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MICHAEL* COMPLETED HIS Leaving Certificate while serving a four-year drugs-related sentence in a Dublin prison.
“I’d never done [the Leaving Cert]. It was just a personal thing, I wanted to see if I had applied myself in school. I always wondered ‘Could I have done it?’ I found out I could.”
Michael said achieving this “set the ball rolling” in terms of his education. He now has a master’s degree.
He initially started to go to the prison’s school to simply get the chance to have conversations with people removed from prison life. He said he owes a lot to his teachers, who were “separate from the prison officers” and treated him “like a human being, not a prisoner”.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but each [teacher] was there at the right time,” he recalled.
I had a bad experience of school. It was ‘get down, shut, up.’ College was never an option for me. Motivation? I didn’t even know what it was.
Michael said school in prison was different for him as the teachers there “value your opinion and encourage you to read”. He also completed a number of FETAC courses while inside.
As a result of his own experience, Michael knows first-hand how important education can be in stopping criminals re-offending or ending up homeless.
He said that many people return to crime when they are released as they cannot read or write and have little chance of getting work – something exacerbated by having to tell potential employers about any previous convictions.
Michael said he understands why the Irish Prison Service’s education budget has been cut but is concerned about the long-term implications.
He is also aware that many people will not care a huge deal about the issue.
If you said to me ‘prison education or Crumlin hospital’, I know who I’d give my money to.
“I had a passion for [education] and it turned my life around. My life is totally different now to the life I had ten years ago.”
Not least, it helped him get clean.
When in prison, Michael attended school from 10am – 12pm and 2 pm – 4 pm, Monday to Friday. However, if a prison officer was out sick, “access to the school was one of first things to be cut”.
“Education doesn’t get the priority it deserves [in prison],” he stated.
There were about 12 men in his class, some of whom were studying for the Leaving Certificate and others for the Junior Certificate. ”There was a fairly good completion rate, the teachers had a fairly captive audience,” he joked.
To this day, he remains in touch with some of the teachers he credits with changing his life. “They’re proud of me, but not half as proud my mother.”
He admitted that calling for greater educational resources in prisons is “never going to be popular”.
I can see the red thumbs on TheJournal.ie now. They give out about people re-offending and the cost to the taxpayer, but if you intervene early and put the bit of effort in, it can make a real difference.
Is prison for retribution or rehabilitation?
What good is locking them away and treating them like an animal? They might be strung out on drugs, from a broken family. I’m not playing the poor mouth ‘my mother never loved me’ line but it’s true.
Michael added that prison is about network-building and if those on the inside aren’t educated, this will foster more crime on the outside.
“For me its a no-brainer, but it’s a very tough sell.”
If you put a bit of effort into someone, instead of being identified as a prisoner or a scumbag, they’re a student.
He noted that many of the men he knows who received an education in prison go back to their communities upon their release and work in drugs rehabilitation centres and youth clubs.
Michael said there will “always be a stigma” associated to an ex-prisoner but noted that this changes over time, albeit slowly.
There are currently 13 vacancies for prison-based workshop or training posts nationally, six of which are in Midlands Prison.
Each prison has a library. Opening hours range from an ‘on demand’ service in certain institutions to 77 hours a week in Portlaoise Prison. Most other prison libraries operate from seven to 37.5 hours weekly.
Dr Kevin Warner was the Education Coordinator in the Irish prison system for nearly 30 years until 2009.
He has also worked in Europe and North America, and founded the European Prison Education Association. He is a board member of the Irish Penal Reform Trust.
Relative to the overall cost of the prison system, education is minor really, but it has been cut disproportionately in recent years in relation to other activities.
Warner said there are more than 300 individuals teaching in Irish prison, the equivalent of about 220 full-time staff.
Dr Warner noted that the Irish Prison Service, which falls under the remit of the Department of Justice, has said it costs about €65,000-70,000 to keep a single prisoner locked up for a year. He thinks this is an underestimate, saying the real figure is probably closer to €80,000 and “very high by international standards”.
This still marks a significant drop from €97,700 per prisoner per year – the cost in 2007.
Dr Warner said the decrease is partly due to a change in the calculation method, and not including certain expenses such as teaching and prison maintenance.
In 2008, €220,539 was spent by the IPS on Open University courses, when 108 prisoners availed of the offer. This figure was reduced to €100,000 in 2011 – where it still stands.
Some 36 prisoners from Ireland’s 14 prisons are pursuing OU courses at present.
“You’ve spent all this money to lock them up in a destructive environment, if they’re ready for something like Open University it should be there for them.”
Dr Warner believes the only reason the initiative wasn’t scrapped entirely is because a number of prisoners threatened legal action.
