An EducationaI Enquiry  Education In  Prison Part II of A Taped Interview With The Education Officer
Channel: semw52
Date: 16/12/2019

The audio recording continues  with the Education Officer of HM Reading Prison in 1976--I followed an Interview schedule provided for the Education Officer covering some key areas which would be examined in the analysis later---A general look at education in English prisons was also undertaken  using the books and literature in the University Library and this provided a background for the research..The visit to HM Reading Prison  and the interviews were extremely rewarding--much information was obtained plus a  guided tour of the prison--the place where Oscar Wilde was detained and where he composed his famous ballad--'The Ballad of Reading Gaol'  giving an insight, a feeling of being a condemned prisoner facing the gallows for the murder of 'The one he loved'--a soldier stripped of his colourful uniform and dressed in canvas grey walking through the echoing corridors and galleries to the place of death-----------I did meet uniformed officers and some prisoners  but not allowed to record those conversations-------the recordings are a record in time now  and may be of historical significance for the future because  the prison ceased operating as a prison in 2013 but it does house an archive and I intend submitting my work and the tapes to their archives---I  also hope to visit the prison again  if it is still possible--I know that it has been open to the public on occasions for exhibitions and displays of artwork---A tribute to Oscar Wilde has  been created by Reading--its most famous prisoner-------I feel that my visit allowed a type of contact with the spirts of the past  at the prison and especially as the Governor, described by Oscar Wilde, is a 4th cousin x 3 removed of mine---Henry Bevan Isaacson an ex colonel and military man  was harsh on the prisoners-" The Govern All Dressed In Shiny Black with the Pale Face of Doom"---quote Ballad of Reading Gaol--------Part III tape recording to follow of the audio recording with the Education Officer of Broadmoor Prison Hospital who also taught at Reading Prison----a man who sounds very much like the famous actor Richard Burton----this was a spontaneous interview because  he happened to be at the prison that day and was keen to be interviewed-----Education in prison still plays a vital role  for prisoners in 2019 and  such institutions still deprive offenders of their freedom, lock them up for hours just like they did in 1895.Many prisons are desperate for improvements in staffing, facilities, room etc...….a cell is still a cell and people are still sentient beings...