11. Language Education as a Tool of Resistance Inside an Illinois State Prison

• In Event: 232 - Informal Discussion Roundtable Session

Abstract

The Education Justice Project (EJP) is a unit in the Department of Education at the University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). EJP’s primary site of action is the nearby men’s medium/maximum correctional facility: Danville Correctional Center (DCC). One of many unique aspects of EJP is our Language Partners program; incarcerated men teach an English as a Second Language course (ESL) to other incarcerated men from DCC’s general population. To our knowledge, EJP’s Language Partners is the only ESL peer-instruction program in a penal institution.

Ultimately, we hope to write a paper that paper draws on a combination of personal narratives, observations, and reflections to present a unique perspective of a truly collaborative, safe space in the prison classroom. Teaching Partners exemplify education praxis as their lesson plans are rooted in critical pedagogy. In addition to teaching fundamentals of vocabulary and grammar, in-class exercises use themes aimed at encouraging Learning Partners to develop a critical awareness of self and of environment. Some topics of ESL lessons include: the Civil Rights Movement, Maquiladoras, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers struggle, homophobia, male privilege, health, exercise, food choices, drug use/abuse, and other cultural events.

As this project is the product of collaborative work between an EJP volunteer and several incarcerated Teaching Partners, it lends a unique perspective to issues of education praxis, resilience, and strategies of resistance.

Author

• Sheri-Lynn S. Kurisu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign