How Educators Transformed My Life and Why Society Undervalues Them

Throughout my career, I have witnessed some of the most moving commencement ceremonies take place behind prison walls.

Repeatedly, I have addressed incarcerated students who openly acknowledge the poor decisions or mistakes that led them to prison, recognize the harm caused to others, and yet emerge transformed by the opportunity to pursue higher education. Since 95 percent of incarcerated individuals eventually return to society, without intervention, many fall back into the same patterns that resulted in their imprisonment. College programs within prisons allow these individuals to reflect on their past, envision a different future, and acquire skills to positively contribute to their families and communities.

One student shared that earning a college degree while incarcerated gave him his first real moral and academic respect from his family. This potential to change lives through education is why I have championed the expansion of higher education programs in prisons, both during my tenure as U.S. Secretary of Education and in my current role as chancellor of the State University of New York.

My belief in the transformative power of education is deeply personal: teachers saved my life.

When I was eight years old, in October 1983, my mother suddenly passed away from a heart attack. The loss was devastating. Afterward, I lived alone with my father, who was battling Alzheimer’s disease until he died when I was twelve. During those difficult years, no one outside our home was aware of my father’s condition, and I didn’t understand his changing behavior.

Some nights, he would speak to me; other times, he remained silent. Occasionally, he was sad, angry, or even aggressive. Home was an unstable and frightening place, but I was fortunate to have New York City public school teachers who created a safe, supportive, and intellectually stimulating environment.

If it weren’t for Allan Osterweil, my teacher from fourth through sixth grade at P.S. 276 in Canarsie, Brooklyn, I might have ended up in prison or worse. Amid the turmoil of my home life, Mr. Osterweil instilled hope and purpose. In his classroom, we read newspapers daily, learned the capitals and leaders of every country, and performed plays by Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll.