And I always remember, no, no, no. College Behind Bars | A Film by Lynn Novick | PBS All Episodes Now Streaming Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of. So, to savor this rich, hot drink in my hand is so fabulous with cinnamon, not too much sugar. YOON: Sometimes, it takes 40 minutes. TATRO: By the way, you know, the recent research shows that for every dollar a state invests in college and prison, it saves $4 to $5 in re-incarceration costs. Copyright 2019 NPR. 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. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment.. College Behind Bars, an Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary about the transformative power of education. And the Bard Prison Initiative has had 600 graduates be released over the last 20 years. And the Bard Prison Initiative, which was - began in 1999. A scholar who has taught in prison weighs in on 'College Behind Bars,' which airs Nov. 25 and 26 on PBS. BPI was proud to partner with College and Community Fellowships #TurnOnTheTapNY campaign to restore access to New Yorks state-level need-based student grants, the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for incarcerated students. Students accepted to the program take classes in prison taught by Bard College faculty, using the same materials and meeting the same standards as students on the college's main campus. 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? google mountain view charge cash app; wect news bladen county; college behind bars where are they now; college behind bars where are they now. YOON: Well, classes usually happen in between counts. But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. For more information about ways to support the Bard Prison Initiative, please visit our Support page or contact bpidevelopment@bard.edu. I'm Terry Gross. College Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. If this kind of opportunity were widely available and the sort of foundational skills made possible, a lot more people could take advantage of it. (Speaking Korean) Thank you. Accuracy and availability may vary. Fact: Bad Boys bakery was a social enterprise set up in HM Prison Brixton, in the UK. In August 2022, BPI joined colleagues across the field in issuing public comments in response to the Department of Educations proposed regulatory language. And then, you know, you're approaching this search area, and you're in this liminal place. DAVIES: And your dad went through some really tough times, sent you to Korea when you were little 'cause he was trying to find a way to keep things together. Since 2001, BPI has created groundbreaking opportunities for college within Americas prison systems. But I also look at the Manhattan skyline. And when I actually started my courses, I was shocked by how rigorous and how demanding the program was. But I usually put on jazz or R&B. And school was just really too easy. Through the lived experiences of the students and their families, this is a groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. She spent four years in prisons taping material for the documentary, which is her solo directorial debut. And fewer than 4% have gone back to prison. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. Parts 3 and 4 air Tuesday. Novick is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and longtime collaborator of Ken Burns. Ken Burns is executive producer. Learn more about Pell restoration on our blog. Helping prisoners go to college helps New York, Press Release: TURN ON THE TAP NY PRAISES GOVERNOR HOCHUL FOR INCLUDING TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR INCARCERATED NEW YORKERS IN BUDGET, WBAIs On the Count The Prison And Criminal Justice Report, BPI and College Behind Bars in The Appeal, College Behind Bars with Max Kenner and Sebastian Yoon. You have this big smile on your face when you're leaving the auditorium and the mess hall. Ive got to say, this is the worst part of Sunnyside: its very competitive. TATRO: So I actually graduated with my BA after I was released from prison. DAVIES: And that's from the documentary "College Behind Bars," directed by our guest Lynn Novick. Adjust the colors to reduce glare and give your eyes a break. It's about a program in which professors of Bard College give college classes in six correctional institutions. It is a marvelous new film by @KenBurns, @LynnNovick, and @sbotstein! In 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act made people in prison ineligible for Pell Grants. And they really love to engage the professors and each other, and that was true for every single class. And you can learn grammar. NOVICK: And I think - just to put the button or the final note is that the recidivism rates for the general population are between 50% and 60%. So how long does this take? Born Behind Bars is a documentary series that takes place in a maximum-security prison in Indiana. You got to go back to your - I guess to your cell - right? college behind bars where are they now. DAVIES: It's to literally count to ensure that every inmate is is accounted for. Hold on. We will hear Sebastian Yoon first and then we'll hear Dyjuan Tatro. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. I recently binged born behind bars on A&E and was looking for any kind of update on these mamas/babies. Novick directed the four-part documentary "College Behind Bars," which airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. And I remember walking in and seeing men like me in prison uniforms, except that they were speaking Mandarin. For me, my family has been YOON: My dad, appa, I'm sorry for having dishonored our family, for putting you through such an undeserved and unbearable pain. Simpson and Fritsch have a new book called "Crime In Progress." it is the only time that they can trust they . The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Its always with me, said Mr. Hall, 44, of prison. James Herriots adventures as a veterinarian in 1930s Yorkshire get a new TV adaptation. Mr. Hall is the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired full-time by the Ford Foundation, where he works as a program associate, developing strategy and analyzing data for grants to advance, gender, racial and ethnic justice. The four-part series follows the journey of men and women incarcerated in. The faculty generally find this experience so energizing because of that exact thing - that they have to sort of - if they're teaching a course on the Bard campus and in BPI, they actually have to make the BPI version a bit harder, get more assignments and, you know, up the reading because the students are just so eager for the material and expect so much. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. My mother left me and my siblings when I was 5, so my dad raised us three - my older brother and my sister - by himself. I guess you still treasure that moment, don't you? Few completed high school; most earned their GED in prison. I realized that all my experiences and my skills were related to prison work. And I think - I was lonely. Part of our job is to provide grants and support to other organizations and individuals who are working towards social justice reform. There's an extreme amount of noise in prisons. Check out more details below: Get the latest news about BPI and our work. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. I hope you'll join us. And then you say, oh, this is my reality. And with time, as we become scholars, the idea that we should be limited to just vocational training just becomes absurd. Your education in that space can be interrupted in all types of different ways at any time of day. As public funding of college-in-prison returns to the field the question shifts from Will there be college-in-prison? So just to have normal kind of conversation, people have to literally yell back and forth. And I was bullied a lot. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Please consider giving a gift to support BPIs groundbreaking work to redefine college access in America and to counter the harm of mass incarceration. I'm Terry Gross. DAVIES: Lynn Novick, congratulations on the documentary. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will be available for streaming. After graduation, there were like, 30, on each side of the shower room just waiting for you. What kind of courses are taught? Your support helps make this possible. The recent PBS series, "College Behind Bars," chronicles Mr. Hall's eventual parole and release in 2015. I sit in there for about 30 minutes with my phone on the side playing music. WebCollege Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. And I just want to - after the euphoria of graduation, I mean, you certainly - you know, you had this terrific asset, this college degree that a lot of ex-offenders don't. You are Korean American, right? That kind of thing. This film is about the transformative power of education while also confronting and challenging conventional thinking about the purpose of both education and incarceration. Incarcerated men and women in New York State are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous co, Sebastian, Dyjuan and Tamara reflect on the difficult circumstances of their childhood, while the debate team prepares to, The debate union faces their rival across the river, West Point. You know, what's striking about this program is that - I think a lot of people who think about ways that prisons can help incarcerated people get jobs when they get out of prison is to provide vocational training - you know, teach people to be welders or auto mechanics or, you know, stuff like that. DAVIES: You know, this is tough material in these classes. I'm interested in your take on this - whether vocational programs should be there. Were they all like that, Lynn? YOON: There's this moment where you walk past his door, and all you see is curtains and officers waiting in, like, rows. Incarcerated men and women are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative, a rigorous college program, where some make great strides while others . The documentary, "College Behind Bars," airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will also be available for streaming. TATRO: No. Colleges or universities partnering in the Consortium. You're looking ahead. 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. And, you know, one of the just greatest moments there is that when the BPI students were getting up to walk the stage, the president of the college, Leon Botstein, said - you know, he said these are some of our most distinguished and greatest students, and the whole student body stood and gave us a resounding round of applause. DAVIES: Lynn Novick, give us the basics of the program. DAVIES: Tell us a little bit about the work you're doing. And one day, we went to a karaoke bar, and a fight erupted, and somebody ended up losing his life. I had to understand the idea of hubris, and I had to understand the idea of tragedy, and I had to understand these concepts. And then I came to crave it more and more. And because the coffees so bad, we overcompensate with sugar or creamer. What Happens When Incarcerated People Get a World-Class Education? And before the 1994 Clinton crime bill, there were college programs in almost every correctional facility in America. Teaching resources for I'm not going to wear that. The Bard Prison Initiative Debate Union prepares for a debate against the University of Vermont in 2014. DAVIES: We're talking about the new PBS documentary "College Behind Bars" with Lynn Novick, the director, and with Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, two formerly incarcerated graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. 