Causes of Illiteracy in Prisons - Research Paper Example

? Illiteracy in Prisons Illiteracy in Prisons The prison system is one of the most complex rehabilitation centers in the country. The system serves to assist people in dealing with various issues and correct their behavior. It is important to understand that prisons assist society by taking away some of the most vicious criminal that society bears and illiteracy is a major aspect in society that affects the community as a whole in very many ways. The major characteristic witnessed in society from illiteracy is the high rate of unemployment. It is important to understand the notion of illiteracy when related to the prison system. Contemporary research has shown a very high rate of illiteracy in the prison system and it is well to inquire whether this is a consequence of various factors or it is just a mere coincidence. The prison system that the country uses today and in the 20th century is the same. In the 20th century, the prisons experienced major reforms in terms of the structure and the staffing. However, one major aspect that the system did not accommodate was the technological characteristic. Technology in major institutions is one very important characteristic as in the 21st century; most of the education relayed to students is through technology. For example, calculators have come in as a great deal to serve the contemporary students with faster ways of calculating in fields such as chemistry, physics and mathematics. The fact that there has not been any introduction of the new technology devices in the prison system is a factor showing that it is not a coincidence that there is a lack of literacy in the prison system. Where there are these gadgets in the prison system, many inmates would develop professional knowledge that would assist them in the advancements of a career. Upon release from the system, they would get proper jobs that would help them shun all criminal activities thus making the environment a safer place. Lack of the gadgets in the prisons encourages the prisoners to engage in or form illegal groups in prisons (Haigler, O'Connor, and Campbell, 2008). The economic condition in the outside world is one other factor linked to the high amount of illiteracy in the prisons. In the contemporary times, the rates of recession have been steadily on the rise and thus making people engage in activities that will serve to help them gain a meal for the day. The economic factors extend so far such as even professionals such as doctors engage in activities that do not fit their job description. An example of this is a doctor who may go way out of his career path to sell prescription drugs to addicts in an effort to make the extra cash. These conditions affect the professionalism of people and when they stray to carry out activities that do not suit them, the resulting factor is the lack of essence to the career that a person has. With the lack of essence, it is common to find the person forfeiting his job and concentrating on the illegal side job as a whole. Through this, the person may lose certain concepts taught in the professional school attended due to lack of practice and this would eventually render a former literate person illiterate. In the connection to the prison system, the person is sent to prison and hence the high number of illiteracy in the facilities. Other factors that lead to illiteracy in prison are political factors. In the community, the high rate of unemployment leads to people suffering and searching for means to gain income. One of the most common times that people engage in these activities is during political campaigns. Political campaigns are a very noticeable aspect of the community and politicians often go ahead to look for people to spread their popularity in various regions with the promise of a certain amount of fund. Many of the politicians do not pay the campaigners until the campaign is over and the results announced. This one factor motivates campaigners to work very hard in an effort to please the party candidate. Many are the times that stiff rivalry may arise from another group with the same ambition. Times occur when violence becomes a major aspect of these campaigns when the two teams meet. This is due to the amount of charisma and determination that each team portrays trying to show that the ideology that their political leader bears is the most effective. Fights break out in various rallies and this leads to the arrest of the perpetrators. After alignment in court, they are sent to prison in the count of violence and in critical conditions even murder charges (Rutherford, Nelson, and Wolford, 2009). As mentioned, most of the people at these rallies are uneducated and often out just in search for a means to get money. When put in prison, they increase the number of illiterate people incarcerated. Corruption in the government is one of the major factors that show that the amount of illiteracy in the prison system is not just a coincidence. Every year the government allocates a specific amount of money to run and improve the prison facilities in the country. The mistake that the government makes is that it just allocates the funds and does not offer specific directives as to how the spending of the funds should go. This factor makes it very easy for people down the chain of command to embezzle the funds and put it to personal use. The chain is very long and often the funds that are misappropriated are not recovered. This as an aspect that leads to the encouragement of embezzling and thus inmates continue suffering from illiteracy that could have been resolved by the purchase of educational books with the cash. For money that trickles down to the prison system, the manner through which it is applied to use is not very appealing. Many of the prison guards and caterers often complain of the poor terms of work and the inadequate payments that they receive. However, the government shows little or no effort towards the resolution of this calamity. Upon noticing the ignorant government, prison officials decide to use the funds to their own advantage. Money meant to develop the prison facilities in such a manner that teaching programs are introduced ends up benefitting the guards in manners such as the development of new offices and cafeteria for them. Some of the high officers in the prison offices go as far as putting the money into family use. The analysis is one of the major aspects that show that illiteracy in prisons is not a coincidence but a consequence of corrupt officials (Steurer, Smith, and Tracy, 2011). Social factors play a major role in the analysis of the issue of illiteracy in the prison systems. One of the major social factors is family issues. There are very many families especially those that dwell with the Latin American principles that do not go to