Hi Andrea,

 

Thanks for posing this question, and now let me admit that this is a difficult question for me. First, I'm suffering from the anxiety that this isn't just an opinion question, but that there is some right answer out there and I simply don't know it.  Also I don't think the skills I would list for teaching incarcerated women would differ from the skills I would list for teaching any adult learners. And then to distinguish the "most important" ones is also a difficult task for me.  In my Methods of Teaching Adults class, which is a graduate level course I teach, I rely on the texts of Jane Vella, Daniel Pratt, et al, and Parker Palmer, so I'm sure their work is informing my thinking here.  I am not sure if these are skills as much as they are attributes I would want teachers of incarcerated women (or perhaps any population) to possess, but I would top my list with compassion, empathy, courage, a willingness to take a gender-responsive approach to teaching and learning.  I believe all of these are consistent with feminist jurisprudence.  And let me clarify what I mean by a gender-responsive approach to teaching and learning.  Often educational programs are tried first in male institutions and then simply imported into women's prisons without ever taking into consideration the learning needs of the women. I believe the interests and needs of women is an important component to take into consideration when working with women inmates.  I would also add to that list of skills/attributes an ability to expect great things from all students and to see the women learners first and foremost as students not just as inmates.  

 

I would argue that teachers of women inmates need to grapple with the ways gender, race, class, sexuality and the intersections of all of these social constructs matter.  I think it is also important for teachers to recognize and acknowledge the offender-victim path that many women inmates experience.  Women inmates are unique in that as offenders they are also often victims of crime.  A survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics cited that 57% of State female inmates and 40% of Federal female inmates reported being physically and/or sexually abused before incarceration.  A study conducted by the American Correctional Association found that over 60% of girls in juvenile correctional programs reported prior physical abuse and 54% reported prior sexual victimization. 

 

Then I would take it a step further and say that after examining and acknowledging the roles of victim-offender, teachers must help students to transcend these roles.  I believe there is such a place as after, and as a teacher, I want my students to come to know that place as well.  

 

Best,

Dominique

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Andrea Wilder
Sent: Mon 2/12/2007 3:29 PM
To: Women and Literacy Discussion List The Poverty Race
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 486] Working with incarcerated women



Hi Dominique,

I am interested to know what skills do you think are most important for
adult teachers of incarcerated women?

Thanks.

Andrea

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