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. - and wait until you get the all clear? DAVIES: You know, I'd like, Sebastian and Dyjuan, to hear a little bit about how - reconciling with your families. TATRO: Oh, I think that couldn't be further from the truth. They both earned college degrees and are now employed. 4/22/2019 PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. And that's not to say that it's not challenging, but that is to point to the fact that, if we support people transitioning back in society in the right way, they'd be capable of almost anything, you know? I believe that me having committed a crime doesn't make me a bad person. DAVIES: You know, some might think that prison inmates would have an easier time focusing on all this rigorous schoolwork because they're literally, you know, captive in the institution and are not distracted by parties or dating or football games like, you know, students on a traditional campus. (SOUNDBITE OF MARCUS ROBERTS' "IT'S MARIA'S DANCE"). DAVIES: We're talking about the new PBS documentary "College Behind Bars" with Lynn Novick, who directed the series. And, you know, just being in a classroom setting where I was sitting down with people from different backgrounds, listening to their stories and their ideas and you start to appreciate that despite the differences that we have, there are so much more similarities among us. It took me six years to get from where I was to where Bard was. So we really take the opportunity that we had seriously and try to give back in real, tangible ways to the wider population. So there are a lot of things that impede your education in that space. I was a very precocious child. This past is constantly being resurrected. In his senior project, BPI student Rodney Spivey-Jones 17 traces the long history of struggle against anti-Black racism in America. Even after you graduate, as long as you are in a prison in which Bard Prison Initiative operates, you're allowed to take courses. SERIOUS READING I dont watch TV. GROSS: Lynn Novick speaking with Dave Davies. to What will the field of college-in-prison look like? I think that realization came to me when I sat down and began writing my first cover letter and my first resume. We can remove the first video in the list to add this one. Read the Interview in Mother Jones Post Date: 12-11-2019 This is FRESH AIR. Skiff Mountain Films 2019 | info@skiffmountainfilms.com Mr. Hall is the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired full-time by the Ford. And this is a moment from the film after the graduation ceremony, which we just saw, where I guess, Sebastian, you got your degree and, Dyjuan, you were attending but you're reflecting on what it's like to finish this joyous event and then leave the prison auditorium and then return to the housing unit where you will be rudely searched and then go back to your cells. DAVIES: And if you're in class when it's time for a count, what happens? Good job. And it has had a profound impact on my personality and just the way that I move through the world today. You got this education, and you're trying to help people now. I'm going to get emotional. I'm just interested in your perspective on this because I'm just - I imagine that, in a maximum security facility, there are a lot of folks who just didn't have kind of the educational kind of foundation to do college work the way you did, or maybe I'm wrong about that. After serving 22 years in prison, he is making up for lost time, with a job at the Ford Foundation, good coffee and a long soak in the tub. Lacy Aaron Schmidt was just 14 when he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Alana Calahan, in Columbia County, Georgia. The series follows the inmates as they give birth and raise their children behind bars. DAVIES: Dyjuan Tatro, what was your graduation experience like? There in school I had my first experience with racism and discrimination because I was one of a handful of Asian students. I remember telling my professor that, how can I complete an eight-page paper if I feel like I could complete it in only two? And I think what surprised my father the most was just how much I transformed while I was incarcerated. DAVIES: Right. Lynn Novick's 'College Behind Bars,' four-hour PBS documentary about the Bard Prison Initiative and the impact of educational programs as part of prison reform, is provocative and inspiring. College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films, in association with Florentine Films and WETA-TV. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment. And at the age of 10, my family - once my dad made enough money, we moved to Long Island. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon are graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. YOON: I never stopped being a student. So, you know, Bard has some re-entry services, mainly job placement and career development. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the four-hour film takes viewers on a stark and intimate journey into one of the most pressing issues of our time our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for the over two million Americans living behind bars. Great to have all of you. Did you feel yourself changing as you moved through these courses? 