A flaw in New York's program is its mandatory education policy. Anyone who lacks a diploma or GED is required to attend school. It leads to individuals coming to class and actively resisting. It would be more effective to offer minor privileges to those who volunteered to attend school. Volunteer teachers probably have volunteer students. There is a least some advantage there.

The pay and benefits are pretty generous for most of New York's positions. They have little trouble filling vacancies. I had an advantage. The pay scale is based on the cost of living in the larger cities. My facility is in a smaller community with a lower than average cost of living.

The situation in the psychiatric unit was better. Inmates were admitted to the unit on a volunteer basis. They had to agree to actively participate in the program. That included attending school. If they were resistant, their admission to the unit could be reconsidered.

I had students who had been in special education classes before coming to prison. I was trying to teach them things that were very difficult for them. I decided to set an example by trying to learn something that was difficult for me. I asked my Spanish language students to help me learn Spanish.

I have minimal aptitude for learning languages. I kept trying, but with minimal success. I did learn one important phrase: ¿Cuál es la palabra para ______? (What is the word for_____?). I would then hold up some object, and the student would answer: Eso es un (una) _____. (That is a ______.). One that stuck in my mind for some reason was a writing pad that had a calendar on the cover: ¿Cuál es la palabra para...? (Eso es un libro de escribar con un calendario.).

Damian, good luck with your Spanish lessons. It is a useful language to know. We had well-paying positions in our facility that required fluency in Spanish.