At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. Our stories, our lives, they are influenced by a great number of people. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This July we issued $650,000 in grants in the US and around the world. In August 2022, BPI joined colleagues across the field in issuing public comments in response to the Department of Educations proposed regulatory language. College Behind Bars, an Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary about the transformative power of education. The men,ReadMore, College Behind Bars, a new PBS documentary executive-produced by Ken Burns, shines a light on a program that every major university in America should be sponsoring DAVIES: And from the graduation ceremony of the Bard Prison Initiative. And I got there, and I took the entrance exam and sat in my cell and waited for the acceptance letter. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. I mean, I think, you know, having taught in the program myself, you walk into class, and the students are there. And you see this room, and then all of a sudden, reality just comes crashing upon you. . The College: Comprehensive Academic Engagement. fevereiro 17, 2023; Posted by nene leakes father alan; 17 . And, you know, we came to feel that it was important for them to - and they also felt it was important for them to explain themselves, how they see themselves, where they've been, where they are, through the lens of the education that they've been getting and their perspectives that have shifted over time. DAVIES: Yeah. James Herriots adventures as a veterinarian in 1930s Yorkshire get a new TV adaptation. While my clothes are in the washer, because its right across the street from me, Ill run back upstairs and start cleaning my apartment for the week. DAVIES: And your dad went through some really tough times, sent you to Korea when you were little 'cause he was trying to find a way to keep things together. I think that realization came to me when I sat down and began writing my first cover letter and my first resume. TATRO: You know, this - I'm the first person in my family who's ever gone to college. YOON: Two more years after my bachelor's degree in 2017. I always thought that my logic and my feelings trumped others - no pun intended. I'm a college student. I mean, you both entered prison as teenagers, right? DAVIES: You know, I'd like, Sebastian and Dyjuan, to hear a little bit about how - reconciling with your families. I want that education. And it helped me understand my place in the world and activated me as a civically minded person. And you can just see it. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're discussing the new four-part PBS documentary "College Behind Bars." You are Korean American, right? How can we have justice without redemption? Ill fix me a scrambled egg with a cinnamon raisin bagel in my toaster. But I usually put on jazz or R&B. In early 2020 BPI began working with lawmakers to change Merit Board eligibility rules so that all incarcerated students can be eligible for early release based on earning college credits. SERIOUS READING I dont watch TV. This is a full-time and long-term and total commitment. Watch the full film and explore classroom-ready resources and activities. And one of the reasons that we had to focus so hard and have that - the discipline that we had in this program is so that we could focus on the work and get the work done in a place where there's a lot of stress, pressure and distractions. And she said, well, welcome to college. Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate. Prison has the worst coffee, oh, my goodness thats one of the things I think anybody would tell you. In 1993, Mr. Hall, then 17, was involved in a gunfight in Brooklyn, when a bullet fired toward him killed his neighbor instead. Good job. Prison is not an easy place to get an education. Just putting together the course was challenging, and working with the students over the course of the eight weeks that we taught was thrilling. Ken Burns is executive producer. Your support helps make this possible. You know, it's interesting. So just to have normal kind of conversation, people have to literally yell back and forth. NOVICK: Yeah, pretty much. And I wondered - I couldn't help but wonder when I went - when I submitted this application, would they see this and give me a chance for an interview had I not been able to write that I received a Bard bachelor's degree? TATRO: You know, I'm not taking it back to my cell and going to sleep with it. And I am the most proud father in the world. We're in the business of education. YOON: My fellow graduates, my friends, let me remind you that we have an obligation to share our stories and to uphold the idea that if we wish to have a better world, as we all do, then we must first change ourselves. TATRO: Having a liberal arts education has made me a much deeper thinker. While I have little tastes for things, I dont make an elaborate breakfast. The journey to bring "College Behind Bars" started in 2012, when Novick and producer Sarah Botstein were invited to give a lecture for BPI students. So I was charged at the age of 16 for manslaughter in the first degree, and I was sentenced to 15 years. Were they all like that, Lynn? College Behind Bars is an intimate look at the lives and experiences of a dozen BPI students and their families that confronts . YOON: I never stopped being a student. NOVICK: I'd just add that one of the really remarkable things about this program is that the admissions process is looking for people who have kind of intellectual curiosity and determination. They love the Bard Prison Initiative. This is FRESH AIR. YOON: So I believe that, you know, the degree is just a piece of paper, and I think there's too much significance tied to the degree. And they understand that research shows inmates who earn masters degrees behind bars have a 0% recidivism rate. GROSS: Lynn Novick speaking with Dave Davies. So how long does this take? Jule Hall walks through Sunnyside, Queens, his neighborhood. