I am employed as an English as a Second Language/GED teacher in a correctional facility in Florida. I teach a class of hard-core criminals, some of them lifers, and considered the worst in the state. They were written off by other institutions as unable to function in the general population. It is my mission to help as many as I can to reach their educational goals.
I thought I could only attribute the fact that I can reach most of them to God’s grace and my 43-year experience as an educator. That is, until you entered the picture. One day we spent the whole three hours of my class reading the “Stupid Chivalry” chapter of your book “10 Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives.” We took turns reading and stopping from time to time to ponder certain points or to explain some vocabulary. My students were in awe! I must admit, I felt jealous. Up until then, only my teaching of algebra or the use of illegal drugs could induce such an elevated state of their collective mind! One of the inmates succinctly summed up his admiration by saying, “Man, how does she know that stuff?”
Well, Dr. Laura, you KNOW the stuff and you rock! Bless you for your unwavering efforts to reach yet another soul and alleviate suffering by bringing a true spirit of enlightenment into an ever-so-darkening world.
Marla
My Prisoner Students Are in Awe of You
