When people are sent away to prison, society has tremendous control over what they do. Some believe that when people have committed crimes, the only collective job for society is to punish them and keep them away from the population. Others believe that it is the job of society, in trying to make things safer, to provide rehabilitation to these inmates. There is tremendous upside to educating inmates in both traditional and non-traditional ways. This is especially true when they are young, but it is true overall for the entire inmate population. With that in mind, society should dedicate itself to educating those in prison because the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

The benefits of educating inmates are many. The most obvious benefit accrues to society when those inmates are finally released. The vast majority of people in prison will eventually complete their sentences. Only a small percentage of inmates are serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. This means that one of the critical jobs for society is not just to think about punishment, but to think about which methods would lead to better results when those individuals are finally out of prison. People leaving prison will need to get jobs so that they do not have to rely on social services. Beyond that, it is poor policy to release a person from prison without providing that person with any skills that might allow him to make a living. If society fails to provide an individual with skills, then the individual might resort back to crime, producing a cycle of recidivism that can be very dangerous. To be sure, this is already a problem, as more than half of the individuals who complete prison sentences end up back in prison for new offenses later in life.

Those studying prison policy must understand and recognize that human beings are made to learn. We are malleable creatures. Though we soak up things much more when we are young, human beings are almost always learning while they are on earth. What this means is that prisoners are going to be learning in one way or another. The question that society must answer is what the prisoners are learning. Prison can ultimately be a place where criminals network with criminals. Especially for low-level offenders, prison is dangerous because it allows them to meet hardened criminals who will talk to them about criminal enterprises and teach them a criminal mindset that they might not have had before. With the understanding that people are going to learn, it is incumbent upon society to dictate what they are going to learn. This means giving high school students an opportunity to get a GED. It means providing, in some cases, the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree or something of the like for older offenders. By providing prisoners with something meaningful to learn, prisons can reduce the chances that prisoners will learn negative skills or gain human capital in the criminal mindset.

There are, of course, some downsides that need to be acknowledged in any argument on behalf of education for prisoners. Some argue that this negates the sense of control that prison officials work so hard to create. Education and prison, they argue, are diametrically opposed. In order to have successful education, prisoners would have to be allowed to question, and they would be encouraged to practice free thought. This is a negative to some because in order to keep prisons safe, prison guards need to maintain an unnerving sense of control over the inmate population. These are individuals who are trained, and in fact, disciplined on the art of not asking questions, and they are expected to do what they are told at all times.

While this is certainly a concern, it ignores the fact that prisoners might be more likely to comply with rules if they feel that they are being valued. Some models show that prisoners, when they are treated well, tend to be more compliant because they feel better about themselves. Likewise, it might be possible to provide an educational arrangement where people are learning distinct skills, like welding or plumbing, which would include less of the free thought and questioning that detractors seem to be so worried about.

In addition, there are concerns about cost. Prisons are already strapped for money, and states would rather invest money in people who have not committed crimes. With school districts losing funding, how can a state justify pouring money in prison education? This, though, is a false choice. Ultimately the states have the choice of whether they want to pay now or pay later. If states fail to educate their prisoners, they will have to support them upon release. Worse than that, prisoners will be more likely to commit another crime, which will cost the state a lot. It may be better from a financial point of view to spend money on the front end rather than having to spend it on the back end.

Ultimately, it makes sense to educate prisoners. When they eventually get out, it will be easier for these individuals to find jobs if they have been trained on something while they are in prison. Likewise, educating them in prison will give prisoners the chance to learn something other than criminal skills. While there may be costs, and there may be security concerns, these will pay for themselves, as the state will have to spend less on recidivism, and prisoners who are treated well may actually be more compliant in the end.