One of the most common stock images used by the San Quentin News website is that of a 17 century woodblock print of Fortuna and Sapientia - FATE & WISDOM. Critical thinking will not emerge on its own. Humans rarely abstract general principles from examples, therefore, we use STORY to help identify and formulate the common strategies and methods that underlie critical thinking. A significant aid to learning uses a narrative environment rich in retrieval cues, i.e., making use of associations. We call this narrative construct, story. … [Read more...] about RISK LITERACY: WOODBLOCK FORTUNA & SAPIENTIA
Education
Using poetry to build bridges
A Colorado group called Words Beyond Bars is building bridges between prisoners and the public through poetry. Words Beyond Bars (WBB) hosts a poetry-reading event every other month at a public library in partnership with another organization, Unchained Voices. Community members listen to the thoughts and words of the prisoners and write responses to the compositions. The feedback is then given to the incarcerated poets. “We build connections that our current injustice system endeavors to disrupt,” Elie Zwiebel, a member of the Words … [Read more...] about Using poetry to build bridges
The power of San Quentin’s Alcoholics Anonymous
It’s 1:30 on a Friday afternoon, and Alcoholics Anonymous is set to begin inside of the Addiction to Recovery Center at San Quentin. “Anonymity makes it comfortable for people to talk,” explains AA program director Carl P. “What is said or talked about in AA remains in AA. It’s the principle of all our traditions, because of its anonymous founding.” The core philosophy of AA is to place principle before personality, according to Carl P. His goal is to provide incarcerated men with a way to examine their relationships, how alcohol … [Read more...] about The power of San Quentin’s Alcoholics Anonymous
Reducing mass incarceration may reduce hunger and poverty
An analysis of multiple studies found that reducing mass incarceration could reduce hunger and poverty in the United States. Research analysts claim that if the U.S. had not escalated incarceration rates, poverty would have dropped by 20 percent between 1980 and 2004. Hunger and poverty in America are collateral consequences of mass incarceration, according to a report from the Bread for the World Institute (BWI), Mass Incarceration: A Major Cause of Hunger. Marlysa D. Gamblin, domestic advisor for policy and programs at BWI, … [Read more...] about Reducing mass incarceration may reduce hunger and poverty
21st Century programs graduate apprentices
More than a dozen inmates sat in the front row of a prison chapel on June 15 to graduate from one of three well-regarded 21st century training programs. Looking past the graduates to the men who had recently arrived in San Quentin, Warden Ron Davis said, “those of you not familiar with this prison, the guys in blue, this is a celebration of great programs.” Davis was referring to the programs that are helping men gain job skills for re-entry: Code.7370, a computer-coding class; The Last Mile Works (TLM Works), an employer of Code.7370 … [Read more...] about 21st Century programs graduate apprentices
PUP grads take center stage
“Pomp and Circumstance” played and everyone stood to applaud the Prison University Project’s (PUP) class of 2018 as they took center stage in San Quentin State Prison’s visiting room in June. Nine men graduated and received their Associative Arts degree from Patten University. One of the graduates, Gerald Morgan, welcomed his 98-year-old aunt, Juanita Stone, to attend the ceremony. “I’ve been to many graduations,” Stone said. “Patten University at San Quentin has been a category, well organized “I couldn’t be happier for Gerald’s great … [Read more...] about PUP grads take center stage
UK coding program takes its cues from The Last Mile
San Quentin’s pioneering training program teaching prisoners to write computer code has attracted attention in Great Britain, as well as other countries abroad. The new coding program in the UK was patterned after San Quentin’s Last Mile, a program which is now called Code.7370. The British program opened in the Her Majesty’s Humber Prison in the United Kingdom (UK). “I read about The Last Mile a couple years ago and asked if I could do something similar over here in Europe” “I read about The Last Mile a couple years ago,” Michael Taylor, … [Read more...] about UK coding program takes its cues from The Last Mile
San Quentin’s big transition as non-designated facility
San Quentin State Prison’s transition from a General Population (GP) facility to a non-designated programming facility has uncovered old prejudices and uncommon collaborations. The inmate response to the new housing designation is as diverse as the prison population. Most inmates have been indifferent to the inflow of newcomers, while others have been cautious and alert. Some prisoners transferred out of San Quentin because they did not want to deal with the unknown. Few inmates, and administrators, could predict what was going to … [Read more...] about San Quentin’s big transition as non-designated facility
Restorative Justice’s role in the #metoo movement
Darnell “Moe” Washington has walked the path of restorative justice by confronting a fellow inmate who had assaulted his aunt, sending her to the hospital, in a drug-induced rage in 2015. The person who attacked his aunt was transferred to San Quentin. Washington, relying on his Restorative Justice experience, approached the perpetrator and engaged him in a discussion of his crime. He was able to put the techniques into practice. “Forgiving someone who committed an atrocious crime against your loved one is hard to do, but the offender will … [Read more...] about Restorative Justice’s role in the #metoo movement
SQ’s Third Annual Gospel Music Workshop
A stream of more than 200 blue shirts flowed into San Quentin’s Garden Chapel June 23 for the Third Annual Gospel Music Workshop. As the men-in-blue took their seats, an unrehearsed Christian rap performance by inmate Calvin Johnson brought the younger members to their feet. “I was asked to sing something,” Johnson said after he entertained the head-bopping audience of black, white, Mexican and Asian inmates. “When God calls you, just answer the phone.” Johnson, 25, has been incarcerated almost six years. “What I’ve learned most about being … [Read more...] about SQ’s Third Annual Gospel Music Workshop