I believe each prisoner should take a free Career Interest Inventory online. It’s a battery of questions Likes and Dislikes. Pick their top three choices( scores) research ; wages/ salaries, work environments , hours , any on the job training etc.. skills needed such as reading level, math , and social skills required. I believe they all need to be taught budgeting skills, credit building, cost of living where they aspire to be, insurance costs .. the whole package needs mastered. I believe they all will need to be able to commit to Mental Health counseling ongoing.
Yes. I absolutely agree that a good job is the key to reducing recidivism. And vocational training and development of the soft skills a person needs to hold a job is important to meeting that goal. It isn't just the wage that matters, but the feeling of self-respect a person gains from being a genuine member of the community.
As Tom said it is public school. It is also fathers in the home, giving these children direction and teaching them discipline. Certain public benefits have driven fathers all the Home or at least punished those who stayed financially. 80% of prisoners did not have a father so if we’re looking before the arrest, that is where we start.
Yes, it is called Public School. Public Schools used to teach shop classes like Diesel mechanic, carpentry, plumbing, welding, autobody, electrical, photography, machining, and other trade skills. The teachers unions got rid of the shop classes on the excuse that not enough girls were taking greasy, dirty, dusty, shop classes and threatened to sue school systems in all 50 states about 40 years ago. So the schools got rid of shop. Shop classes cost a lot less than sports programs. Shop prepared more teens for a real job than any sports program ever has. Go figure.
Teachers unions need to be abolished for the sake of education.
Fleeting school spirit and momentarily full stadium stands won't build a career or pay a bill now will they? How many careers are there that require a high school cheer song? For many, are confused about what school is about and it is not sports. Needless and expensive sports program that benefit nobody for the price that is paid should only be allowed if there is a surplus in the budget. A surplus should never happen. Teacher welfare should be as disdained as corporate welfare.
Lets look at statistics. There are 1,764 professional athletes in the US according to https://www.zippia.com/professional-athlete-jobs/demographics/ a professional source that helps athletes find jobs. (SDV, notice how I am not quoting myself as my source). Support staff is about 4 times that number but lets go to ten times that number, 17,640. That is a total of 19,404 jobs directly related to the sporting industry. Perhaps half that are indirect support like selling shoes and equipment, chalk, floor varnish, popcorn poppers, gardeners, cooks, and so on, I say half because all the manufacturing is still over seas and only a few can afford a private cook. Around 9,702 more jobs or something like 29,106 total jobs supported by all that money spent on sports in the school systems. What percentage of the US population is that, you ask. Now for some guh-zin-tas, with a US population of 360,000,000 that is 0.00008085% of the US population.
What is the average pay and age for a professional athlete? Average salary is $59,228 at 36 years old according to the same source. Zippa.com makes their money finding athletes jobs so they must have the numbers close.
On the other hand a welders national average starting pay is $19 an hour and can hit $80,000 a year depending on the state and skill of the welder. National averages are harder to figure for this and several web sources were used to make averages. No age is associated with these because it all depends on the skill and talent of the welder, and they are not washed up at 40 or 50 years old.
HVAC is the same, they are all the same salary depends on state and skill. In Wyoming an HVAC tech with less than two years can get $49,000 and a 4-7 years experience will get you mid $70K's and senior pay is running in the $90K+ area.
Better yet they are not all washed up by their 40's or 50's.
Tell me again how important a few minutes of spirit are. Remember, if it was not for those trade skills your stadium stands that only get used for a few hours a year would not exist.
Let me correct a few things which are wildly off target in your comment. Teachers unions don't make curriculum decisions. Those are decisions made by school district boards with some direction from the state Department of Education.
Shop and home economics classes were opened to all students for decades so Title IX, had nothing to do with shop classes being cut.
A big driver in the reduction of shop was the Reagan Administration's DOE Secretary Bill Bennett's contention that schools needed to be focused more "the basics." To them, that meant academic subjects. Also Governors wanted to increase graduation requirements. They did that by increasing requirements in academic classes. That left less class time available for vocational education, and classes dwindled to the point where some were cut for budgetary purposes.
Things had changed during the Clinton Administration, mostly because that was the era when schools were being wired for computer technology and cable TV. As a result of these changes shop classes that remained were restructured into more modern, computer-oriented technical education, because many trades required some knowledge of this technology. Robotics was offered in some districts
It is unfortunate that some traditional high school shop classes were phased out for budgetary reasons. In South Dakota costs of trying to maintain shop classes and technical education were just not supported at the State level. They weren't providing adequate funding in the state funding formula that went into effect in the mid-1990s.
Let me correct a few things, you are not only wildly off target and misinformed but incredibly naive.
I did not say Teacher unions make curriculum decisions. But if you think they do not influence them you are a fool. Bringing law suits is not a curricular decision.
Getting sued by a union has nothing to do with Title IX.
How do you know what they meant by getting back to basics? Are you a mind reader also? I lived then, the law suits by the teachers unions was big news and a lot of PTA's were up in arms. But the big money unions won. The basics, as Regen said are the three 'r's', and how the new math of the time was a waste of time. Not only did he leave out shop, he also left out sports, so you have no point.
Clinton had nothing to do with wiring schools for anything. All those programs were budget concerns spread out over years. The only thing that pervert would have changed was what cheerleader he was leering at.
If it is budget then why are schools wasting hundreds of thousands on useless sports program that benefit a very, very few, if any? Every district has a sports program, now name all the sports stars they have created. No you burn those lights, tend the fields and floors, pay for buses, insurance, equipment, that is a of shop time.
After getting rid of the teachers union, the indoctrinators passing as teachers need to go next. Actually given the utter failure of the US education system, it is time to shut it all down every last bit of it, and start all over. What we have now is a joke.
You are so wrong on most of what you say here. Teachers unions are and have been strongly in favor of career and technical education. When the Reagan-Bush administration sought their changes in education, the teachers unions helped to save shop classes by encouraging them to become more academically rigorous.
I was on the Rapid City school board, and was the board's liaison to the technical education committee. I can assure you the RCEA strongly supported technical education programs.
Also, we had the Vocational Technical Colleges available for students who wanted classes in some things that got bodgeted out of existence at high school. The Rapid City school district actually oversaw the Tech institute.
You know, it isn't your Daddy's shop class anymore. Things change. It's more attuned to modern life and careers in this century, not life in the 1950s. Today your car gets hooked up to a computer to diagnose what might be wrong, and many machine shops use software and computers to make stuff. The jobs of today aren't the jobs of the 1950s.
My brother was in shop at Lincoln High in Sioux Falls in the 1960s. He specialized in auto mechanics, but what he learned then and what is required now of auto mechanics is vastly different..
If implemented right, this is a great idea. Prisoners should absolutely be working on skills while in the prison system. I would argue they should be able to earn some money in prison with jobs attached to the facility. To my knowledge, they presently only earn pennies per hour currently which is absurd. It should be a managed program where they would earn perhaps minimum wage or half of a comparable pay outside of the system. That money would be held by the state and managed by a parole officer to help the prisoner, acquire housing and transportation once they are released . They would also have a preapproved job waiting for them. That jump start would be amazing to the morale and mindset of these folks. To me, the recidivism is a mentality problem. They were taught as children that the system is evil and hates them, and there is no reason to try to succeed. If we show them it is not the case, things will turn dramatically better.
Absolutely. Maybe some small perks like a dessert wouldnt hurt sometimes. But for them to have a job, deposit and cash for a car when released would be amazing to kick the apathy that leads to poor choices.
The prison facility in Springfield has offered Vocational classes for quite some time, and many of them can allow inmates to receive certificates from Eastern Dakota Tech, but I'm glad that they are expanding those programs. Some of the existing programs are welding, Auto mechanics, auto-body & collision repair, and a few others, which are all professions that usually pay well outside of prison. I've often wondered if they could expand to offer university classes through a correspondence program. They could even offer incentives for taking classes. If their grade point average is above a certain level, their court ordered fines could be redirected to help pay for the classes they take. I'm not referring to restitution when I say fines. I realize that fines help pay for court costs, and probably a few other things, but helping someone to not be a drain on state/county/city resources, when they're released, would be equally beneficial.
Speaking of the last two articles, does the dog training program at the Pen still exist? I heard the inmates responded well to that and it was a win-win. Took at-risk shelter dogs, went through pup patrol for basic manners and training and then returned to be more adoptable. Inmates had to remain in good standing to have the training privilege. They learned behavior, discipline, etc. Many socially challenged people respond better with pets.
I believe each prisoner should take a free Career Interest Inventory online. It’s a battery of questions Likes and Dislikes. Pick their top three choices( scores) research ; wages/ salaries, work environments , hours , any on the job training etc.. skills needed such as reading level, math , and social skills required. I believe they all need to be taught budgeting skills, credit building, cost of living where they aspire to be, insurance costs .. the whole package needs mastered. I believe they all will need to be able to commit to Mental Health counseling ongoing.
