What could make teaching at a maximum-security prison seem like a cake-walk? Teaching at Haile Selassie High School.

Day 0 – Sunday Night, May 12 – Meet Justin McGurrin

Knowing that we were about to start teaching the kids at Haile Selassie High School (located in the neighborhood of Trench Town in Kingston – this is where Bob Marley wrote many of his songs and is basically the slums of Kingston) which is known for its discipline and violence issues, we called in for reinforcements.  Enter Justin McGurrin, an Art of Living teacher experienced in teaching high school kids in challenging environments.  Justin is a legend among the teachers who teach the YES! (Youth Empowerment Seminar) program and we were so lucky to be able to get him to come down to Kingston for a week to help set the stage and rhythm for the next several weeks during which we were to teach a big portion of the students at HSHS.  And thank God we did…we didn’t realize how much we really needed him until the week started.

Day 1 – Monday Morning, May 13 – A Lesson in Making Connections

It was a different world that we had just entered.  As humans, we all behave according to a set of social norms determined by our upbringing, environment, etc.  What a shock it was to observe, much less teach, within the social norms at HSHS.   They were so foreign to our own school experiences, which entailed actually remaining quiet and listening to the teacher.  These kids would often use name-calling and hitting to deal with conflict – even in class.  One native Jamaican friends described the culture of the children as one of ‘‘arrested development” – the kids are sweet, full of smiles and enthusiasm with a sense of innocence on one hand, but they are also very physical in their expression of emotion, whether it by reacting violently to everyday situations or in their level of sexual activity at a young age.  They operated in a very adult world, dealing with adult situations that most other children rarely deal with, yet their mental maturity didn’t seem to match their level of life experience.  It’s like they were children trying desperately to have a childhood though their circumstances were determined to rob them of that childhood.  Monday began a lesson in learning how to break up fights before they escalated – a good skill to have, I suppose.  Attention spans lasted not much longer than a 30-second TV commercial in many cases.  Some kids were texting, listening to music or otherwise playing on cell phones throughout the class while others just leaned forward and went to sleep.  According to the teachers, this behavior was typical.  After the end of the first 2-hour session, all three of us got into the car (Justin, Devan, and I) and were about to head out to grab a quick bite before heading to teach at the men’s prison, feeling doubtful that we made any impact on the kids at all.  Then Justin shared a secret and a valuable lesson – he said he would always go to a school a week in advance of teaching and just hang out and around so the kids could meet and see him.  He also made the effort to learn each and every kid's name in the class.  Doing these things would create a connection and bond between him and them that would allow him to get through to kids that others couldn’t reach.  He said just remember, with kids “they don’t care what you know until they know you care”.   So we turned the car around and went back to the school to just ‘hang out’ and interact with the kids.  Not only was it fun, but we could also tell it was making an impact.  This is a lesson we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.  Making a personal connection makes all the difference in the world.  Thanks Justin.

Day 2 – Tuesday Morning, May 14 – A Discussion in Devil Worship

One thing I forgot to mention is that Jamaica is a Christian country – a VERY Christian country.  Mainly, this means that many people are very kind and respectful.  But, it also means that there are some people that are a bit more extreme in their views.  We experienced this first hand at HSHS.  Apparently, there were two teachers from the faculty (whom we taught in the adult class the week before) that claimed that what we were teaching was demonic, devil-worship, etc.  Why did they say this?  It seems that it boiled down to just a few yoga stretches.  During the class, we usually teach something called Sun-Salutations, which is nothing more than a series of 12 yoga poses that provides a whole body workout.  Based on the fact that it is called ‘Sun-Salutations’ and that there is a position that is often called ‘Cobra’, the teachers interpreted the teaching as worshipping the snake (i.e., the devil).  We further discovered that they had been speaking to many of the students and filling their heads with the same fears.  We began Tuesday morning’s class with an open and direct discussion about this topic, with the support of the principal, Lorenzo Ellis.  We began by clarifying as much we could.  We then asked the kids to speak openly about any concerns they had and addressed those too.  The main message from both the principal and us was – experience things for yourself and judge for yourself.  It was so interesting to us how easily unfounded fears can be instilled into the mind of a young person.  What we felt most badly about was that the kids who really were troubled about the whole thing were really frightened to the point of thinking that doing a simple yoga stretch could invite evil spirits into their lives.  Fear is a funny thing.  It is, in many cases, a complete figment of our imaginations, yet it can stop us from living our lives.  A small dose is healthy to make sure you don’t cross the street when cars come, but in excess, it is crippling.  Here is a quote from Plato that says it all:

