Reader Response to Undue Familiarity
Below is a response from a reader on Undue Familiarity (published in The Sun Magazine in September 2016):
Ellen's response:
In response to Deneise, I want to clarify that those inmates were the finest and most disciplined students I’ve ever taught. They inspired and humbled me. After the experience I wrote about in “Undue Familiarity,” I turned down paid teaching jobs at universities in order to volunteer at that prison. I did this for years until the prison closed due to budget cuts.
I hoped to show it was not my students but their teacher whose failings were on display. I agree with everything Deneise says about our incarcerated students and share her sense of feeling blessed to spend time with them.