Community Building

I don’t know how many of you remember studies of early Western Civilization, but on the pages of a history book that’s circulating I read a passage describing the early Greeks. As founders of the first known city, the Greeks recognized the importance of community building. They would say:

                “To live the good life, one must live in a great city.”

A great city, those early Greeks recognized, was made up of community. And a community is made up of active participation from many. The more parts of the community that contribute, the greater the community becomes.

I asked for the privilege of speaking this morning with hopes of encouraging you to join this effort that Larry, George and Dr. Gooey lead—under the benevolent sponsorship of Ms. Oliver—to build a thriving community in Taft Camp with its Monday morning Toastmaster Club. And in the spirit of community building, I’d like to offer a simple acronym that might remind us to do everything within our power to build a high-energy Toastmaster Club. That acronym is APE — A-P-E. It begins with “A”, for attitude.

When I talk about attitude, I’m referring to inner motivation. In prison, it’s sometimes a challenge to muster energy. Prisoners are separated from family, and as the days turn into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years, monotony can be crippling.

The best antidote and our greatest weapons for that lethargy exist in our hearts and in our minds—because our hearts and minds provide the arsenal of attitude. It is attitude that gets us up in the morning and gives us the spirit to triumph over the challenges we face. With the right attitude, we don’t just show up or toe the line. Attitude empowers us to welcome every opportunity to improve, to become better, to live a great life. And a great life begins with a great community—one we can further with our Toastmasters Club.

That leads me to P, which stands for preparation.

Great communities don’t materialize by accident. They require planning, preparation, performance. As Toastmasters, we can motivate ourselves by thinking about contributions we can make for next week’s meeting. Instead of hoping that Larry or others in our group’s leadership won’t call upon you to speak, come with a “can-do” attitude and an energy that shows your enthusiasm. Ask not what your Toastmaster Club can do for you, but what you can do for your Toastmaster Club.

One preparation suggestion might be to write a series of topics you’d like to share with the group. That’s the start of preparation. Look at the list of potential speeches frequently throughout the week. Develop ideas on how you might educate our group in an informative, motivating, or persuasive presentation. Those preparations will endow you with valuable skills, and they will enrich everyone in Taft’s Toastmaster community.

The third letter of the three letter acronym is E, and it stands for excellence.

By beginning every day with the right attitude, we can live on a journey of constant and continuous preparation for excellence. Those personal pursuits become virtues, contributing not only to a more dynamic Toastmasters Club, but endowing us with the skill to fill voids in our lives, bringing meaning wherever we are, with whatever challenges we face.

To become skillful speakers, we must work on our attitudes, we must prepare, and we must pursue excellence.  That’s A-P-E.

Live with the attitude for success, with a commitment to prepare, with a constant pursuit of excellence in this community building effort. 

The post Community Building appeared first on Prison News Blog.

David Muniz and Michael Santos

David is 29 years-old, and together with his wife, Gabriella, he works hard to build a better life for the couple’s two children, Brendon and Priscilla.  Earning his GED represented but one step David is taking to demonstrate his commitment and love for his family.  Since receiving his diploma, David has enrolled in courses at Taft Community College, and he has been working as an apprentice to develop mechanical skills repairing wheelchairs.

Few young prisoners demonstrate such commitment to improving their lives.  Being separated from family and community causes many prisoners to lose hope.  When I asked David what motivated him to work so hard, he told me that the love he has for his wife and children requires him to work hard every day, as he feels a duty to live as a strong role model, even through these times of difficulty.  When David returns to his family, he wants to ensure that he has every skill and credential possible that will help him overcome the stigma of his confinement.  He intends on making meaningful contributions to his family and community, thus David expresses an urgency in using his time at Taft Camp to prepare.

When I walked into the visiting room, the efforts that I saw staff had invested in making David’s graduation memorable amazed me.  Speakers stood in the corner to broadcast music appropriate for the occasion; chairs were aligned neatly in rows that faced a lectern; typeset programs were printed to announce the order of ceremonies.

David and his colleagues wore black gowns over their clothing, and each had the graduation cap complete with tassel.  Then the graduation ceremony began, they marched in formed strides toward the honored seats at the front of the room.  Then the chaplain from Taft Camp, Mr. Maurseth, stood at the lectern to bless the ceremony with a brief prayer.  Mr. Ochoa, the Director of Education at Taft Camp, then toasted the graduates and introduced the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Dr. Jose Reyna.

Dr. Reyna, who chairs the Department of Modern Languages and Literature at California State University, offered an enlightening history on the importance of education.  He urged each graduate to continue the journey, as striving to develop our understanding of the world is a lifelong pursuit.

When the professor concluded his remarks, Ms. Puentes, who presides over the Taft Camp as the Associate Warden, shook each graduate’s hand while simultaneously issuing their high school equivalency diploma.  Later in the ceremony, a photographer snapped a picture of David and me together.

