Education staffer Hazel Koons has been laid off amid budget cuts, but she says she has learned how important learning is to prison inmates.
After she began working here two years ago, Koons said she began noticing her students excelling in their academic learning. She says tutoring prisoners of San Quentin has been very rewarding.
“They were taking their life experiences and relating them to what they were learning. I was seeing the lights,” she said.
One thing Koons said she learned while working at San Quentin is the media misrepresent the whole picture of the person in prison; the character of the person going to prison stops with the headline when he or she is found guilty.
“Inmate identity is very generalized, meaning that within the prison you’re differentiated by your sentence and the time you’re doing,” Koons said. “But the media and the legislation portray inmate identity as one blanket person, that being a criminal.”
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
When asked how her friends and family responded to her decision to work at San Quentin, she said her friends did not want to talk about it but her family was supportive.
“Once I made the choice they wanted me to have physical exposure,” she said. “It’s called immersion, getting in there and doing it.”
For Koons, immersion is also a part of being a community activist: “I’ve always had a strong identity in standing up and taking in what I’ve learned then speaking about it.”
She said being a community activist prepared her to work in this environment. “There were times when it was tough, but once I got into tutoring, the men were eager to learn, (and) I knew I could handle it,” she said.
In the beginning, the person who guided her was Ted Roberts, who was the principal when she started.
“When I started here two years ago, Roberts was the biggest gogetter. He would definitely make phone calls,” Koons said. “Roberts was a man who thought outside of the walls and made positive things happen here.”
However, what troubled Koons were supervisors whose agendas were not aligned with education.
GREAT TUTOR
Tom Bolema, literacy coordinator for the Robert E. Burton School at San Quentin, said Koons is on her way to becoming a great teacher because she was such a great tutor.
“Hazel’s a natural,” said Mr. Thomas, a teacher for Robert E. Burton Adult School of Education. “She had an ability to check for understanding when working with students. Many teachers will teach a lesson and expect the student to understand, and they do not.”
San Quentin resident Orlando Harris, who worked with Koons, said she was smart and always wanted to help.
“She always wanted to affect positive change in the classroom and in our lives,” said Harris. “She’ll be sorely missed.”
Koons said her plans definitely include continuing as an educator.
“I love being a teacher,” said Koons. “I’m a trans-national feminist. I believe education is important for all who are incarcerated, especially women.”
WOMEN’S ISSUES
“Women’s issues cross borders, meaning that one woman’s struggle here is no different from another woman’s struggle in another country. The same goes for rehabilitation,” said Koons. “I felt that rehabilitation was important, so I applied here, and after I got the job, I moved up here.”