school. This is from the fact that they take their customs rather seriously and do not engage with the civilized world. These people do not carry out activities that civilized people do such as going to work to earn a sustainable amount of income. Rather than this, they dwell in their homes waiting for the one member of the family who caters for all their needs, the father, to take care of them. It is important to note that in the contemporary world, young people have developed the desire to please their peers and fit in through the purchase of fashionable clothes and such commodities. When the customs of the Latinos tie them down to a point that they cannot buy these commodities, the peer groups engage in activities such as crime in an effort to gain the money to purchase the commodities. At the time when these people are apprehended, they do not have any education but only have the survival tactics in them. These tactics come in handy when in prison but the fact that they went to prison illiterate remains. This is a factor that shows family plays a major role in the illiteracy levels in prisons and that it is not just a coincidence. Poverty is another social factor that reveals that coincidence is not a factor in the levels of illiteracy in prisons. Most of the prisoners in state penitentiaries are there from the committing of different societal crimes from the small ones of theft to massive ones of murder. Many of the people out in the streets have the urge to live a better life and the only through which they can attain this standard life is by education. However, the money to attain quality education is often problematic to find and they end up living pauper lives. Many of the street people carry out criminal activities in an effort to attain money to feed their families and for the few focused ones, to save up for education purposes. However, most of them are apprehended before they even make enough money to get out of the streets and into schools. They end up in courts aligned for trial with various cases such as drug peddling and theft for money. Eventually, they get thrown into prison still illiterate. The societal conditions are to blame for this as the parents and the supporting people do not teach their children the ethics of survival while still upholding personal and community virtues (Leone and Meisel, 2007). Another reason as to why there is a high rate of illiteracy in the prison system is from the fact that most of the inmates have a negative attitude towards education. For the few institutions that have the benefit or rather advantage of having education as a major policy, very few of the prisoners attend the various course classes offered. The reason as to why they do this is the fact that they bear the conscience of wrath for the elite in society and find them rather boastful of their accomplishments. Very few people in the prisons are educated prior to imprisonment and their survival instincts on the outside assist them on the inside and upon identifying the few learned in prison and the manner in which they find it hard to adjust to the environment, they gain a rather strong appeal against education. This subsequently leads to the embedded notion in the prisoners’ mind that education is not effective as it attributes one to various characteristics that do not assist in tough situations. Various prisoners have the characteristic of naturally refusing education in prison facilities because they feel as if they are being subdued by teaching. Many prisoners have the characteristic of independence with nobody offering instructions on what to do. The education policy in these prisons ensures that they learn by means of lectures and practical activities under supervision (Newman, Lewis, and Beverstock, 2009). This notion of supervision reveals the resistance characteristic of prisoners who are not always willing to carry out activities under instructions and this in turn increases the levels of illiteracy in the system. The explanation reveals that it is of no coincidence that there is a high number of illiterate people in the prison services but that the issue is also self induced by the resentful prisoners. The environment in which most of these offenders grow up in does not support the offering of proper education. An example of this is an institution established in the up-town areas where there is a lot of prostitution and peddling of drugs going on around. Many of the kids going to school pass through the route and see the transactions taking place. Some of the kids gain their inspiration from such activities and indulge in them. This eventually leads to them getting on the wrong side of the law. By the time they get into prison, they are full of regret and do not have any form of education other than the basic concepts studied before quitting. The law enforcement should also receive the responsibility for the high amount of illiteracy in study institutions as witnessed from the case of students dropping out of school. If the police carried out their duties to full effect, there would not be any forms of prostitution and drug peddling around schools and other educational institutions (Leone and Meisel, 2007). Moreover, guidance and counseling from the caretakers of the children should go far to ensure that they avoid indulging in such uncouth behavior citing the consequences. This goes far to prove that the levels of illiteracy in prisons is not a coincidence but the result of the ignorant attitude of parents and law enforcement. Many of the factors cited show that illiteracy in prisons does not just develop on its own but rather is caused by various factors ranging from economic to environmental. The resolution of these factors is the first step to increasing the amount of literacy in the prison institution. This is by the notion that an increase in the number of literate people in prisons would lead to faster reforms. Subsequently their interest in education would lead to the development of more education facilities in the prisons that would ensure more education in the future. References Haigler, K. O.; Harlow, C.; O'Connor, P. and Campbell, A. (2008). Literacy Behind Prison Walls. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Leone, P.E. and Meisel, S. (2007). Improving Educational Services for Students in Detention and Confinement Facilities. Children’s Legal Rights Journal, 17(1), 2-12. Newman, A. P., Lewis, W., and Beverstock, C. (2009). Prison Literacy. Philadelphia, PA: National Center on Adult Literacy. Rutherford, R.B., Nelson, C.M., and Wolford, B.I. (2009). Special Education in the Most Restrictive Environment: Correctional Special Education. Journal of Special Education, 19, 59-71. Steurer, S., Smith, L., and Tracy, A. (2011). Three State Recidivism Study: Prison Education. Lanham, MD: Correctional Education Association. Read More