Incarcerated Youths

I keep being drawn to issues that affect one group of the most vulnerable kids...those that are considered 'troubled, ' the ones who could benefit the most from our attention.  With help from the Maya Angelou Academy, the New Beginnings Youth Development Center in Maryland is trying to address the education of these kids by trying to give them the best education possible in the time they spend incarcerated.   This program allows educators to work individually with each student to focus on his individual educational needs in an environment that breaks down the usual shame kids can encounter in school.  One student noted, "The good news is (here) you have teachers who like you and support you, and kids don't make fun of you if you can't read."  

Over the last few decades, we have shifted our perspective on incarceration.  Instead of focusing on rehabilitation to reduce recidivism and give inmates a chance to create a good life, we now focus on incarceration as sheer punishment and think they should have no outlets of any kind while they're locked up (and we wonder why there is so much violence in prison). Since 1 in 10 high school dropouts is incarcerated at some time (compared to 1 in 35 college graduates), it seems that it would be in our best interest to focus on education and behavior management, especially in juvenile facilities.  These kids are often the ones who are at the bottom of the social barrel.  If we could turn incarceration into positive educational time, our society would benefit significantly in the long run.