Yes. I absolutely agree that a good job is the key to reducing recidivism. And vocational training and development of the soft skills a person needs to hold a job is important to meeting that goal. It isn't just the wage that matters, but the feeling of self-respect a person gains from being a genuine member of the community.
Any thought to helping people below the poverty line with education before they may or may not get to prison?
As Tom said it is public school. It is also fathers in the home, giving these children direction and teaching them discipline. Certain public benefits have driven fathers all the Home or at least punished those who stayed financially. 80% of prisoners did not have a father so if we’re looking before the arrest, that is where we start.
Well said!!!
Yes, it is called Public School. Public Schools used to teach shop classes like Diesel mechanic, carpentry, plumbing, welding, autobody, electrical, photography, machining, and other trade skills. The teachers unions got rid of the shop classes on the excuse that not enough girls were taking greasy, dirty, dusty, shop classes and threatened to sue school systems in all 50 states about 40 years ago. So the schools got rid of shop. Shop classes cost a lot less than sports programs. Shop prepared more teens for a real job than any sports program ever has. Go figure.
Teachers unions need to be abolished for the sake of education.
Shop classes won't build school spirit or fill the stadium stands. For many, sports is the most important part of school.
I think there are many people in your camp. Are you leading that group? If so, how can people sign up to support your effort?
Fleeting school spirit and momentarily full stadium stands won't build a career or pay a bill now will they? How many careers are there that require a high school cheer song? For many, are confused about what school is about and it is not sports. Needless and expensive sports program that benefit nobody for the price that is paid should only be allowed if there is a surplus in the budget. A surplus should never happen. Teacher welfare should be as disdained as corporate welfare.
Lets look at statistics. There are 1,764 professional athletes in the US according to https://www.zippia.com/professional-athlete-jobs/demographics/ a professional source that helps athletes find jobs. (SDV, notice how I am not quoting myself as my source). Support staff is about 4 times that number but lets go to ten times that number, 17,640. That is a total of 19,404 jobs directly related to the sporting industry. Perhaps half that are indirect support like selling shoes and equipment, chalk, floor varnish, popcorn poppers, gardeners, cooks, and so on, I say half because all the manufacturing is still over seas and only a few can afford a private cook. Around 9,702 more jobs or something like 29,106 total jobs supported by all that money spent on sports in the school systems. What percentage of the US population is that, you ask. Now for some guh-zin-tas, with a US population of 360,000,000 that is 0.00008085% of the US population.
What is the average pay and age for a professional athlete? Average salary is $59,228 at 36 years old according to the same source. Zippa.com makes their money finding athletes jobs so they must have the numbers close.
On the other hand a welders national average starting pay is $19 an hour and can hit $80,000 a year depending on the state and skill of the welder. National averages are harder to figure for this and several web sources were used to make averages. No age is associated with these because it all depends on the skill and talent of the welder, and they are not washed up at 40 or 50 years old.
HVAC is the same, they are all the same salary depends on state and skill. In Wyoming an HVAC tech with less than two years can get $49,000 and a 4-7 years experience will get you mid $70K's and senior pay is running in the $90K+ area.
Better yet they are not all washed up by their 40's or 50's.
Tell me again how important a few minutes of spirit are. Remember, if it was not for those trade skills your stadium stands that only get used for a few hours a year would not exist.
Let me correct a few things which are wildly off target in your comment. Teachers unions don't make curriculum decisions. Those are decisions made by school district boards with some direction from the state Department of Education.
Shop and home economics classes were opened to all students for decades so Title IX, had nothing to do with shop classes being cut.
A big driver in the reduction of shop was the Reagan Administration's DOE Secretary Bill Bennett's contention that schools needed to be focused more "the basics." To them, that meant academic subjects. Also Governors wanted to increase graduation requirements. They did that by increasing requirements in academic classes. That left less class time available for vocational education, and classes dwindled to the point where some were cut for budgetary purposes.
Things had changed during the Clinton Administration, mostly because that was the era when schools were being wired for computer technology and cable TV. As a result of these changes shop classes that remained were restructured into more modern, computer-oriented technical education, because many trades required some knowledge of this technology. Robotics was offered in some districts
It is unfortunate that some traditional high school shop classes were phased out for budgetary reasons. In South Dakota costs of trying to maintain shop classes and technical education were just not supported at the State level. They weren't providing adequate funding in the state funding formula that went into effect in the mid-1990s.
