Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-04-13
PEDAGOGUES IN
STRIPES TEACH
PRISON PUPILS
Uncle Sam Conducts a Unique
School for IIIiterate COnvicts
at Atlanta Penitentiary.

High brows and prison stripes ARE
not the impossible combination that
they would seem. They go together
frequently at the Atlanta Federal
Penitentiary The Atlanta prison is
an unusual prison.
There you find school teachers in
stripes. There is the most unique
school In Georgia, for one thing
maybe it is one Of the most unique
in the country. Convicts Of striking
appearance. their faces bearing plain
ly the pale cast of thought" their
identities mercifully hidden by "A Gov
eminent regulation which iuApels Sc
crecy. day after day each other con-
victs whose dull faces tell of Hitter
acy. For those prisoners who can
not read or write, education is COM
pulsory at the Federal Prison.
More than 20 per cent of the pris-
oners are college or university men.
according to an estimate made by
Deputy Warden Hawk to-day And,
on the other hand, more than 20 per
cent are illiterates. knowing not one
letter from another and caring not.
The situation works itself out. These
prisoners who have been scholars are
given the task of making scholars
out of their lowiy prison brothers.
School Teachers in Stripes.
The school teachers in stripes are
hard put to it. sometimes, TO obtain
results, the officials will tell you.
Naturally, with pupils to teach who
have known no other atmosphere
than that Of ignorance, like those
from the Southern mountains Even
were they willing to learn, the Off
GERS say, the task Of teaching would
be difficult And there are some re-
calcitrants who will not learn.
Unconsciously, however, the Hit
crates absorb knowledge, and it is
recorded at the Federal Prison that
few men are discharged who can not
write their names, where many come
in without that ability.
Harder still for the teachers in
stripes is the task of teaching the
rudiments OF English to foreigners.
Many of the men in the Federal Pris-
on can not speak English Italians,
white slavers or counterfeiters most
of them, Indians and Mexicans occa-
sionally. and a mixture Of other alien
races-all find their way to the great
prison. To make good citizens Of
these it is necessary first TO teach
them something of the English tongue
and English laws and customs. This
is the onerou% task Of the prisoner
teachers.
Pupil Number 275.
The big auditorium as the Fed
eral Prison presents an unusual sight
each day. Little clusters of men.
seated here and there. are the class
es. over each stands a man in stripes
who. primer in hand. looks down into
the faces that are painfully wrinkled
in the unwonted effort at concentra-
ton. A blackboard is prOpped near
each cluster and on the blaCkboards
are the simple demonstrations that
every Atlanta child knows
The teacher knows his scholars by
number.
Number 275." he says. what let
tiers are these2"
"A. B. C." says 275. and then stops.
puzzled Then. "Oh. yes, w"
Good" says the teacher There
Is plainly an affinity between him
and his pupils. the affinity Of a COM
mon situation into which millionaires
and moonshiners are plunged. There
fore be is kind and patient and has
no unruly scholars. Some are suilen.
maybe. at times. but none are bad
boys" IN the most unique of schools.