.After returning back to our facility and feeling good about our contribution to Habitat For Humanity’s “Blitz Build” I was alerted by one of my tutors that all of the school’s tutors had been drug tested while I was away. Two of the newly hired Horticulture tutors tested positive for opiates. They were caught trying to hide “their works” (syringe, and needles) in the Greenhouse plants. My Principal had called me to the office. He informed me that the tutors who tested positive were fired, and I was responsible for making sure all the necessary paperwork be completed for his immediate signature. The wind was taken from my sails. They were good workers who hid their addiction but I was told later by our custody staff that it was not the first time for either of them. One of the tutors’ nick name was “Doc” and I needed to pay attention to what the inmates called each other. It was usually an indication of either their prison sentence, or what they were into. A prison moniker.
.I had directed my tutor helpers not to call my students by their prison nicknames. I wanted my classroom to be run professionally. My students were to be addressed by their surnames only. I had to admonish one of my tutors who called a student prisoner who only had one leg and used a walker “kick stand.” I could not believe the insensitivity. My helper tutor looked at me and informed me that “ole kickstand ” killed a family of four in a drunken car crash. His leg had to be amputated mangled beyond repair from the crash. He didn’t ‘give a shit’ about what he did and he planned on still drinking once he was released. I was informed that “he runs one of the best prison stills on this facility grounds, and has not been caught yet.” Indirectly he was telling me that my tutors insensitivity in using the student prisoners’ moniker was justified because of the current reality. That reality quickly changed when the “best still” on prison grounds was raided. My disabled student was charged in the making and distribution of contraband. He was found guilty and was sent to a higher security level. That meant he was immediately dropped from my class.
.I informed all my tutor helpers that I would appreciate it if they told me what my student’s nick names were, but I still want all my helpers to use my students last names accompanied by Mr. It was professional I thought. In later years I would have to drop the mister because I was not always sure that was the case. Without judgement, using the surname was much easier. I often ran into problems with prisoner names. I would have students who didn’t want their “prison name” on certificates of completion or their GED diplomas. They would claim that their prison name was an alias and their real name was something much different. I always referred them back to their original application. The name they put on that application was checked by our school secretary for admittance to the school. If it did not match the legal name they would not be admitted until the discrepancy was rectified.
.Even though we had safeguards in place concerning names I was told at a GED conference that a prisoner had used the name “Mickey Mouse.” When the school received the GED with that moniker they had no way of validating who Mickey Mouse was. The inmate was not happy. They informed us at the conference the school asked the GED testing service to eliminate the diploma. The inmate would have to test on all 5 subjects again using his legal name. The GED testing service had no way of validating he was “Mickey Mouse.” The instructor who administered the exams to “Mickey” was no longer working for the MDOC, and no one from the facility school would validate the prisoner’s claim of being “Mickey.” No one wanted to admit that his teacher let a name like “Mickey Mouse” register for the GED exam. The inmate could not prove he was Mickey Mouse, and the test was eliminated. He would have to test using his legal name. Prison Stories To Be Continued
Revelation 2:17
MJ-Way 