Let's get back to the interview FRESH AIR's Dave Davies recorded with Lynn Novick, director of the new PBS documentary "College Behind Bars," and Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, two graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. When incarcerated students from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Debate Union beat a team from Harvard, their victory made headlines around the world. And I think it bred for me empathy, which is something that I didn't have a lot of when I was a teenager. The type of things that are available to people in prison currently are somewhat outdated. And one of the things that I saw as I watched the four episodes - and this reminded me of - I taught middle school and high school many, many years ago. Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon are graduates of the Bard Prison Initiative. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. You got to go back to your - I guess to your cell - right? NOVICK: You know, Sarah and I, when we got into the project, we were focusing on the transformational aspect of it, power of education, and what did it mean to get this education while in prison? So it totally enthralled me and motivated me to go after this education with pure zeal. college behind bars where are they now. Lacy Aaron Schmidt was just 14 when he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Alana Calahan, in Columbia County, Georgia. She spent four years in prisons taping material for the documentary, which is her solo directorial debut. Im trying to act younger than my age, so I sometimes listen to trap music. Recidivism rates skyrocketed for a variety of reasons, including this, and slowly, some privately funded programs started to come back in. And one day, we went to a karaoke bar, and a fight erupted, and somebody ended up losing his life. Parts 3 and 4 air Tuesday. DAVIES: Yeah. To learn more about the restoration of TAP, read Jessica Neptunes the Director of National Engagement blog post here & Executive Director, Max Kenners, letter to our supporters here. Meet the cast of Behind Bars: Rookie Year on A&E. Get season by season character and cast bios and more only on A&E. So currently, I work as a program specialist with the Democracy Fund of Open Society Foundations, which is one of the biggest philanthropic organizations in the world. It's always a seminar style. ALBANY,ReadMore, Tags: CCF, College in Prison, Press Release, TAP, Turn on the Tap, In this episode, listen to an in-depth conversation with Max Kenner '01, alumnus Dyjuan Tatro '18, and Vivian Nixon, Executive Director of College & Community Fellowship who discuss the impact of federal Pell Grant restoration; what's next for TAP restoration in New York; theReadMore, The Appeal featured several segments about BPI in two Justice in America podcast episodes, as well as an op-ed. College Behind Bars, the four-part documentary about the transformative power of education, premiered nationwide on PBS in November 25, 2019. We always have to be mindful of how those people like myself are returning back to their communities and back to their families. All these things are intersecting and overlapping. Incarcerated men and women in New York State are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous co, Sebastian, Dyjuan and Tamara reflect on the difficult circumstances of their childhood, while the debate team prepares to, The debate union faces their rival across the river, West Point. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. DAVIES: There was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common. This is FRESH AIR. Born Behind Bars is a documentary series that takes place in a maximum-security prison in Indiana. NOVICK: Yeah, pretty much. I realized that all my experiences and my skills were related to prison work. And I want to play a clip here. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. This is FRESH AIR. Once enrolled, BPI students engage with the college full-time, embarking on a course of study that is ambitious and matches the breadth and intensity of any undergraduate learning experience. And I got there, and I took the entrance exam and sat in my cell and waited for the acceptance letter. "We all have. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're discussing the new four-part PBS documentary "College Behind Bars." And I went to prison for 12 years at the age of 19, 20 for assault. DAVIES: Wow. College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films, in association with Florentine Films and WETA-TV. DAVIES: Tell us a little bit about the work you're doing. I'm interested in your take on this - whether vocational programs should be there. Check out more details below: NOVICK: I was just going to chime in one other thing, which is I've heard Dyjuan, Sebastian and the other students, as well as Max, say that, you know, it also just sort of changes the culture of the whole facility and that, you know, there's something positive going on and that people don't want to get in trouble so that they have an opportunity to be there, to stay there and to potentially be involved in the program. Today, BPI enrolls over 300 incarcerated students full-time in programs that culminate in degrees from Bard College; it offers extensive support for its alumni in and around New York City; and, it has developed the BPI Summer Residency, an intensive, experiential, and hands-on series of workshops on the nuts and bolts of college-in-prison for new and emerging practitioners led by BPI staff and alumni. And then I saw that it worked. Air date: Nov 25, 2019. But the Allens still have mixed feelings about free degrees for inmates. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment.. 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. The documentary, "College Behind Bars," airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will also be available for streaming. Congratulations. NOVICK: Yeah. TATRO: Having a liberal arts education has made me a much deeper thinker. This is five times a day, right? So I pedal pretty forcefully to get a workout. So it has a ripple effect even beyond people applying to just - you know, the facilities where there is higher education have less incidence of violence and disruption and things like that. I'm not going to wear that. DAVIES: And if you're in class when it's time for a count, what happens? BPI alumni overwhelmingly go home to their communities and give back in ways that positively impact the lives of others. 