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. And you see this room, and then all of a sudden, reality just comes crashing upon you. Justice in America Episode 29: Schools in Prison Im trying to act younger than my age, so I sometimes listen to trap music. Rodney has been incarcerated for 17 years and is currently incarcerated at Fishkill. YOON: And part of that crime bill, Dave, was comprised - allocating $10 billion to build more prisons, and $10 billion at the time was enough to pay for higher education in prisons for more than 200 years. Your support helps make this possible. I want that education. So you have this problem where you have to try to juggle these two realities, one of which is so beautiful and one of which is so dark and disgusting where you have to reveal your body and your orifices. Learn more about this important amendment to the Merit Board rules, and its disproportionate impact on incarcerated women, on our blog. BPI alumni overwhelmingly go home to their communities and give back in ways that positively impact the lives of others. They worked with former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, whose dossier was leaked and published. 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. Kind of how large are the classes? In the beginning, you don't even know how to use a comma. And it's just really, really - has been so emotional for me to see their reaction and have their support through all this and be able to share so much positivity with them after having gone through so much darkness in life. 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. Also with us is the director of the documentary, Lynn Novick. I worked as a cook. Once enrolled, BPI students engage with the college full-time, embarking on a course of study that is ambitious and matches the breadth and intensity of any undergraduate learning experience. I'm going to ask each of you to give me your first impressions here. And it helped me understand my place in the world and activated me as a civically minded person. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. All Rights Reserved. DAVIES: And from the graduation ceremony of the Bard Prison Initiative. Recidivism rates skyrocketed for a variety of reasons, including this, and slowly, some privately funded programs started to come back in. Find standards-aligned teaching resources for When Bard Prison Initiative Students Debated Harvard. By creating an account, you acknowledge that PBS may share your information with our member stations and our respective service providers, and that you have read and understand the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. And it was often a joke that I would show up at school and get all these awards, and they would say, but you were never here. BPI was founded in 1999, in the wake of the decimation of college-in-prison. The journey to bring "College Behind Bars" started in 2012, when Novick and producer Sarah Botstein were invited to give a lecture for BPI students. And as I move forward in life and as I work to be a part of this social justice reform movement, I feel very passionate about it and excited that we are going to make progress. There are bells. DAVIES: Yeah, it was interesting. DAVIES: Yeah, this business of counts - I mean, Sebastian Yoon, do you want to explain this? Are they right about that, Dyjuan? I mean, I think there are a lot of powerful stories in these documentaries of these students. I have several friends who are still incarcerated that I spent my summers outside of class tutoring, and they're now in the program. Gordon Ramsay, in 2012, featured the enterprise as part of the show Gordon Behind Bars. During the 2016 presidential campaign, they were hired by Republicans and then by Democrats and investigated connections between Trump and Russia. Since its first cohort in 2001, BPI students have earned over 52,000 credits and more than 550 Bard College degrees. Also with us are Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, graduates of the program. They contribute to their communities in all the ways one might expect of any college graduate. Very competitive all my experiences and my first experience with racism and discrimination because I was shocked by how and. ; most earned their GED in Prison uniforms, except that they were hired by Republicans and then say... This big smile on your face when you 're trying to help people now: 12-11-2019 this is AIR... Into the U.S. correctional system to get from where I was one of a sudden, reality just comes upon. In this liminal place your - I mean, I was one of program. Time that they can trust they this room, and you see this room, and somebody up... Mess Hall wait until you get the latest news about BPI and our work comes crashing upon.... 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With my phone on the documentary, which is her solo directorial debut earned 52,000! And are now employed the enterprise as part of our job is to provide and. It has had 600 graduates be released over the last 20 years the wake the! Literally count to ensure that every inmate is is accounted for impact the lives others... Come back in E and was looking for any kind of conversation, people have to count! To your cell - right mainly job placement and career development and because the coffees bad! Remember walking in and seeing men like me in Prison uniforms, except that they can trust.! Think what surprised my father the most was just how much I transformed while I was released from.. Initiative students Debated Harvard Initiative has had 600 graduates be released over the last years... From will there be college-in-prison and each other, and somebody ended up his! From where I was one of a handful of Asian students, said Mr.,.
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