After all the prisoners received their diplomas, a reception followed. The staff ordered turkey and roast beef sandwiches from a local delicatessen. along with chips, cookies and two large graduation cakes – one chocolate and one vanilla.  The effort administrators put into the graduation ceremony encouraged me as I know that such gestures go a long way toward inspiring prisoners to reach their highest potential.

David Muniz may have to live separated from his family for a while longer.  Though I share a cubicle with him and I’m certain he will continue hhis admirable efforts of preparing for a law-abiding, contributing life upon release, his family, he says, gives him all the motivation he needs.

The post David Muniz Graduates appeared first on Prison News Blog.

 Ever since prison gates first locked behind me, I’ve thought more about what kind of life I would lead once I finished serving my sentence than I thought about advancing my release date. I hope readers will share that strategy with their loved ones in prison. My position has always been that I could not do anything to change the bad decisions I had made that brought me to prison, though I could do plenty to ensure that I would feel prepared to live a successful life upon release.

 To succeed upon release, I feel strongly that prisoners must choose a deliberate adjustment plan. This means not allowing environment or circumstances to dictate how prison time is served. A deliberate adjustment plan requires a clear vision and contemplation about emerging from prison in a way that ensures every decision the individual makes is advancing him toward that goal.

 The prisoner with a deliberate adjustment plan does not wait for prison administrators to offer programs that will help him develop skills. Resistance and discouragement from the prison machine are expected, and by accepting those obstacles he can condition himself to triumph over the “you’ve-got-nothin’-comin’” attitude.

 Similarly, the prisoner with a deliberate adjustment plan avoids the wicked influences of the prison. He creates opportunities to avoid interactions that can interfere with his progress rather than succumbing to those negative influences. He understands that decisions he makes today will influence the man he becomes tomorrow.

 If two out of every three prisoners fail upon release, then I think the one prisoner out of three who succeeds must make different decisions. Instead of allowing his environment to dictate his future, the prisoner who succeeds upon release is always thinking about what steps he can take to create more positive opportunities for growth.

 I have relied on this strategy for the entire 22 years of my imprisonment. It has made a huge difference in my life, and I really urge those in a prisoner’s family to encourage their incarcerated loved ones to think about steps they can take to empower themselves. If prisoners think about the challenges that await them upon release, finding the strength to discipline themselves in ways that will allow them to overcome those struggles comes easier.

 In my own adjustment, I came up with a three-part plan. The first component required that I educate myself from prison. The second component required that I create opportunities to contribute to the lives of others, both inside and beyond prison boundaries. The third component required that I build a strong network of support that would have a vested interest in helping me succeed upon my release.

 Every decision I have made throughout the decades I have served in prison has been in harmony with this three-part plan. I do not concern myself with prison certificates or acceptance from the prison machine. My duty and responsibility is to my family and to ensure that I have a fulfilling life when these gates open.

 I know that serving time can extinguish hope, not only for the prisoner but for the prisoner’s family as well. It is not easy to cope with all of the challenges. Restrictions on telephone access, visiting, and the overall negative atmosphere of imprisonment frequently lead to bitterness and anger. It is our responsibility, however, to transcend the prison experience. We must empower ourselves in order to ensure that when prison gates open, we stand ready to make up for the time we lost.

I feel a responsibility to share what I have learned.

The post Deliberate Adjustment Plans appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I feel convinced that the more a prisoner works to educate himself, the more he prepares for success upon release. Yet my observation: and experiences simultaneously convince me that mandatory education programs lack the effectiveness of voluntary educational programs. Administrators should think more creatively about steps they may take to induce inmates to make self-improvement commitments.

When prisoners feel mandated to attend classes, they resist and rebel. Many of the prisoners struggle with release dates that stretch years or decades into the future. They feel lost in prison, as they sink into a kind of hopelessness. Such prisoners feel the pains of separation from family and community. They may feel threatened by the prison environment. Those types of complications interfere with their peace of mind, and when that happens, they lack the focus to advance through lessons on algebra or geometry.

Prisoners who are forced to participate in educational programs under the penalty of sanctions sometimes disrupt those students who genuinely want to learn. Those who do not want to participate should be dismissed from the education program without penalty. Instead, administrators should contemplate the needs of prisoners, then create meaningful incentives that persuade them to make the personal commitment to educate themselves. A motivated student learns better than a resistant student.

When inmates are serving sentences that require them to serve years in prison, they rarely appreciate the value of earning good time until it’s too late. To them, serving six years by following all the rules is worse than serving seven years without concern for rules. Yet if administrators implemented a meaningful incentive system that brought immediate changes to the prisoner’s life, many would make the personal investment. Prisoners can embrace the concept of immediate gratification, though they struggle to value concepts that do not materialize for years.

