Archive for April, 2010
April 29, 2010
I have a new worry about ordering the classics for my students. The old concern was that the antiquated language might turn them off. It turns out I missed a meeting where teachers were informed that the language in the novels on the list we can select from has been “modernized and simplified.” For example, in the crucial last paragraph of Homer’s The Odyssey, the line, “Odysseus obeyed Athene’s words, delighted at heart,” has been reduced to “Odysseus obeyed her gladly.” All this of course translated from the original Homeric Greek. I’m all for getting my students to read; the little bookshelf space I have in my class is at capacity. But to lose the poetry of Homer — having Odysseus cheerfully follow instructions as if he were talking to a receptionist at the dentist’s office — I’m not down with that.
Posted in adult education, education, parolees, The Odyssey | Leave a Comment »
April 28, 2010
The student I call Diogenes now has over 20 hours in class. He is fiercely independent. When I assigned him a five-paragraph biographical essay he wrote about Patsy Cline. He pokes his head into class five times a day but rarely spends more than an hour inside. He got 100% on his spelling test today so I gave him a shark sticker. I saw he put it on his thermal coffee mug. I appreciate when a former gang member softens over an incentive as small as an aquatic-themed sticker. Though he is bound to be off task and chatty and a bit disruptive, I no longer dread having this student in my class. One must celebrate small victories.
Posted in education, parolees, rehab, students | Leave a Comment »
April 21, 2010
I love the quirks of my job. For instance there are many things that happen here that simply wouldn’t happen in a regular adult education classroom. I used to teach in a more traditional setting inside of a parole office and there was always a sense of tightened security. It got to the point where my students were occasionally searched and scrutinized without warning. German Shepherd dogs were brought in to sniff for dope. Instead of drug-sniffing dogs, we are likely to be visited by Anthony, a resident here who gives shoulder massages to my students who have been working hard at the computer all day.
Several of my female students wrote letters yesterday that target a painful memory. They told me they were going to read them and burn them the following day as a way to release the pain. All this is part of the process of recovery here. I wonder if they may also be writing about the painful memories they caused others?
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April 19, 2010
My students get test jitters just like everyone else, but for them the fear is exponential — success is terrifying and failure or even outright avoidance is the norm. Therefore I wasn’t surprised when I returned last Thursday to find Damien had walked out of the rehab, split the program. I had written Damien a letter of recommendation to get his GED funded. Like Wanda, he only needed to retake and pass the math section of the GED. The ink on the check was still wet when he ran. He didn’t take the check, he left without it. After all, this is a man who quietly cleaned my room every day for months. When I asked him, “What figure in history do you consider successful?” he answered, “Jesus.”
Wanda took the math section of the GED Saturday. I’ve been helping her prep for several months now. I handed her an envelope when I left on Friday. I wrote Good Luck on it and put a brand new sharpened pencil inside, pure cedar with a pink pearl eraser. We should have the results in a couple weeks. As for Damien, his leaving probably had nothing to do with taking the test but man he came close.
Posted in adult education, GED, math, parolees | Leave a Comment »
April 15, 2010
Frankie came in today after his first tattoo removal treatment. He is having his La Vida Loca dots, three dots in a triangle configuration, removed from below his left eye; the small 69 from below his lower lip; and his mother’s name, Rosa Maria — this being the most important of the three — removed from his neck. He thought his mother would be happy when he got her name inked on his neck. I think he said she fainted instead. She is very happy Frankie is having this done now, and to get it done for free for doing community service is especially cool. Otherwise it would have cost him $5,000. Frankie is a tattoo artist himself. He does permanent eyeliner on people, he wants to study cosmetology. He has a real chance of succeeding.
– from a 2002 journal entry
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April 13, 2010
While driving home from work today I noticed that the two lines between my eyebrows are becoming trenches. They are often called frown lines because they come along with concentration or worry. My friend told me about Frownies. Frownies are basically ways of taping your face to smooth out face wrinkles while you sleep. As I sit typing this, I have two small adhesive Band-Aids above my eyebrows as an experiment in decreasing the signs of aging. My students often look either much older than their chronological age due to drug use and a hard life, or curiously younger. I think this might be due to the effect of being locked up without exposure to sun, with an absolute regimented routine of daily sleep and nutrition. I hope I’m not going off the deep end here with this theory. Anyway, I think my students would approve of the use of Band-Aids as homemade Frownies.
Posted in aging, Frownies, parolees, prison | Leave a Comment »
April 8, 2010
Z is a longtime student. She is back in rehab and back in my school for the third time. The first time she relapsed after having fully graduated the program. The second time she was picked up for not showing up to see her probation officer and spent several months in jail. This is probably her last run at the rehab and I can’t imagine not having her in class. I am trying several strategies to get her to take the GED. She is smart and ready but terrified and reminds me often that she is bipolar. “You’re wonderful and magnificent,” I say, “bipolar!” I talked with her bunkie (roommate) today. Z’s bunkie Wanda is retaking the math section of the GED next week and I suggested they study together. Wanda convinced Z to let me write a letter to get her exam funded. Z starts shaking at the thought of taking the GED, it’s that scary for her. “I’m not interested in achievement, Ms. P.,” she says. “Family and love, that’s what matters to me.” I tell her, “We’re here for you, Z.”
Posted in adult education, community, GED, parolees, rehab | Leave a Comment »
April 7, 2010
Fire drill. Fire drill at the rehab, evacuate the school. “Everyone out to the smoking area,” I repeat a couple of times. Mario who is on crutches moves very slowly, all the time saying he won’t let me burn up. The fire alarm sounds relentlessly, like a child having a tantrum. Everyone exits out the gate and stands in the street, in the cul-de-sac. The area where residents smoke, a dirt lot with chairs and a white tented canopy is just across the way. A staff member announces that the building where the residents live was constructed in the 1920s and no one is to smoke in their room. “The building would go up like a tinderbox,” he says. I wonder if we have any guys/gals with arson on their record? It’s time to go back to work. As I walk the winding paths back to my class I notice a handmade flier taped to the wall. It announces they are having a ping-pong tournament coming up and first prize is several bags of Bugler Rolling Tobacco. I miss playing ping-pong and the occasional smoke. Smoking is just so 20th Century.
Posted in adult education, parolees, rehab, smoking | Leave a Comment »
April 5, 2010
We have all heard of homie, meaning from the same neighborhood but it goes deeper than that. Cellie is the guy or gal you shared your cell with. Crimie, that’s the person who was your partner in you guessed it, crime. Very often a parolee will come in and recognize a former crimie or even more exciting an old cellie. It’s like a reunion with lost family. Many of these guys have spent more time in their lives with their cellies than with their own family.
At work, two of the most unlikely students recognize each other, Edgar and Jeff. Both know one-armed Paul and one-legged Charlie from their time inside. They sit and reminisce for a bit about their stolen Harleys and one-armed Paul and one-legged Charlie. They sound like pirates, and it makes me laugh.
— from a 2004 journal entry
Posted in crime, parolees, prison | Leave a Comment »
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