In Prison Establishments in Northern Ireland," May, 1988 (N
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Papers presented at the SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRISON EDUCATION of Interest to the Correctional Service of Canada Oxford, United Kingdom September 25-29, 1989 ir I /é 8'73 COln. ie erebeeto &tee Wee\POSO eautoete Mustbe outeedtete /9, 57 tee use. geheent aej eked Osee (i‘ Osee eel (I\ 2t\ &61$ eta ese0 Véeeee etxatioute 1 e *Yee Aotee de;\ Papers presented at the SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRISON EDUCATION ( Z, )6/; I .9g9 'e of Interest to the Correctional Service of Canada/ Oxford, United Kingdom September 25-29, 1989 L101-1ARY SOUCITOR GMERAL ce,±Am 21, 1595 - COLLICITEUR GEKERAL. oehm OTTAWA (WARM . I INDEX 1 le 11 BIBLIOGRAPHY Note: All of the following papers are available through Susan McIntosh, Secretary to the Director of Education and Personal Development, NHQ and the NHQ Library. They have also been for distribution to Regional Administrators. 1. Coakley, Catherine, "Creativity in Prisons," September, 1989 (Ireland) 2. Coleman, James E. and Evans, A. Donald, "The National Issues Forum: Promoting Learning and Developing Community in Prison," 1988 (U.S.A) 3. Continuing Education Service of Leeds City Council, "Education for Ex-0ffenders," summary of special project, July 1989 (U.K.) 4. Davis, Susan, "T.I.E. and the Ohio Plan: Blueprint for Success," September, 1989 (U.S.A.) 5. Dharmadasa, H.G., "Prison Education Work in Sri Lanka," September, 1989 (Sri Lanka) 6. Dunbar, Ian, "A Sense of Direction," HM Prison Service, October, 1985 (U.K.) 7. Duquid, Stephen, "Education for What? Curriculum Pedagogy and Program Objectives," September, 1989 (Canada). 8. Eggleston, Carolyn, "Curriculum Issues for the Incarcerated Handicapped Learner," September, 1989 (USA) 9. Garner, T.G., "Prison Education in Hong Kong: A Brief Historical Perspective," September, 1989 (China) 10. Germscheid, R.D., "Cognitive Development for Short-term Sentenced Offenders: Some Propositions," September, 1989 (Canada) 11. Hartl, Pavel, "Educational Strategies in Group Work with Recidivists," September, 1989 (Czechoslovakia) 12. Jenkins, Harold, "Evaluation of Prison Education Programs," September, 1989 (U.S.A.) 13. Langas, Asbjorn, "The Sharing of Responsibility between Authorities, Educational Institutions and Voluntary Organizations in the Rehabilitation of Prisoners - the Import Model," September, 1989 (Norway) 14. Littlefield, John, "Characteristics of the Ohio Inmate Intake Population and the Implications for Correctional Education Programming," September, 1989 (U.S.A.) 15. Mangara, Jumane Jadji, "The Role of Curriculum Development in Prison Education: The Tanzania Experience," September, 1989 16. McF Strain, J., "Education in Northern Ireland Prisons," September, 1989 (N. Ireland) 17. McCollum, Sylvia, "Mandatory Programs in Prisons - Let's Expand the Concept," August, 1989 (USA) 18. McDougall, C., "Anger Control Training with Young Offenders," April, 1989 (U.K.) 19. Miller, Helen, "Project Friends: The Development of a Program of Independent Study for Special Confinement Prisoners," May, 1989 (U.S.A.) 20. Morin, Lucien, "Education or the Violence of Justice," July, 1984 (Canada) 21. Neale, Kenneth and Normie, Gerald, "Strategies for Education within Prison Regimes: Comparative Approaches," July, 1984 (U.K.) 22. Report of a Working Party of the Northern Ireland Office, "Adult Basic Education in Prison Establishments in Northern Ireland," May, 1988 (N. Ireland) 23. Ripley, Paul, "Staff Development in Prison Education Departments," September, 1989, (U.K.) 24. Ross, Jacqueline, "Gender Studies and the Criminal Justice System - Implications for Prison Education," September, 1989 (U.S.A.) 25. Sedlak, Robert and Karcz, Stan, "Descriptive Study of Teaching Practices and Efficacy of Correctional Education," August, 1989 (U.S.A. 26. Semmens, R.A., "Program Strategies for Community Re: Integration of Prisoners," April 1989 (Australia) 27. Semmens, R.A., "Some Issues in Prison Education in Australia," September, 1989 (Australia) 28. Simon Fraser University, "University Prison Education in British Columbia," October, 1988 (Canada) 29. Suvaal, Robert, "Education in the Dutch Penal Institutions," September, 1989 (Holland) 30. Suvaal, Robert, "The Training Programme at