Educational Programs in Prisons“It is not a surprise to see that prisoners all have a low level of education. I would imagine that a more educated person would have enough sense not to get involved in crime…the relationship between crime and education is easy to see when you look at these facts” (Cordes 1). This is the opinion of most people when asked why people are in prison. People simply say that the criminals were poorly educated. As much as we try, we can't do much about what happens before they enter prison, but there are many programs within prisons to help rehabilitate them for when they leave prison. The New York Theological Seminary for African American Prisoners (NYTS) operates a program at Sing Sing Prison that allows inmates to earn a master's degree. This program meets five times a week and only admits about fourteen to sixteen men each year. The program has become so popular that there is a waiting list of one or more years. The NYTS program helps these men prepare for community service. To earn your degree you must complete forty-two credited hours. Students must also complete a minimum of fifteen hours of field service within the prison. Since the program was established, more than two hundred men have earned degrees. The program is offered in other prisons, and inmates are allowed to transfer to Sing Sing to complete the program. Every day men and women test themselves, but none as much as the men and women who live behind bars. “Freedom is a struggle that begins in the mind. These African American men [in Sing Sing Prison] behind bars challenge themselves every day to live as free human beings. Their courage should inspire us to do the same” (Marable 2). There is another federal program called Credits for Cons. This is a program proposed by the Clinton administration. They proposed a “fifteen hundred education income tax credit” (Stanglin 1). This would allow volunteers to get credit if they sponsored an inmate taking college courses. Many believe that church members would take part in this plan, as many have done in the past to help drug addicts. Although the proposal has not yet been approved, many people have said they would be an active member in a program like this. North Carolina also... middle of paper... Write Way' is a wonderful program held at the Stillwater Correctional Facility. Bottom line, education programs in prison range from very good with programs like "Reaching Out the Write Way" and the programs that North Carolina has to those that are not all that good like inmate credits. “Education, along with work programs, can give inmates the skills they need to succeed once they return to their communities… It can enable them to do work that reduces prison costs, such as taking messages, managing a library, like Andy in Shawshank Redemption, or reading recipes to work in the kitchen” (Young 2). Many people think that educating prisoners means “being soft on crime,” but if you think about it, all it really does is work to make sure the “revolving door” stops spinning (Young 1). If this door continues to spin in the circle it is now, it will cost taxpayers up to, if not more, a hundred dollars a day. “The cost of education is minimal compared to its benefits” (Young 2).