Peer Tutors

Formal peer tutoring (prisoner to prisoner) occurred in two of the sites. Informal tutoring was observed to occur naturally in three of the institutions where seating facilitated this (ie. Four or five students seated around a square or round table. The choosing of a peer tutor is a task which cannot be taken lightly within prison. In addition, factors such as security, effective literacy tutors need to be sensitive to adult learning issue. One teacher indicated that peer tutoring is invaluable in providing prisoners a way of tutoring without "dominating." She advised,

Many men think - oh yes - they're smart and they'll come and lick 'em into shape and they'll tell them what to do. Well that's not the type of tutor you want.

At Rockwood, six peer tutors recently took training from a Winnipeg tutoring program.

Marianne Paul's (1991) comments are important within this context. She writes that "prison is an environment that feeds upon weaknesses. Building walls around oneself helps to disguise those things that will, in all likelihood, be perceived as weaknesses by others. Illiteracy is one of those things. ... It takes courage for the person in the community to seek help reading and writing. The need for courage is even greater for those in jail, where there are few secrets, and there is little tolerance for "weaknesses."" (p. 25)

Reasons for School Attendance in Prison

Focus groups, followed by individual interviews, were used to gather data from prisoners regarding reasons for attending school in prison. The expressed reasons for school attendance in prison were as varied as were the individuals themselves.

For some, it is a chance to try for a second time at what was a failure the first time. Exposing past failures within the prison environment necessitates the need to "save face."Considerable apprehension is typical for new students. However, the desire to learn appears to outweigh these anxieties, and the need for a safe learning environment cannot be overstated.

Adults often come into learning situations with fear and apprehension following a long history of failure. It takes a great deal of courage to admit their needs and ask for assistance. Once in a program, some may exhibit negative attitudes because of their past failures(Manitoba Education and Training). One advice from an adult literacy guide states,

Adult learners usually have definite goals when starting an educational program. These goals may include self improvement, getting a driver's licence, reading to their children, improving job skills, getting a job or a promotion, getting a high school diploma or equivalent (Manitoba Education and Training, p. 55).