In 2011, an art course that was facilitated by the National College of Art and Design and ran in Portlaoise Prison from 1987 onwards was terminated.
“They’re clearly phasing out higher education in prisons.”
Dr Warner said such harsh cutbacks are “a scandal” as prison education is of “enormous benefit to prisoners and also to society”.
He said there has never been any problem getting prisoners to engage with education, citing access as the main issue.
During his three decades working in the Irish prison education system, he saw first-hand how it could make “a big difference to a lot of people”.
Education gives people a different sense of themselves, a different view on life. It changes their perspective on themselves and the wider world.
He added that it helps prisoners “cope with sentences” and affords them an opportunity to “get away from the landing where the talk is all about drugs”.
“They think: ‘I can tell my parents and my partner about this, it’s something I’m proud of.’”
About 1,057 prisoners are doing FETAC-accredited vocational training courses in a wide range of areas such as computers, woodwork, braille and horticulture.
Dr Warner said these courses are valuable but somewhat pointless if prisoners don’t have any where to progress to.
“If people get beyond the level of FETAC and beyond the level of the Leaving Certificate, there should be third level education options available to them. There’s no point doing FETAC courses if you’re way beyond that level.”
He noted that some prisoners are not interested in the type of certificate they receive, if any, adding that they want to learn for the sake of learning itself.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt [education] does help people not to re-offend.”
Dr Warner said that there needs to be a shift in the public’s opinion of prisoners.
If people start with a distorted image of prison and a distorted image of the people in prison, it’s very hard [to change their minds]. People need to accept that prison damages people severely, in all sorts of ways.
Education can limit that damage and help them survive prison.
Some people think they’re all ‘scum’ like the tabloid headlines say … it’s not true. Only a minority of prisoners are violent. Most people in prison are as much sinned against as sinners.
They have problems. We’re not absolving them, but they need to be seen as people with as much good and bad in them as the rest of us.
If they’re locked up they should still have the opportunity to develop.
*not his real name
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The bigger issue is that the teachers are not being adequately trained to work with these populations, while the sna’s have virtually no traing at all. This along with the complete refusal of the state to utilise behaviour analyst in these units means that many of the kids going into these classes will be worse off than they are now
Wondering where these places are opening up , it doesn’t say
Are too many children being put in this ‘special needs’ category ?
No, to put it simply.
No would not think so but understand what you mean about labelling people with names that weren’t around when I was growing up
@Laurie, labels that will travel with them forever when all they may have is a temporary hitch in their development.
@morticia
It’s not a label it’s part of them whether its a big part or not and only by “labelling” it will you help it
Yes thats for sure
That’s a very sweeping statement Morticia. The methods and incidences of diagnoses have come a long way in the last 20 years. That’s why we are seeing more children being diagnosed with ASDs, GDD, ADD, dyslexia etc. A label and the required interventions at the right time certainly trumps a child not being able to realise the full of their potential and function well in this world as an adult. Everyone remembers at least one child in their class who was always on the margins and not included because they were ‘odd’ or didn’t learn in the way the curriculum demanded. These children never had a chance and usually left school early, with no qualifications at best. At worst, I know one exceptionally intelligent boy who has spent most of his adult life involved with psychiatric services. Wasted talents.
Anyway, labels can be peeled off.
A temporary hitch? Do you think a temporary hitch would be given such tailored treatment? It’s so hard for many parents to get a diagnosis for their which will open doors to interventions that most gladly welcome labels. It’s mostly people who don’t have a clue that make statements about having labels and that being a bad thing. These children no matter what their special need are not suited to mainstream learning and are entitled to be educated in the way they learn best. Some children transition to mainstream and many more never do. Please don’t talk about things you know little about
And how will we find out about this new ideology if we follow your advice to “Please don’t talk about things you know little about” ?
Well you could try Informing yourself before making sweeping statements . Lots of literature out there on the subject. Ill informed comments from those who feel the need to chime in regardless without any knowledge on the subject especially in relation to ones children will no doubt provoke a reaction.
OK lets start again. Are too many children being put in this ‘special needs’ category ? What is the criteria for claiming that a child has special needs
A special need is based on the diagnosis of a team of professionals usually. Psychologist speech and language therapist physio and so on depending on the child’s needs. It’s not something you claim . It’s something that you have to do for the benefit of your child so they can the resources they need to enable them to learn in the way they do best. There are a wide range of special needs out there and the diagnostic criteria is different for each. No parent in The world wants there child to have a special need or a disability . For most its a hard road to get a diagnosis and /or services for their child. It’s never something embarked upon lightly. So if your child has a difficulty in learning or development that needs addressing you just push ahead and get them everything you can in your power to help them. So no there are not too many kids in this category in fact due to red tape staff shortages and reduced funding there are very many more kids out there without their official diagnosis . Which likely means they can’t access the educational supports they need. It’s a big subject and there is lots of Info out there on the web
Good explanation Catherine.
