Education for Prisoners? Over 2.2 million people are currently incarcerated in the United States (Borowski). Many of these prisoners leave prison with no real-world skills or education needed to succeed in the real world. But first, let me answer a question you may have: “Why should we care about these prisoners? They must’ve done something to warrant prison time!” Actually, about 70% of the US’s over 2.3 million prisoners were convicted of nonviolent offenses (“Prison Education Reduces Recidivism”) But, why educate them? I believe that we should be educating prisoners because it gives them skills needed to succeed in the real world, many jobs require a college degree, and higher education decreases recidivism.
First things first, prisoners who are arrested are much more likely to have little, if any, postsecondary education. In fact, “68% of State prison inmates did not receive a high school diploma” (Harlow). That means that these prisoners’ skills are very limited in many cases. This lack of education, plus the fact that they’ve been convicted of a …show more content…
There is a strong correlation between education and recidivism. In fact, for prisoners with only some secondary schooling the recidivism rate is 55% ("Prison Education Reduces Recidivism"). This means that our of every 1000 prisoners who lack a full GED, 550 of those prisoners will be sent to prison again. However, if you give prisoners access to college degree programs, you’ll see much different numbers. As a matter of fact, prisoners who have a bachelor’s degree only have a recidivism rate of 5.6% (Prison Education Reduces Recidivism"). That means only 56 out of every 1000 prisoners with a bachelor’s degree will be sent to prison again. That is a difference of 494 people out of every 1000!It is absolutely astonishing how something as simple as 4 extra years of schooling can impact the recidivism
First things first, prisoners who are arrested are much more likely to have little, if any, postsecondary education. In fact, “68% of State prison inmates did not receive a high school diploma” (Harlow). That means that these prisoners’ skills are very limited in many cases. This lack of education, plus the fact that they’ve been convicted of a …show more content…
There is a strong correlation between education and recidivism. In fact, for prisoners with only some secondary schooling the recidivism rate is 55% ("Prison Education Reduces Recidivism"). This means that our of every 1000 prisoners who lack a full GED, 550 of those prisoners will be sent to prison again. However, if you give prisoners access to college degree programs, you’ll see much different numbers. As a matter of fact, prisoners who have a bachelor’s degree only have a recidivism rate of 5.6% (Prison Education Reduces Recidivism"). That means only 56 out of every 1000 prisoners with a bachelor’s degree will be sent to prison again. That is a difference of 494 people out of every 1000!It is absolutely astonishing how something as simple as 4 extra years of schooling can impact the recidivism