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

Day 3 – Wednesday Morning, May 15 – We Get More Clued In

We continue to face challenges, but today we start to get more insights into why.  As mentioned on day 1, the behavioral norms among the kids were foreign to us.  Now we begin to get some clues as to why.  Many of the kids are asking us to buy them a juice or lunch.  At first it seems that they are just trying to take advantage of us.  But after speaking to Ms. Jackie Bryan (guidance counselor and saint, by our standards) we find out that many of the kids don’t have food to eat during the day.  Some of the kids have government assistance for meals, but the program only covers 3 days of the week!  So, they essentially have to go hungry on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  How can these kids study when their stomachs are empty??!!! Our hearts almost broke when we heard this.  From then on, we arranged with Jackie to feed any kid from any of our classes that needed it, but made sure it remained anonymous.  We started to realize how much of a challenge these kids face in all aspects of their lives.  Jackie enlightened us further with some other stories of real students’ situations.  She spoke of a girl who was a top student at the school when she first came as a counselor to HSHS.  This student told Jackie that she had to study under her bed with a flashlight at night because a light on at night in her room would attract gunfire and she was afraid that she would get shot.  Jackie told the story of another girl who was living with her older boyfriend (27 years old…this is, unfortunately, not uncommon as parents can’t afford to take care of their children and girls find other ways of survival by living with an older man/boyfriend who takes interest in them – these men play both father-figure and lover to these girls).  The boyfriend was helping this student pay for her exams and study, etc.   One day this boyfriend was walking on the wrong street and was shot and killed (gang territory divides often govern the neighborhoods in these areas).  This young girl lost her benefactor/father-figure/lover in a split second.  He was the only family she knew.  She told Jackie that she would still take her exams and do her best for him.  We also found out that many of the kids in our class are reading at only a first grade level though they are in ninth.  Hearing all this, we felt both helpless and inspired to do more at the same time.  On the one hand, we felt the need to work harder to get through to these kids and provide tools and knowledge that could help them be happy no matter what their situation.  On the other hand, we felt grossly underequipped to help them truly make a life change given the complex issues they faced.  And yet, they were just children having to deal with a host of problems that many of us privileged adults have never even come across.  Knowing all this, their ‘misbehavior’ took on a completely different light and the compassion in us grew leaps and bounds. 

Day 4 – Thursday Morning, May 16 – A Frightening Insight Hits

We are trying the idea of breaking the bigger group of about 50 kids into smaller groups in order to reach out to them on a more personal level.  The goal was to see if we could foster more intimacy and trust between them and us and get them more focused at the same time.  We are having mixed levels of success.  However, the first time we try this and we demonstrate that we know the their names, many of them are really impressed.  What a difference it made just to know their names!  Thanks again Justin!  We are achieving incremental improvements with this ‘circle time’ method.  It dawned on me that the job of teaching these kids is not for the faint of heart.  It takes a true warrior to keep coming back everyday full of energy to give after having been deflated the day before.  In fact, we only half-joked that we looked forward to teaching at the maximum-security prison in the afternoons, which we found to be relaxing after the trying mornings at the high school!   I had a frightening realization when we were at the prison that afternoon.  In the morning, at the high school, we were teaching these children who were the victims – victims of neglect, abuse, violence, economic disadvantage, etc.  And in the afternoon, we were teaching the culprits – the people who committed the violence and abuse. I could see how the inmates were all once children just like the ones at HSHS and it was so clear to me that many of these children were on a path to achieve the same fate as the people at Tower Street prison.  This is the reality of the vicious cycle in society unless someone intervenes.  I realized that sometimes it’s critical to look beyond a person’s circumstances and even their behavior to find the good in them.  It’s not always visible to the naked eye, it takes an open heart to see it…but it is definitely there.  The experiences at the prisons reinforced this important lesson.  Sri Sri RaviShankar (the founder of Art of Living) created the Prison program we are now teaching because he believes:

“Inside every culprit, there is a victim crying for help. That person is also a victim of ignorance, small-mindedness and lack of awareness. It’s the stress, lack of broad vision about life, lack of understanding, and bad communication that leads to violence in society.”

I have now experienced this truth first hand.  My only hope was that, in some small way, maybe we were helping to break that vicious cycle for some of these kids.

Day 5 – Friday, May 17 –  Celebration

On the drive to school we reviewed, as we always did, the teaching plan for the day.  We discuss what’s working/not working and any new ideas or strategies we have to engage the kids.  Justin reminds us that regardless of whether knowledge actually penetrates into the kids’ heads, what matters most is our presence.  If we are embodying what we are teaching – calmness, centeredness, wisdom, and human values – we are planting the seeds in them that can flourish at any time.  It was the last day of class with this batch of kids.  As the days have gone by, we can see that some of the kids really feel close to us.  We have been successful in creating some bonds and that is gratifying to know.  At the end of the class, we celebrate with some dance music, and a handful of the kids stay back just to hang out and be with us (see the video)…today we feel we might have done at least something right.