It can be argued both ways when the topic of education in the United States prisons is being discussed. As I began to talk about this with both peers and other people it became clear to me that it is a divided topic. One of my older relatives said to me that we should absolutely not educate criminals because all we are doing is creating "smarter ones " when the get out. I, myself, do not believe this and tend to agree with the school of that that shows by educating prisoners, both intellectually and vocationally while they are incarcerated will lead to a decrease in recidivism and help to create more conscientious, productive members of society when there are released back into their communities.
With the number of inmates climbing to numbers over 2 billion, the number of those without high school diplomas is estimated between 40% and 60% which is the main reason why the recidivism rate is roughly 50% of the population (Harlow, 2010). It is a for gone conclusion that education factors in to all aspects of a person life; not just reading and writing but it's also how we learn to communicate and function effectively in society and ultimately leads to being able to learn and utilize vocational skills that we need to obtain employment. Without proper education and training, it's easy to see that without the basic skills to aide them in society, criminals will keep re-offending because they lack the skills needed to succeed in the community.
In addition to regular mainstream educational opportunities there are numerous programs around drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence prevention, and anger management that emphasize the rehabilitation part of being incarcerated. The belief being that these programs will not only educate, but help to re-program destructive thought patterns and help inmates keep their minds off of criminal behavior and create positive changes in their thinking (Barnet, 2010).