No child is born bad but not every child is born into privilege. In the backstories of the inmates at Bard Prison Initiative, we hear: abusive or neglectful childhoods, parents with addictions or mental health issues, domestic violence, negative peer influence, absence of positive role models, living in the most impoverished and crime-ridden neighbourhoods.
These men and women grew up with a pervasive sense of impending danger. Their young minds became preoccupied with threat detection instead of being free to attend to education and achieving the developmental milestones like the other kids who were not saddled with unfit parents or a toxic environment. It is inevitable that some of these children would eventually end up on the wrong side of the law and in prison. Just ask how many prisoners have a college education and a loving family.
To err is human. The inmates have been judged in a court of law and have done or are doing their time. Studying for a college degree behind bars is the kind of equity that had it been available to their families in the first place, these people would probably not be where they are. Enabling them to achieve their potential in spite of their past disrupts the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and crime.
These men and women grew up with a pervasive sense of impending danger. Their young minds became preoccupied with threat detection instead of being free to attend to education and achieving the developmental milestones like the other kids who were not saddled with unfit parents or a toxic environment. It is inevitable that some of these children would eventually end up on the wrong side of the law and in prison. Just ask how many prisoners have a college education and a loving family.
To err is human. The inmates have been judged in a court of law and have done or are doing their time. Studying for a college degree behind bars is the kind of equity that had it been available to their families in the first place, these people would probably not be where they are. Enabling them to achieve their potential in spite of their past disrupts the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and crime.