Let me correct a few things, you are not only wildly off target and misinformed but incredibly naive.
I did not say Teacher unions make curriculum decisions. But if you think they do not influence them you are a fool. Bringing law suits is not a curricular decision.
Getting sued by a union has nothing to do with Title IX.
How do you know what they meant by getting back to basics? Are you a mind reader also? I lived then, the law suits by the teachers unions was big news and a lot of PTA's were up in arms. But the big money unions won. The basics, as Regen said are the three 'r's', and how the new math of the time was a waste of time. Not only did he leave out shop, he also left out sports, so you have no point.
Clinton had nothing to do with wiring schools for anything. All those programs were budget concerns spread out over years. The only thing that pervert would have changed was what cheerleader he was leering at.
If it is budget then why are schools wasting hundreds of thousands on useless sports program that benefit a very, very few, if any? Every district has a sports program, now name all the sports stars they have created. No you burn those lights, tend the fields and floors, pay for buses, insurance, equipment, that is a of shop time.
After getting rid of the teachers union, the indoctrinators passing as teachers need to go next. Actually given the utter failure of the US education system, it is time to shut it all down every last bit of it, and start all over. What we have now is a joke.
You are so wrong on most of what you say here. Teachers unions are and have been strongly in favor of career and technical education. When the Reagan-Bush administration sought their changes in education, the teachers unions helped to save shop classes by encouraging them to become more academically rigorous.
I was on the Rapid City school board, and was the board's liaison to the technical education committee. I can assure you the RCEA strongly supported technical education programs.
Also, we had the Vocational Technical Colleges available for students who wanted classes in some things that got bodgeted out of existence at high school. The Rapid City school district actually oversaw the Tech institute.
You know, it isn't your Daddy's shop class anymore. Things change. It's more attuned to modern life and careers in this century, not life in the 1950s. Today your car gets hooked up to a computer to diagnose what might be wrong, and many machine shops use software and computers to make stuff. The jobs of today aren't the jobs of the 1950s.
My brother was in shop at Lincoln High in Sioux Falls in the 1960s. He specialized in auto mechanics, but what he learned then and what is required now of auto mechanics is vastly different..
If implemented right, this is a great idea. Prisoners should absolutely be working on skills while in the prison system. I would argue they should be able to earn some money in prison with jobs attached to the facility. To my knowledge, they presently only earn pennies per hour currently which is absurd. It should be a managed program where they would earn perhaps minimum wage or half of a comparable pay outside of the system. That money would be held by the state and managed by a parole officer to help the prisoner, acquire housing and transportation once they are released . They would also have a preapproved job waiting for them. That jump start would be amazing to the morale and mindset of these folks. To me, the recidivism is a mentality problem. They were taught as children that the system is evil and hates them, and there is no reason to try to succeed. If we show them it is not the case, things will turn dramatically better.
Most of their wages should be held until released. If paid a market wage reasonable deduction for room and board would be good.
Absolutely. Maybe some small perks like a dessert wouldnt hurt sometimes. But for them to have a job, deposit and cash for a car when released would be amazing to kick the apathy that leads to poor choices.
The prison facility in Springfield has offered Vocational classes for quite some time, and many of them can allow inmates to receive certificates from Eastern Dakota Tech, but I'm glad that they are expanding those programs. Some of the existing programs are welding, Auto mechanics, auto-body & collision repair, and a few others, which are all professions that usually pay well outside of prison. I've often wondered if they could expand to offer university classes through a correspondence program. They could even offer incentives for taking classes. If their grade point average is above a certain level, their court ordered fines could be redirected to help pay for the classes they take. I'm not referring to restitution when I say fines. I realize that fines help pay for court costs, and probably a few other things, but helping someone to not be a drain on state/county/city resources, when they're released, would be equally beneficial.
Speaking of the last two articles, does the dog training program at the Pen still exist? I heard the inmates responded well to that and it was a win-win. Took at-risk shelter dogs, went through pup patrol for basic manners and training and then returned to be more adoptable. Inmates had to remain in good standing to have the training privilege. They learned behavior, discipline, etc. Many socially challenged people respond better with pets.
Another positive note, good on you SDV.
Thank you, Governor Rhoden!
Would love to see this a national program.
Great job!