Very well said but there are some people out there who have mild development issues and need some extra help in school say but you all know well how labels stay with that person for ever even if they don’t need help any more I think that is what she means about it
You even asked it yourself did we all remember someone falling through the cracks in school. So just proves that we all knew someone cause they stood out they were different in someway
Thank you ladies for your comments, I asked the thorny question because so many of our efforts to improve the lives of people in this tin-pot country are abused. I have very little faith in the ‘experts’ who meddle so much in folks lives and tend to question the methods and motivations especially when you dig down and find that the expert has done a six week course somewhere or other. Laurie has hit on the point I raised regarding mild development issues because I knew some familes who had children whose ‘problems’ vanished in a matter of months and I wonder if they had gone into the system would they have been stigmatised down the line because of this? It is astonishing to see the amount of information stored on people and how easy it is to gain access to it.
Well put
With the greatest of respect I sense you have never been down this path with a child of your own? If you have you would understand it is a very long process full of red tape and even longer waiting lists. No child is diagnosed who display only temporary issues / problematic behaviour etc. However early intervention DOES hugely help with these behaviours as well as the child’s development and potential. Every parent (whether their child has special needs or not) wants their child to reach their own potential and be an accepted and happy person, be it in school or later in life in the workplace etc. These services are vital for children with special needs. Often it is a relief when they are diagnosed as finally some help and resources are available after a long hard battle to get to that point.
“Often it is a relief when they are diagnosed as finally some help and resources are available after a long hard battle to get to that point.”
That long hard battle excludes the temporary difficulties that children often experience. I fought a short sharp one many years ago when I realised that I was dealing with [less said the better] and paid for a visit to a consultant who sorted things out in jig time
Morticia, the only person confusing ‘temporary glitches’ and longterm, permanent special needs is you. I’m sure there are many parents out there who wish their child’s challenges could be sorted out with a quick visit to a consultant. The truth is staring them in the face every day and keeping them from their sleep every night. It has them fighting like dogs for every measly scrap they can get to improve their childrens’ lives. It has raised their stress levels and alienated them from friends and family.
Do not come here and make little of the lives of others and question the diagnoses they have had to fight tooth and nail for. Not because it was ‘cool’ or they needed the attention or someone who had done a six-week course told them to. Because there was something wrong with their child and it wasn’t going away and it still hasn’t gone away. Ok?
You have high jacked this article for your own kicks and upset people by belittling the decisions they have made for their precious children. You must have little to do.
Thank you Denise for failing to see the point I am making. I have not come here to ‘make little of the lives of others and question the diagnoses they have had to fight tooth and nail for” Your attack on me is unwarrented.Calm down and look outside of your own problem
Morticia, are you for real?
You have made your point. Over and over again. We get it.
You however, don’t seem to get anyone else’s even after detailed explanations.
You continue to apply your own limited experience and cynicism to the experiences of parents with genuine problems. Go troll somewhere else.
Well said Denise
Once again, Limerick very poorly catered for. Up until now, Limerick was the only county in Ireland without a dedicated autism unit / classroom. Two schools in the whole county, both in NCW. Delighted for NCW but what about the rest of the county?
Red hill is not in NCW and its a dedicated Autism School its just beyond Raheen but nothing for secondary students though in the city.
It’s also been around for a few years
I know that Catherine but this article is about dedicated classes in mainstream schools.
See http://www.specialneedsparents.ie/the-facts/education/asd-units/#.Ui2xJ8Z02So for a list of existing and newly announced special classes.
There’s a list of all special classes on ncse.ie
There is no mention of increasing numbers of clinical supports offered to the children in these units. Whilst education can set up new units the hse is precluded from increasing the number of clinicians to support the units so most these units will have no slt or ot psychology etc
Just that Catherine x
This is good news but all I see is complaining from people that they are not getting services and moaning about labels. You lot are so lucky to have these services now for your children.
There were no support services 20 years ago. That is a fact of life. Early intervention is good and the best way to go.
I was commenting on the comment by Catherine sims which I thought was well put spent a lot of my pre retirement years working with special young people
There wasn’t no services even 14 years ago when my son was born . They did come on line but by bit. The parents of today should not be grateful for the bits of services they get. They should fight for everything their children needs and not settle for less and this is what they are doing. Our kids deserve the same chances in life as every other child. We are vocal about this and we are going away.
Was commenting on Catherine sims comment
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