From Dragonfly: Education Thinking

I have to say that I see my experience here as "experiential learning." There is a lot of literature about the kind of learning people do through experience, especially extreme experiences. I am in the midst of one of those experiences here. I can never fully turn off my academic brain, so I often wake up thinking about something in a more academic way, rather than just as it is.

For example, my experience working in education has broadened my mind on self-paced education, motivation behind learning, and other factors. It is especially enlightening to be doing things without access to technology, and seeing how technology can enhance and hinder learning environments. These are things that I will continue to consider as I work my way back into my studies (if I am given that opportunity) and/or in my future as an educator.

Another experience that has been profound is the reality of living in tight quarters with people who are vastly different from yourself. This also happens in college, when freshman are given a room assignment, often with a complete stranger. I find it interesting to see what dynamics seem to work well, and which ones do not. On a side note, both of the new women in my old room are already trying to get out of the room. They question how I successfully lived with Braids for 4 1/2 months. They don't realize that it was a constant negotiation between Braids, Bandana and myself. Now, two women who have been locked up far longer than I, are unable to handle that negotiation. This, too, teaches me a lot. It teaches me a lot about myself - I am capable of being in unacceptable situations and making them work. I am much less passive than I used to be, yet, I also have to have my limits of understanding what is acceptable behavior in myself. I do not want to find myself going to negative places in my head, just because I am experiencing anger or frustration, instead, I have learned to relax, spend time by myself, take myself out of unhealthy moments, and clear my mind enough to sleep.

I've also learned a lot about friendship. I thought I knew what friendship was. I was certainly surrounded by wonderful people prior to my incarceration. However, in the past 7 months, I have learned so much more. There are people I barely considered on the outside, who have been pillars of support for me. There are people on the outside that I thought were close friends, who actually chose to distance themselves from me. There are long term friends who overwhelm me everyday with their care and love and guidance, who I cherish deeply. There are people in prison, a place I never thought I would make a friend, who I hope to connect with beyond our times here. It's amazing, the value of a true friend.

Anyway, that's what's been on my mind lately. I'm off to go spend my afternoon teaching sentence combining, fragments, and conjunction words. I will also do some fractions, decimals and percents. Mostly, I will be grading people's packets. I guess that's a good day in prison.