the Experimental Day-Detention Centre in Rotterdam", September, 1989 (Netherlands) 31. Wolford, Bruce, "Correctional Staff Training in the United States: Delivery Systems for Specialized Groups," July, 1989 (USA) 32. Ziehart, Peter, "Education and Treatment," September, 1989 (Austria) CREATIVITY IN PRISONS Catherine Coakley, Education Unit, Cork Prison, Cork, Ireland (1) CREATIVITY IN PRISON "There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists. Once these were men who took coloured earth and roughed out the shape of a bison on the walls of a cave; to-day they buy their paints and design their posters for the Underground. They did many things in between. There is no harm in calling these activities art as long as we keep in mind that such a word may mean very different things in different times and places. And as long as we remember that Art with a capital A has no existence." 1 INTRODUCTION Creativity is the antithesis of imprisonment. Here is a system that tries to stifle creativity. Here is a place where all decisions are made for people, where there is great pressure to 'fit-in' and be the same because it is believed that there is great safety for everybody in conformity. In prison people are cut off from influences and stimulation. In this world, largely free from responsibilities, prisoners are encouraged to sit back and ' do their time'. Far from being encouraged to confront themselves in any way and come to terms with who they are, often prisoners will simplr see their sentence as a suspension of their 'real' lives and are content to drift along in this 'unreal' world of prison. Yet what is creativity if it isn't about making decisions, making choices, making a personal statement? It's about being open to stimuli and assimilating influences. It's about having enthusiasms, taking responsibility and taking risks. It is as Jimmy Boyle describes when he speaks of his work in sculpture, when he found a 'freedom of the mind, a sense of awareness and the pain that goes with it". 2 Within the prison system there are other kinds of prisons, like the one described in this poem: My prison is man made But the prison that's so painful Is the prison I have made for my soul. It closes around me at night. These walls are high too. They stretch up and all around Offering no escape to their weary prisoner. 3 Often the biggest obstacle to their own creativity are the prisoners themselves. In my experience prisoners are nothing if not resourceful and imaginative, whether in putting together a makeshift (21 radio or doing a painting or sculpture. But the prisoner who will be creative with wire and batteries may be the last person to attempt a painting or a poem. The preconceived ideas prisoners often have about what rear Art (with a capital A) should look like, will not allow them to lose face if, in their eyes, they fail to those preconceptions and paint a 'bad' picture or write a 'bad' poem. So one has to try to get beyond the barrier of the 'tough guy' image which prisoners often put between themselves and the world. Mountjoy is a very tough prison Where men cry at night with their tears. It's also a place for decisions The first being the sheding of tears. 4 Of course creative activity isn't like some antidote that will allow a person who has previously been repressed, to suddenly I express their feelings and thus change. But it is possible for a person to maintain a hard man image and still write poems like those quoted above. So some kind of balance is achieved, and a process of self-awareness, however tentative, has begun. A STRUCTURE FOR CREATIVITY Sometibes the fact that zreative activity may seem to be so much at odds with the rest of the prison, is its greatest attraction. Because then it offers at the very least an escape from that system, from the boredom, from the tension. Prisoners will come to an art class or a writing group for many different reasons. Why they come is not important. Simply,,they, are there and the possibilities are many. When I started working in Cork Prison there was no structure in the art class. Prisoners came to school each day and tried a bit of everything. So it" was necessary to create a structure because good art and good writing requires discipline and structure. But within this, there must be flexibility to allow for the many different needs of the pupils.