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment.. College-in-prison, which had been common in prisons across the country, collapsed. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment. And then they're like, strip. The ONLY thing I could find was the recent murder of the pregnant (at the time of filming) CO Breann Leath who apparently . Confronted with the "inhuman monotony" of life behind bars, Mr. Hall became a serious student, ultimately gaining admission to the Bard Prison Initiative, a competitive, full-time degree program run by Bard College. DAVIES: Tell us a little bit about the work you're doing. DAVIES: And have you both stayed in touch with folks you knew from the program and helped - people you helped? I guess you still treasure that moment, don't you? By Tyler Kendall January 17, 2020 / 2:19 PM / CBS News Dameon Stackhouse was several years into his. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COLLEGE BEHIND BARS"). TATRO: So I actually graduated with my BA after I was released from prison. After a break, they'll talk about getting their degrees, leaving prison and rejoining their families and how they think a liberal arts education changed them. They become the support system that we need to rely on. And so, you know, I think we always need to consider that we're not talking about people in prison getting a degree in isolation, you know? College Behind Bars remains - especially in the first episode - admirably focused on the practicalities of prison life and prison programmes. My family took care of me for 12 years while I was in prison, and now I'm in a position in life where I can support and be there for them. I wake up every morning and I realize Im free and Im just so grateful to be here.. College Behind Bars, the four-part documentary about the transformative power of education, premiered nationwide on PBS in November 25, 2019. Sign up for the College Behind Bars newsletter to learn more about the film and events nationwide. This film is about the transformative power of education while also confronting and challenging conventional thinking about the purpose of both education and incarceration. When kids stopped bothering me, I guess I started feeling this false sense of empowerment. And the Bard Prison Initiative has had 600 graduates be released over the last 20 years. And it's just really, really - has been so emotional for me to see their reaction and have their support through all this and be able to share so much positivity with them after having gone through so much darkness in life. Of course, I recognize where this comes from: I wasnt around children for 22 years. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. And that totally allowed me to reimagine myself. YOON: There's this moment where you walk past his door, and all you see is curtains and officers waiting in, like, rows. Helping prisoners go to college helps New York, Press Release: TURN ON THE TAP NY PRAISES GOVERNOR HOCHUL FOR INCLUDING TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR INCARCERATED NEW YORKERS IN BUDGET, WBAIs On the Count The Prison And Criminal Justice Report, BPI and College Behind Bars in The Appeal, College Behind Bars with Max Kenner and Sebastian Yoon. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. Reimagining the place of higher education. So I know when I was in college and I was reading Greek tragedy or Shakespeare or, you know, classic texts, it was just an assignment to me. Add College Behind Bars to your must watch list! We see him, don't we? I never saw a class where people weren't paying attention - not one - and we were in a lot of classes. College Behind Bars is directed and produced by Lynn Novick; produced by Sarah Botstein; edited by Tricia Reidy ACE; produced by Salimah El-Amin and Mariah Doran; original music by Jongnic Bontemps; cinematography by Buddy Squires ASC and Nadia Hallgren. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the four-hour film takes viewers on a stark and intimate journey into one of the most pressing issues of our time our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for the over two million Americans living behind bars. Episodes. SEBASTIAN YOON: When I first got into the Bard Prison Initiative, I honestly had low expectations of the program, and I think that's because, in general, as a prisoner, I had low expectations on life. Both of you went into prison as teenagers and came out as young men. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Incarcerated men and women in New York State are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous college programs in America. Or sushi, for that matter. In the fall of 2015, a maximum-security prison in New York invited Harvards debate team to compete against a squad of three incarcerated men. So it totally enthralled me and motivated me to go after this education with pure zeal. I don't see myself as a person. You know, Lynn Novick, I believe this project grew out of your own experience teaching a course, right? And as I move forward in life and as I work to be a part of this social justice reform movement, I feel very passionate about it and excited that we are going to make progress. We're going to start coursework Monday morning. I wish you continued success. Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. DAVIES: And if you're in class when it's time for a count, what happens? When Bard Prison Initiative Students Debated Harvard. Could you talk just a little bit about the process? And I will say this - when we started the project, sometimes people would say to us, oh, most people in prison will say that they're innocent and they didn't do the crime that they're there for. And so, you know, this experience has not only been personally rewarding and amazing for me. TATRO: No. I finished my degree in the spring of 2018. NOVICK: Yeah. 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