Some examples of incentives that administrators could offer to induce prisoners to participate in education programs include access to more and better visiting opportunities, more telephone access, or access to other privileges that do not cost taxpayers anything. Prisoners live lives of deprivation. If administrators provided a means for them to work toward improving their lives in meaningful, immediate ways, more prisoners would prepare for successful lives upon release. When they cannot see release dates, however, compulsory education is ineffective.

The post Does Mandatory Education Help Prisoners Prepare For Release? appeared first on Prison News Blog.

In books I’ve written about prison, and articles published at www.criminal-indictment.com, I’ve described how a different set of values pervades higher security prisons. The values differ from law-abiding society, where people respect those who strive to educate themselves, contribute to society, and live in socially acceptable ways. In higher security prisons, individuals concern themselves more with developing power on a primal level inside the penitentiary. Those types of prisons are like failure factories that seethe with hostility.

As a consequence of my work, some have asked how it was that I earned respect from violent, predatory prisoners. After all, I do not have a history of violence, and the goals I pursued differed in significant ways from most of my fellow prisoners. The truth was, I was not so sure that other prisoners respected me. Frankly, I never showed much concern or sought approval from other prisoners.

I was courteous and respectful to everyone around me, yet I purposely sought to minimize my contact or interactions with all the chaos of the penitentiary. That may seem absurd to some, as I have lived in prisons for more than 21 years. Yet I always found it possible to avoid activities and interactions that could expose me to problems.

My strategy was to find employment or volunteer opportunities that kept me away from the violence. At the crack of dawn, or in the early morning when doors opened, I was on the weight pile exercising to keep in top physical shape. I worked as an administrative clerk for many years. That job kept me in an office with a typewriter that was far removed from the general population. While other prisoners were rioting over trivial issues, I was absorbed with schoolwork or writing projects. When the office closed for the evening, I packed up my books to report for volunteer duties as a suicide-watch companion; that job kept me in the infirmary for the evenings.  By the time I reported to my room, the doors were about to be locked for the evening.

By keeping busy working toward my goals, avoiding television rooms, table games, drinking, contraband, gangs, gambling, and anything else that interfered with my progress, I was able to reach the goals I set. After I had more seniority, I built relationships with other prisoners. As a consequence of my working toward prison reform, I found others who would share their experiences with me so that I could write about them. Still, I don’t know whether other prisoners have ever respected me.

The post Does Anyone In Prison Respect Nonviolent, Goal-oriented Prisoners? appeared first on Prison News Blog.

In the various articles available through criminal-indictment.com, I describe the clearly defined approach I took to advance from high-security prisons to minimum-security camp in the shortest possible time. Essentially, the path I took, and the one I advise others to consider, is consistent with what I have learned guides others who achieve success. I tell prisoners that they must not expect the prison system to change their lives for the better. Instead, they must expect interference from both administrators and their fellow prisoners. If they can understand the negative influences of the penitentiary, they then can make strategic decisions to thrive in spite of the atmosphere.

Prisoners must envision the progress that they can make while serving time, and clearly picture the man they want to become as they emerge from confinement. If they can grasp on to that vision, then they may begin taking steps that will lead them closer to success. Every step is essential. Prisoners must ensure that they stay on course, and one tool I have used to help my focus was to announce my goals to the world. By letting others know what I wanted to achieve, I invited them to hold me accountable.

I wrote quarterly reports every 90 days to update my mentors of my progress. That effort at accountability was essential to my success. Every goal that I set out to achieve has been possible because of the clear path to success that I charted. By following this path, I urged other prisoners to work toward achieving the least restrictive custody classification. That way they could transfer to lower-security prisons, where volatility levels were lower and progress was easier to achieve.

Although we cannot have much influence once we are prisoners on the number of calendar pages that must turn before our release, through the decisions we make inside, we can determine the values, skills, and resources we have available when we emerge. Good decisions, too, can help us stay physically fit and emotionally strong.

The type of guidance I provide is valid for the habitual offender with a subpar educational level. It is equally as valid for the individual who serves time for white collar crime and in possession of graduate or professional degrees. My experience has made me a master of serving time and thriving through prison. Through the articles I publish, and the guidance I provide, I strive to help all of my fellow prisoners made decisions that will ensure that they too can thrive through prison.

The post When Prisoners Ask Me for Guidance appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I empathize with the more than 2.4 million people who serve time in American prisons. Ever since my term began, I have worked to prepare myself so that I could become an effective spokesperson to bring about meaningful prison reform. As prisons currently operate, I am convinced that they miss opportunities to help offenders prepare for better lives. Instead of “correcting,” our nation’s prisons only warehouse human beings. That approach, according to my experience, has no place in an enlightened society.

Prison has been all that I have known since 1987. I was 23-years-old when I began serving my term and I am almost 45-years-old now. If laws remain the same, I expect that I will serve more than four more years before release will come. After more than a quarter century of being locked in prisons of every security level, many would think that I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with prisons after my release. Yet I expect that prison will always be a part of my life.

