You know, I would go in and do all the work in a day or two, and the expectations were really, really low. Read the Interview in Mother Jones Post Date: 12-11-2019 Tune in for an unparalleled look inside @BPIBard, one of the most rigorous & challenging #CollegeInPrison programs. Let's listen. Directed by Lynn Novick and produced by Sarah Botstein, College Behind Bars profiles the Bard Prison Initiative, a Bard College program that extends its curriculum and has awarded nearly. And you see people on this kind of, like, exponential learning curve from places where they, you know, might not seem at first glance that they're ready for "college work," quote, unquote. In 1993, Mr. Hall, then 17, was involved in a gunfight in Brooklyn, when a bullet fired toward him killed his neighbor instead. This is the thing we know how to do, and we happen to do it here. Novick directed the four-part documentary "College Behind Bars," which airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. FUEL After Starbucks, Ill go home Im usually hungry by then. (SOUNDBITE OF ROBBEN FORD AND BILL EVANS' "PIXIES"). And I am the most proud father in the world. "College Behind Bars" follows students in the Bard Prison Initiative, a privately funded college program that began in 2001 in New York state prisons. And what's incredible is that you can also serve as tutors, so you're constantly working with other students who are trying to obtain their associate's degrees or bachelor's. And I think the answer is no. How Jule Hall, Graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative, Spends His Sundays, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/nyregion/jule-hall-college-behind-bars-pbs.html. As they begin their studies at Eastern and Taconic Correctional facilities, they discover that they will be held to the same high standards as Bard College students on the main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson. When incarcerated students from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Debate Union beat a team from Harvard, their victory made headlines around the world. DAVIES: This school also has graduation ceremonies, and this is very moving. How College in Prison Turns Around Lives and Saves Taxpayers Money, Knowledge & Redemption, A Conversation with Lynn Novick and Jule Hall, Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate. I had to show my passion. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. TATRO: You know, one of the great things about, you know, Bard is that it's recognized that it's not enough just to, you know, kind of issue a degree and give someone an education, send them back out into society. You're looking ahead. After graduation, there were like, 30, on each side of the shower room just waiting for you. As a result, the number of college-in-prison programs in New York fell from over 70 to 4. When I look at the scenes of the classroom in the documentary - it's a four-part documentary, and there are a lot of scenes - these classes are a lot more orderly and focused than I remember any of my college or high school classes being. Tell me how the experience compared with what you expected. So, to savor this rich, hot drink in my hand is so fabulous with cinnamon, not too much sugar. You know, I'm a brother. After returning home, BPI alumni become independent taxpaying citizens. And, you know, we came to feel that it was important for them to - and they also felt it was important for them to explain themselves, how they see themselves, where they've been, where they are, through the lens of the education that they've been getting and their perspectives that have shifted over time. But I needed that degree in order to get my first interview, and then I went to four more interviews after that where I was able to prove myself through speech. TATRO: You know, this - I'm the first person in my family who's ever gone to college. So within the prison context, you know, people know who the guys are in BPI, and they come to us for advice. Your purchase supports PBS and helps make our programming possible. It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? Recidivism rates skyrocketed for a variety of reasons, including this, and slowly, some privately funded programs started to come back in. Congratulations. SAVOR I usually order a venti Pike, not too strong. After a break, they'll talk about getting their degrees, leaving prison and rejoining their families and how they think a liberal arts education changed them. A new PBS documentary series follows prisoners who earn college degrees while serving time. That means that 50% to 60% of the 630,000 people who get out of prison every year are back in prison in three years. YOON: My fellow graduates, my friends, let me remind you that we have an obligation to share our stories and to uphold the idea that if we wish to have a better world, as we all do, then we must first change ourselves. On November 24, 1990, James Wiley armed himself with a shotgun and brutally shot down his stepmother and two brothers in their home in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Hold on. They worked with former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, whose dossier was leaked and published. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. The vast majority of people in this country that are incarcerated are going to be returning to society. TATRO: So I actually graduated with my BA after I was released from prison. Lynn Novick, Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, welcome to FRESH AIR. It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? What was that time like for you? Good job. Ken Burns is executive producer. I realized that all my experiences and my skills were related to prison work. Just putting together the course was challenging, and working with the students over the course of the eight weeks that we taught was thrilling. Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. And so the film ends up and their stories end up, you know, raising some really important questions about violence and about harm and incarceration, and what is prison for, and what is the value of education? They appear in the PBS documentary "College Behind Bars," directed by Lynn Novick. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. U.S. DAVIES: You know, I want to talk to you, Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, a bit about your lives. 56 views, 2 likes, 3 loves, 4 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from New&Living Way Gospel Temple: Sunday service I mean, I think, you know, having taught in the program myself, you walk into class, and the students are there. But that means a lot that weren't - probably some applied and did not get in. Im trying to act younger than my age, so I sometimes listen to trap music. James Wiley committed a heinous crime at 15 years of age. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. 27 2023 . Well, you know, for a number of the graduates - and this was true of Sebastian, not Dyjuan - there was this - there's this terrible paradox where, you know, the fact that you are completing your college degree and graduating doesn't mean that you are released from prison. Max is the founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative, and Rodney received his bachelor's degree from Bard College in 2017 through the Bard Prison Initiative. It adds stability. College Behind Bars, an Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary about the transformative power of education. DAVIES: You know, I was going to ask about relations with, you know, other prisoners. And in the context of the '90s and the tough-on-crime rhetoric and the super predator kind of, you know, demonization of people who have been convicted of crimes, as part of the Clinton crime bill, there was an amendment to withdraw eligibility for Pell grants for people who were in prison. The recent PBS series, "College Behind Bars," chronicles Mr. Hall's eventual parole and release in 2015. I go to bed around 9 or 10. The Residency leads to an ongoing community of practice that builds on over a decade of cultivating a nationwide network of leading universities and colleges in the field, through the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison. College Behind Bars, a four-part documentary film series directed by award-winning filmmaker Lynn Novick, produced by Sarah Botstein, and executive produced by Ken Burns, tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States the Bard Prison Initiative. NOVICK: You know, Sarah and I, when we got into the project, we were focusing on the transformational aspect of it, power of education, and what did it mean to get this education while in prison? By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. TATRO: And so I got to walk across the stage on Bard's Annandale campus with the other 400 students in my year in 2018. One of the toughest parts of living in Sunnyside, Mr. Hall said, is finding a vacant laundry machine. college behind bars where are they now. And so, you know, I think we always need to consider that we're not talking about people in prison getting a degree in isolation, you know? It is a marvelous new film by @KenBurns, @LynnNovick, and @sbotstein! In four years of study they become scholars, shatter stereotypes, reckon with their pasts, and prepare to return to society. They spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies. Like, that's who I am. The PBSand Emmy-nominated documentary "College Behind Bars" seeks to showcase the students of BPI as well as the need for more prison college programs throughout the country. The subjects and filmmakers reveal the inspiring story of how the power of education can change lives in College Behind Bars. For the NFLs My Cause My Cleats campaign, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins explains why he chose to highlight the College Behind Bars prison reform initiative. DAVIES: Yeah. Prison is not an easy place to get an education. They come to us for essay-writing classes and math tutoring so that they can prepare to get into the program themselves. The Bard Prison Initiative enrolls over 300 incarcerated students in six New York State prisons. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. - and wait until you get the all clear? DAVIES: Yeah, this business of counts - I mean, Sebastian Yoon, do you want to explain this? It took me six years to get from where I was to where Bard was. TATRO: They are like, congratulations. The subjects and filmmakers reveal how the power of education changes lives. DAVIES: Dyjuan Tatro, what was it like for you? College Behind Bars is the inspiring, emotional, and deeply human story of men and women struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes. Kind of how large are the classes? I'm a college student. You have this big smile on your face when you're leaving the auditorium and the mess hall. WASHER WARS After that, I will follow that bike lane back home and do my laundry. As you will see in the film, there's tremendous potential among incarcerated people. With Botstein onboard as a producer, Novick set out to direct what became the four-part PBS docuseries "College Behind Bars." Executive produced by Burns, the documentary examines mass. We, you know, without quite realizing at the beginning, have ended up exploring this really deep question. I had to write that I swept and mopped floors. I don't think I heard anybody use that as an excuse for committing crimes, though. college behind bars where are they now. And that had been true for over a generation, and it was well understood and accepted that education was an essential part of criminal justice and of rehabilitation. I'm a son. 4/22/2019 And then this changed in the . My family took care of me for 12 years while I was in prison, and now I'm in a position in life where I can support and be there for them. NOVICK: I was just going to chime in one other thing, which is I've heard Dyjuan, Sebastian and the other students, as well as Max, say that, you know, it also just sort of changes the culture of the whole facility and that, you know, there's something positive going on and that people don't want to get in trouble so that they have an opportunity to be there, to stay there and to potentially be involved in the program. Incarcerated are going to be returning to society going to be returning to.. York State prisons receive news and updates from BPI in people, institutions... 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