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. So it's just - it's really an open question. TATRO: Yeah. This is a scene where there's a group of brand-new students at the Eastern Correctional Facility, which is a maximum security facility in New York, just been admitted to the program after a competitive admissions process, and what we see is a not terribly large classroom and a group of 15 to 20 men in blue jumpsuits seated at typical classroom desks. We can remove the first video in the list to add this one. They spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies. (Speaking Korean) Thank you. You are a prisoner and you are a student," Giovanni Hernandez tells Brut. So you have this problem where you have to try to juggle these two realities, one of which is so beautiful and one of which is so dark and disgusting where you have to reveal your body and your orifices. YOON: Well, classes usually happen in between counts. Use one of the services below to sign in to PBS: You've just tried to add this video to My List. College Behind Bars (two hours) begins Monday at 9 p.m. with Parts 1 and 2 on WETA and MPT. So, to savor this rich, hot drink in my hand is so fabulous with cinnamon, not too much sugar. This is when you, Sebastian Yoon, are speaking at the graduation. College Behind Bars, an Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary about the transformative power of education. You know, he likes to tell me, you know, many people, when they get pushed down to their hands and knees, the easiest thing for them to do is just lay down. I just wanted acknowledgement and this feeling of power and security. It is a marvelous new film by @KenBurns, @LynnNovick, and @sbotstein! And, you know, they're like, strip. Copyright 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), all rights reserved. There are counts. Max Kenner, when he started it, was an undergraduate at Bard and just saw this need and, you know, convinced the college that it would be something that they should try to do. I had to write that I swept and mopped floors. DAVIES: Yeah, this business of counts - I mean, Sebastian Yoon, do you want to explain this? Kind of how large are the classes? Are children allowed in Turkish prisons? Anyone can read what you share. But I usually put on jazz or R&B. And so it's a pioneering program, not innovative in the sense that there had been higher education in prison before but unusual in the sense that very few institutions were doing this at that time. In one of our most power episodes ever, BPIs founder Max Kenner and recent graduate Sebastian Yoon join Adam this week to discuss howReadMore, One graduate, featured in a new PBS documentary, shares the ups and downs of earning a degree behind bars. What kind of courses are taught? And I never had really thought about going to college until, all of a sudden, there was this thing that I heard about in prison called the Bard Prison Initiative. DAVIES: Yeah. Funding for College Behind Bars is provided by Bank of America; PBS; Ford Foundation / JustFilms; National Endowment for the Humanities; Meg & Tomas Bergstrand; Regina K. Scully; The Lise , Find standards-aligned teaching resources for. I know it's not love after lockup but I couldn't really find a relevant sub. So the program is 20 years old, and it started small. And I think what surprised my father the most was just how much I transformed while I was incarcerated. Sign up for the College Behind Bars newsletter to learn more about the film and events nationwide. After the 94 Crime Bill, state lawmakers followed the federal lead and rescinded state-level tuition assistance programs. YOON: But to those who would ask that question, Dave, you could also ask them, would you ask the same question of students who are out here? He lives alone in an apartment in Sunnyside, Queens, which he chose for its proximity to the foundation, just across the East River. When that door closes, you're at Bard College. And I said, that's what I'm going to do, and I was in a different facility at that time - easier said than done. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. - and wait until you get the all clear? My mother left me and my siblings when I was 5, so my dad raised us three - my older brother and my sister - by himself. I mean, Dyjuan, I think you had a brother who had been - a younger brother who'd struggled and had been incarcerated at some point. I recently binged born behind bars on A&E and was looking for any kind of update on these mamas/babies. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. 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. It was seeing what happens when students are first confronted with material that seems really daunting, and they have to learn to think critically and express ideas that are kind of uncomfortable and that over time you see them - they're - you know, their thinking and expression becomes sharper and more sophisticated. 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. 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. I worked as a cook. And I just wonder if you could reflect a bit on how it might have changed you - Dyjuan. And he said - he says to me, you stood up. Otherwise, you're not doing them any favors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. GLOBAL DINNER SCENE I eat out on Sunday another thing Im privileged to do because of my job. The Residency leads to an ongoing community of practice that builds on over a decade of cultivating a nationwide network of leading universities and colleges in the field, through the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison. TATRO: No. And then this changed in the . It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're discussing the new four-part PBS documentary "College Behind Bars." DAVIES: You know, I want to talk to you, Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro, a bit about your lives. College Behind Bars is perhaps one of the best documentaries that Ive seen about criminal justice in the past 5 years. YOON: I never stopped being a student. And with time, as we become scholars, the idea that we should be limited to just vocational training just becomes absurd. James Wiley committed a heinous crime at 15 years of age. The College: Comprehensive Academic Engagement. Now he wants to help kids avoid prison. WebCollege Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. Men and women seek college degrees - and a chance at redemption - while incarcerated. That means that 50% to 60% of the 630,000 people who get out of prison every year are back in prison in three years. You don't have the Internet. We will continue our conversation after a short break. YOON: I would say that all my friends right now are my peers from the BPI program, and our network is really growing. Men and women earn college degrees - and a chance at new beginnings - while incarcerated.MoreMore. I have several friends who are still incarcerated that I spent my summers outside of class tutoring, and they're now in the program. Who has access to educational opportunity? And that moment when that letter came forever altered the trajectory of my life. DAVIES: Dyjuan Tatro, what was it like for you? And I am the most proud father in the world. ( PBS ), all rights reserved continue our conversation after a short break cell... Form and may be updated or revised in the list to add this one state! 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