The H.O.P.E. Institute for Prison Education is teaching its largest cohort yet this semester with 18 total students. These students are well on their way to earning an Associates degree through Oklahoma Christian University.
Matt McCook, Professor of History, shared his experience thus far teaching at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center this semester.
“I had an odd first impression. I tried to remember all these protocols like ‘Okay, gotta leave the cell phone in the car, got to leave the wallet in the car, just take in my ID, that’s it.’ Then I hear all this gunfire, and my mind is racing like, ‘Do I just get out of the van? Is this a prison break, is someone getting shot?’” McCook said. “But when I shared that with the ladies, they laughed. I thought, ‘It’s my first day at prison and I’m already hearing gunshots and up against the wall.’ It helped break the ice. They were very, very friendly.”
McCook talked about how, as he teaches the students history, they teach him about prison protocols.
“Probably the first shocking thing I wasn’t prepared for is how much I depend on all of them to make sure I’m following prison rules. There’s not a guard on duty; it’s just me with keys and them reminding me, ‘You need to call this number to make sure it’s okay for us to release back onto the yard,’” McCook said. “I’m supposed to be the authority, but they’re the ones helping me.”
McCook shared how standard classroom practices, like taking role, look different in prison.
“They call it “getting the count,” and they showed me how to do it. One of them will prepare a sheet knowing ‘Okay, these people were sick, but now here’s who should be in the room.’ I call out names and then they call back their cell number,” McCook said.
McCook contrasted a freshman class at Oklahoma Christian with his Mable Bassett students.
“It is very different from a typical freshman class here. People kind of want to lay low, be unnoticed and most don’t speak up much. There, it’s the opposite because they’re all wanting to call out questions. They’re very eager to learn something, I do love the enthusiasm. They realize this is a great opportunity, so they don’t want to miss out on anything,” McCook said.
The class only meets once a week and the students value the time.
“It was one of those terrible ice days; the road wasn’t so bad, but I think the temperatures were so bitterly cold. The prison had a lot of pipes burst and things. We went into the education room; there was water all over the floor. The students immediately just went to work and brushed all the water,” McCook said. “This is the only time a guard has come into the education building and he said, ‘I’m sorry, we’re gonna have to close down because we can’t use this building. We have no water in the building now.’ A lot of the inmates asked if we could go to a different room so we went where they have visitors come. It wasn’t exactly set up like a classroom; you’re basically sitting at the circle tables in a big open space.”
For more information about the work Oklahoma Christian does at Mabel Bassett through the H.O.P.E. Institute, click here.
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