What One Prisoner Can Teach Kids

Today, I spent time in prison rehearsing a speech that I'm scheduled to deliver next week to students in a local high school. The students of the school are not labeled as ‘at-risk.' Still, though, school administrators hope that they'll benefit from listening to members of our prison's outreach program anyway -- the goal of which is to help youth understand how bad decisions in our youth fueled later problems with the law.

When I speak, I intend to address the importance of reading. But by reading, I'm not referring to the act of scanning words, sentences and paragraphs. Instead, I want to plant a seed about the importance of reading circumstances, opportunities and options.

As a teenager, such ability eluded me. I wasn't able to "read" my environment, and it was that illiteracy that drove my decisions to break the law. Although my bad decisions began in my late teens and continued through my early 20s, I continue paying the price for them at 46, here in prison.

It may be more traditional for schools to bring in "positive" role models to address the student body. After all, young adults benefit by listening to community leaders who speak about their careers and the positive contributions they make to society. It takes a really courageous administrator to invite a group of federal prisoners into the school, as most people in society rightfully frown upon our status as convicted felons. Nevertheless, the messages delivered by those of us in prison -- so-called "negative" role models -- may prove equally helpful to impressionable minds.

By sharing our backgrounds with students, we can give them with context for what to expect if and when they engage in crime. It's especially important to deliver these messages to people in their late teens, when it's particularly easy to succumb to delusions. Many teenagers think of themselves as being invincible to authority or even to death -- I know I did. So when other prisoners in our group speak about how they joined gangs or sold drugs in their teens, and how those decisions led to decades in prison, the students listen. When I explain how my involvement in drug trafficking led to the many years I've served, and how I could have enjoyed a better, more fulfilling life by learning how to read circumstances, opportunities and options, the students listen.

During my incarceration, I've spoken with thousands of students and communicated through writing with thousands more. It is my hope that through these efforts, I can help contribute to safer communities. Our society enriches itself by educating citizens, and although those of us in prison may not be "positive" role models, we can teach youth, as well -- by being honest and open about the consequences of our bad decisions.

Photo Credit: PremierofAlberta