By Erinn Klein
I recently found a great article from National Geographic about an innovative prison program taking place in several Indiana penitentiaries. Specifically Level 4, Maximum-Security-Solitary-Confinement type places. Laura Bates, a professor at Indiana State University, has been teaching Shakespeare to prisoners in these super-max facilities for the past fifteen years. She guides them in reading a play and then discussing it, and encourages the prisoners to connect what they’ve been reading to their own lives. Bates insists that the inmates are people who “need education the most” (Berlin).
Interestingly, teaching Shakespeare to prisoners isn’t unique-- there are actually similar programs in 11 states and a handful of countries, but what makes Bates’ program special is that she includes text analysis and critical thinking and rewriting the plays as ways for the prisoners to connect to Shakespeare’s words. Discussion follows every reading, and then the prisoners actually rewrite the plays in their own language. Themes like violence, gangs, and revenge are common. Many of the students are learning that what was true back then is often true now, and that they can use these themes to evaluate their own values and choices. One prisoner and member of the program said: “I want to remove the influence argument and leave Macbeth to stand on his own for his behavior. As I've tried to do myself. I'm still finding reasons for why I behaved the way I did."
Bates also says that the simple act of bringing the inmates together as a group is beneficial to them so that they may learn to be productive members of a larger society. “Prior to the program, says Bates, the 20 inmates who spent the most time with Shakespeare had had more than 600 write-ups for violent behavior. During and after the program, they totaled just two—for cell-phone possession” (Berlin). The program teaches a lot of prisoners serving life sentences, but the ones that do get out often have a reduced recidivism rate. And not only are they less violent while in prison, but some of those inmates in the program who are lucky enough to get out are doing amazing things with their freedom. One of the original members of the program, a repeat offender, is having his interpretations of the Shakespearean works he’s read cited in scholarly papers and at conferences. He’s written 37 synopses and 13 workbooks, all of which Bates uses in her own college classes.
Teaching Shakespeare to prisoners may seem odd, yes. But it’s having amazing results, and Bates’ program is spreading. Other professors are starting to initiate similar programs in other prisons. And I think it’s high time we bring education to the people who need it and have the least access to it. You don’t have to teach them about the whole world-- just teach them enough for them to begin to immerse themselves in it. Shakespeare’s magical prose is not only changing the way prisoners are learning and being taught, but it’s even changing the way they view the world itself. And I think this is a very powerful thing.
I recently found a great article from National Geographic about an innovative prison program taking place in several Indiana penitentiaries. Specifically Level 4, Maximum-Security-Solitary-Confinement type places. Laura Bates, a professor at Indiana State University, has been teaching Shakespeare to prisoners in these super-max facilities for the past fifteen years. She guides them in reading a play and then discussing it, and encourages the prisoners to connect what they’ve been reading to their own lives. Bates insists that the inmates are people who “need education the most” (Berlin).
Interestingly, teaching Shakespeare to prisoners isn’t unique-- there are actually similar programs in 11 states and a handful of countries, but what makes Bates’ program special is that she includes text analysis and critical thinking and rewriting the plays as ways for the prisoners to connect to Shakespeare’s words. Discussion follows every reading, and then the prisoners actually rewrite the plays in their own language. Themes like violence, gangs, and revenge are common. Many of the students are learning that what was true back then is often true now, and that they can use these themes to evaluate their own values and choices. One prisoner and member of the program said: “I want to remove the influence argument and leave Macbeth to stand on his own for his behavior. As I've tried to do myself. I'm still finding reasons for why I behaved the way I did."
Bates also says that the simple act of bringing the inmates together as a group is beneficial to them so that they may learn to be productive members of a larger society. “Prior to the program, says Bates, the 20 inmates who spent the most time with Shakespeare had had more than 600 write-ups for violent behavior. During and after the program, they totaled just two—for cell-phone possession” (Berlin). The program teaches a lot of prisoners serving life sentences, but the ones that do get out often have a reduced recidivism rate. And not only are they less violent while in prison, but some of those inmates in the program who are lucky enough to get out are doing amazing things with their freedom. One of the original members of the program, a repeat offender, is having his interpretations of the Shakespearean works he’s read cited in scholarly papers and at conferences. He’s written 37 synopses and 13 workbooks, all of which Bates uses in her own college classes.
Teaching Shakespeare to prisoners may seem odd, yes. But it’s having amazing results, and Bates’ program is spreading. Other professors are starting to initiate similar programs in other prisons. And I think it’s high time we bring education to the people who need it and have the least access to it. You don’t have to teach them about the whole world-- just teach them enough for them to begin to immerse themselves in it. Shakespeare’s magical prose is not only changing the way prisoners are learning and being taught, but it’s even changing the way they view the world itself. And I think this is a very powerful thing.