III PERIOD. ERASMUS+ IPEP Adult School of Jaén. The shadow of a fado. An unforgettable Erasmus+ job shadowing in Portugal.

Of all the experiences that I bring back from our first job shadowing trip of the Erasmus+ project of the IPEP JAÉN ADULT SCHOOL, I am left with those that I experienced during a poetry and singing recital that was held in the women's prison of the said city last Friday, November 25, mid-afternoon. In the photo, you can see our colleague Manuel Ortega, professor of Physics and Chemistry, who has already completed 3 Erasmus+ training, in Italy, in Denmark and now in Portugal.

Take a close look at the Santa Cruz Obispo Prison Establishment for women, in Matosinhos, next to Porto, where we have been for 6 full days to carry out our first Erasmus+ mobility, which is expected to be followed by around thirty over 14 months.

The concertina lights are scary and warn us of what this place really is: a prison.

 

Sitting in the middle of about 150 inmates in the assembly hall of that prison, my Erasmus+ travel companion and I saw how those inmates were enjoying a different afternoon, as a group of them was reciting poetry, singing and dancing. A shocking fado accompanied by projected shadows captivated all of us who have a living soul. Except for the presence of the security guards, nothing reminded us that this was a prison facility.

 

The day before we had already visited that prison. We were accompanied by the Adult Education Coordinator of the Escola Secundária João Gonçalves Zarco, from Matosinhos, along with Oporto, the incredible teacher José Marquez, with 40 years of experience in these matters and leader of a team of more than 50 people, who He introduced the teacher in charge of education at that place as well as other teachers at the center.

 

It was not planned, but in a flash, they asked us to speak in front of a group of inmates about our project, whose name we must not lose sight of 'Rethinking our educational practices for adults, prison students and juvenile offenders'. In addition, we talked a little about our place of origin, Jaén, Andalusia and the world of oil.

 

Project presentation video.

 

Fortunately, we had everything prepared, since the experience accumulated over many years in the Erasmus+world had taught us that these situations are more common than one thinks. Here I catch you, here I kill you. About 25 or 30 prisoners, of all ages, looked at us with an attention unimaginable in some classes at a normal school. And they even liked it, based on the questions they asked us, some comments and the praise they gave us. We were careful to prepare the presentation in Portuguese, so that it could be read and this way, we could defend ourselves like Spartans when speaking.

 

But what was most striking was the affection, admiration and devotion of these women for their teachers. Admirable.

Foto de @mmolpor

 

And we found the same thing on the visit that two days before we had made to the men's prison, a cold, hard, old prison, but with a team of teachers, once again, exemplary. The students told us that the hardest time of the day was when classes ended and they had to return to their cells. I leave it there.

 

👉 The voice of the inmates.

 

 

5 days of intense work, morning, afternoon and night and we have met all the objectives set out in the work plan of this first professional observation visit: what is teaching like in Portuguese prisons? From our point of view, and summarizing what we have seen: excellent. Spot. We'll go into details

 

 

We have also analyzed the professional skills validation program for adults so that they can obtain their secondary education certificate, which we will talk about at length. Again, and in summary: effective, practical, fair.

 

As we had been informed when we began to design the project, this secondary and adult education school is a benchmark in terms of quality, organization, leadership and results in Portugal. And, especially, in everything related to education in prisons. Diversity and attention is what defines this educational cente

 

 

In Portugal they decided to 'turn to the table' about 15 years ago and, seeing that it could be improved, they said a big 'enough!' and changed the system, from top to bottom. Led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, teachers from many fields, penitentiary institutions and the Portuguese Ministry of Education, they designed a specific study program for the penitentiary field, with its own evaluation system. In addition, they have all the necessary teachers. They are provided with enough teaching staff. I think I remember, Manolo can correct me, that in the men's prison there were 20 teachers in total, at all educational levels. Full and part time. That is, as many as necessary. The coordination between all of them is surprising, daily of course, with a deputy director of the prison in charge of everything related to the education of the inmates. The Ministry of Justice is in charge of offering all the materials necessary for the study. Between 15 and 20 hours of class per week, depending on whether one subject or another has been chosen, plus other complementary educational programs for their training that inmates can study if they wish. A complete educational offer that gives them more opportunities to come face to face with social reintegration.

 

And, to finish this article about this first job shadowing of our project, I would like to highlight the enormous results that the work of so many IPEP ADULT SCHOOL teachers in Jaén can present once the visit program ends as well as the rest of the activities. planned.

 

👉 planned mobility in Norway: 3 prisons to study. 

 

Note: Photos taken must now be supervised and approved by the Portuguese prison police. If we receive any, we will publish it.

 

Manuel Molina Porlán.

Teacher of English