I spent three years teaching young men between the ages of 16 and 18 in a public high school run by the New York City Depart-ment of Education on Rikers Island, one of the world's largest penal colonies. Because Rikers is a jail, all of my students were awaiting trial. Most of them had been … Continue reading Incarceration in America
Articles
What I Learned as a Kid in Jail
The Book. Look Inside:
Students Learn from the People They Love
I'm not a huge fan of David Brooks, but sometimes he gets it right. This is one of those times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/learning-emotion-education.html?ref=oembed
Judge Johnnie McDaniels on Juvenile Corrections
Don’t Blame the System?
The Daily Wire quotes Denzel Washington as saying, “Don’t blame the system for black incarceration. It starts at home.” No doubt, Denzel makes a good point. The thing is, he doesn’t take if far enough. Actually, he may take it far enough, but his views as they are presented by the Daily Wire do not take it … Continue reading Don’t Blame the System?
The New Plantation
The New Plantation: Lessons from Rikers Island is a memoir about my experiences as a teacher of 16 to 18 year old incarcerated males in a public high school on Rikers Island, one of the largest penal colonies in the world. It will be published by Deerbrook Editions in June of 2019. This blog deals with the … Continue reading The New Plantation