It is not only the lower classes who struggle through prisons. Those who serve time for white collar crimes, also, suffer from the loss of hope. Prisons separate individuals from family and community for years or decades at a time. Those in prison can benefit from positive role models who have endured the experience. After having served time in prisons in every security level, I feel confident that I can present positive messages to all people who are locked in prison. My experiences qualify me to deliver messages with credibility, and I hope that I can build a career that will help others achieve their highest potential.

Without question, prison has been the experience that has influenced my thoughts. Despite knowing that I would serve many decades inside, I knew that my adjustment inside prison would determine the life I could lead upon release. By focusing on educating myself and contributing to society, I could live with hope. That focus has enabled me to build a career as an author, to marry and build a family with an extraordinarily beautiful and talented woman, and to communicate with thousands of people through my Web site. The preparations I have made will keep me working with prisoners for the rest of my life. I hope to inspire others to grow in positive ways.

The post Prison as Part of my Future appeared first on Prison News Blog.

While serving time I managed to earn an undergraduate degree from Mercer University and a graduate degree from Hofstra University. I began a writing career that has resulted in several book deals. I married an exceptionally beautiful woman and built a family with her. I’ve kept physically fit and contributed to society in ways that have both enriched and empowered my life. The progress I have made came as a direct result of the choices I made early in my term.

Rather than seeking protection from staff or from other prisoners, I made conscious efforts to understand my environment. By observing the patterns of others, I could choose how to focus my time in ways that would minimize my exposure to problems while simultaneously maximizing opportunities for success. I became proactive in finding niches within the prison that would allow me to work toward goals without disruptions from others. Since I knew what it was that I wanted to achieve, I ensured that each step I took led me closer in the direction of my goals. And with clearly defined goals to achieve, I had sufficient reason to avoid contact with people or situations that threatened potentials for success. I was “all in,” or fully committed to my plan. That clear direction I set guided me through the term.

Prisoners who served their time without such clearly defined plans made themselves vulnerable to the volatility. By understanding my environment and how I wanted to emerge from it decades later, I knew that I had to lead a purpose-driven life. I had to stay strong physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Every choice I made was with the intention of leading me closer to success. That direction enabled me to advance through more than 21 years of prison successfully, and I am confident it has prepared me for the challenges that will follow my release.

The post How I survived Prison Without Becoming Anyone’s “Bitch” appeared first on Prison News Blog.

My strategy required that I understand what tax paying citizens would expect of me. I wanted to reconcile with society for the bad decisions I had made as a young man. If I could figure out what those in society expected of people in prison, then I could set plans in motion to not only meet their expectations, but to exceed them.

I came up with a three-part plan. First, I would have to educate myself. That pursuit of higher learning would prepare me to overcome the obstacles that I knew were certain to follow the 25 years I would serve in prison. A second part of the plan would require that I make contributions to communities inside and outside of prison boundaries. A third part of my plan would require that I focus on building a strong network of support. That three-part plan became a compass that has guided me through the first 21-plus years of my imprisonment, and I continue to rely upon that compass as I advance through these final years that I expect to serve.

During my first decade, I focused exclusively on educating myself. I earned an undergraduate degree from Mercer University and a graduate degree from Hofstra University. I was studying toward a Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut, yet after completing the first year of my course work, prison administrators prohibited me from continuing with the program. That limitation put an end to my formal education, yet it did not put an end to my plan of preparing for the challenges I would face upon release.

Since I knew that I wanted to emerge from prison with skills and resources that would help me overcome the stigma of my past, I was able to evaluate every step I took. I could not engage in confrontation or in any type of behavior that might interfere with the progress I expected to make. Having a clearly defined plan made it necessary for me to choose my activities and associates in prison with extreme caution; if others were not committed to preparing for release, then I avoid interactions with them. I was fully invested in my commitment to succeed, and I do not deviate from my plan.

In my Topical Report series titled Thriving Through Prison, I offer more specific steps that I took to lead me closer to my goals. Those articles may be of interest to readers who want to avoid the negative drama of prison.

The post How to Avoid the Negative Drama of Prison appeared first on Prison News Blog.

On September 11, 2008, Mike Celizic reported on Andres Idarrago for Todayshow.com. Idarraga described how he studied hard during the six years he served in a Rhode Island prison. He earned his GED. Upon his release, Idarraga enrolled in Brown University and earned an undergraduate degree. He then was admitted into Yale Law School. With those educational credentials, Idarraga will open opportunities to make great contributions to society.

Those who have an interest in pursuing educational opportunities in prison may find value in my article Opportunities for Higher Learning or my Topical Report Series Understanding Prison.

The post Educational Opportunities in Prison appeared first on Prison News Blog.