The unusual York inmates not only trounced the US debating champions,they demonstrated the benefit of education in an environment entirely suited to itIt emerged this week that students from Harvard University lost when competing against a group of unusual York prisoners, beneficiaries of the Bard Prison Initiative – not in a bare-knuckle boxing match, or but in a competitive,intellectual debate. The Harvard name alone rings bells worldwide and the team in question had just won the national debating title.
For the inmates it’s an incredible achievement that should not be underestimated, but I feel as whether we are impressed by it because of our stereotypes of criminals being a) irrational and b) stupid. I’m an ex-prisoner who happens to be writing for a national newspaper and yet I am still partaking in the same judgmental behaviour as the rest of the law-abiding world.
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Source: theguardian.com