking to this one girl. She's kind of flirty; I'm definitely interested. Turns out this other guy's interested in her too, though. He comes back from wherever and tells me to piss off. I says, "Hey, watch your manners. I'm talking to this lady here." 

"Not now you're not--fuck off soldier," he says, and pushes me off my bar stool. His buddies laugh at me. He was a big guy, you know, and look at me-- I'm all of 5'5", maybe. So anyway, am I gonna stand for that? Hell no. I walk outside, these guys jeering at me, but what they don't know is I got my shotgun right there in the truck. I get it, walk back in and BAM!-- blow that fucker right off his chair. 

See, I didn't get it. The rules changed on me-- that's what I'd been doing for the last two years, killing people for the government. But when I did it back home-- bam-- I end up here, 25-life. 

Inmates, like the rest of us, can take some liberties with their stories. Who knows if this was the truth-- it sounded like his truth-- but I didn't fact-check his story. He was in his mid to late forties, maybe 50 at the time.

I'm not teaching in prison now, but in jail. There's a difference. Jail is the holding pen-- to serve out short sentences sometimes, but also to hold inmates while their cases go to trial. Which allows for due process, meeting with lawyers, etc.

I don't ask about the inmates' crimes-- not my business. But I hear tidbits and details here and there. Crimes/indictments range from DUIs (lots of those) to attempted murder. And these are the same people that voluntarily sign up for class, come in and sit down with more attention and engagement than most middle schoolers, and work with us for 90 minutes through book discussions, creative writing endeavors, art and cartooning.

I started working with inmates way back during college. I've done a few things since, and 25 years have gone past, but I've recently reentered the alternate reality of state-controlled criminal justice centers and want to share out some of my experiences. So that's what this blog is gonna be about...

I've been teaching a graphic novel course to inmates this fall. I'm an English teacher with 15 years of classroom experience; my colleague and co-teacher is a local artist. We walk in, check in, lock up our valuables, go through screening, then get shuttled through and around the jail until we arrive in a small classroom about 1/2 an hour later. There, we sit down with 6-10 male inmates, ages 19-65, and open up books, have conversations, discuss stuff, laugh, write and draw.

We wrap up 90 minutes later, say goodbye, shake a few hands, pump a few fists, then get shuttled back to an office for a break before the women's class begins.

Another program coordinator picks us up in the lunch room and then shuttles us to a different class-- smaller-- for our second class. 4-6 women join us, and we launch back into a similar class, but due to the gender make-up it's quite a bit different. Same routine, though, including some or all of the following: discussing the book we're reading, learning vocab, discussing history, politics, and current events, writing in silence for a spell, sharing out, laughing, then drawing, sharing out some more, discussing the homework, signing point-sheets (for the women-- doesn't apply to men), then saying goodbye and waiting to be shuttled out.

Then we check out, turn in our badges, gather our stuff, step back outside, look across to the foothills or up at the blue sky, breathe, step into our cars and go home. Which of course the inmates aren't free to do...

So, the purpose of this blog? To share some of the day-to-day, as well as some of the writing. Some of the laughs, ups and downs.

The books, in case you're wondering: Yummy--the Last Days of a Southside Shorty (Tupac wrote a song about him as well), Stargazing Dog, The Silence of our Friends, Ghostopolis, El Deafo, and Maus. Four of the six are pretty heavy books, sometimes the inmates ask why we chose such heavy stuff to read...

Anyways, we're headed into week six of round two-- wrapping things up with the men's group, continuing with the same group of women due to their high turn-over rate. And, I'm hoping to start two new groups-- one based on the column "Readers Write" in the Sun Magazine, the other something else-- chi kung and tai chi. Stay tuned for more on these...

-Toby