The Power Of Education In Jimmy Baca's Coming Into Language

Changing the American Prison System Almost 50% of incarcerated Americans are reincarnated within 10 years. A depressing cycle that can be broken by investing in education. Education in prisons is extremely effective for the prisoners and for the justice system. Jimmy Baca’s “Coming into Language” demonstrates the unjust American prison cycle perfectly through his personal stories and thoughts. Baca deeply values education and attempts to gain one during his time in prison. Through his stories readers see how even small amounts of education will drive people to want to learn more. Jimmy Baca shows through personal experiences and moments how education in prison became his form of escape. He is able to overcome his extreme depression caused by abuse from the prison system solely through language. In Jimmy Baca’s, “Coming into Language”, his story demonstrates how the power of education can …show more content…
It leads to him begging for a grammar book and teaching himself everything he could possibly learn from one little book, “Pacing in my cell all day and most nights, I grappled with grammar until I was able to write” (Baca 55) ... Just with the start of one grammar book Baca was so driven to educated himself he was able to teach himself to write well enough to write “a long true romance confession” (Baca 55) for another prisoner exchange for cigarettes. The push he felt from education was incredible and inspired him to do more and learn more. Education became Baca’s inspiration it was his escape from the harsh reality of prison, “Through education I was free. I could respond, escape indulge; embrace or reject earth or the cosmos. I was launched on an endless journey without boundaries or rules” (Baca 55) … He felt able to express himself despite being confined to a small windowless cell. Baca became so driven by education and was so relaxed by it that it soon became his getaway from