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 Catching Everyone Up On My Doing..... (Oct. 31, 2019) |
Transcription
Robert A. Russell #V35292
CSP SQ 3-N-17Low
San Quentin, CA 94974
Reply ID: XY83
Dear Marie,
Thank you so much for your recent comment posted to my blog. It is so nice to hear from you. I wanted to thank you for the work you do for those like me, often seen as the "least of these."
Education is absolutely foundational for men who wish to break out of the cycle of criminality, but the concrete of education must be mixed with hope. For many men who find themselves in jail/prison they have little hope they can ever "keep up with the jones." I find that instilling hope in my students is empowering.
I have a little speech I give the men.
"Let's say you get out and find you're broke, need to eat. You go to Labor Ready, a temp agency, to earn a day's wage. They send you to a freight dock. If you do not have a GED, you make minimum wage, work with a pallet jack and everyone there tells you what to do. If you have a GED, they decide to hire you and after two weeks they get you your forklift certification. You make 16 an hour and tell all those guys on the pallet jacks what to do.
But, if you can truthfully claim to have "some college" they will place you in front of a computer in the glassed in office area in back of warehouse, in a climate controlled environment, making $22 an hour, telling everyone else what to do!"
I have found this little speech highly motivating. ;)
May God bless you in all you do. Thank you again for your kindness in posting your comment. I will remember you and your students in prayer, and ask you to remember mine, especially for their sobriety. Amen.
Sincerely,
Russ
R.A. "Russ" Russell
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