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From Prison to Programming

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Re: From Prison to Programming

#21

Post by JohnCurran »

buf wrote: post #12
JohnCurran wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to give back, consider hiring from the organization Rick (subject of the podcast) started - Underdog Devs. It’s a loosely collected group of mentors and mentees with a small dedicated group of full-time learners on a stipend program The #1 challenge, by far, faced by the org is hiring and placement into companies for cohort graduates and mentees. If you’re able, consider posting job listings in the UD sla…

I'm in. Just DMed the UD twitter account to get an invite into the slack group.

That’s awesome - If, for some reason, they don’t get back to you let me know and I will get you into the Slack

Re: From Prison to Programming

#22

Post by buf »

JohnCurran wrote: post #21
buf wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in. Just DMed the UD twitter account to get an invite into the slack group.

That’s awesome - If, for some reason, they don’t get back to you let me know and I will get you into the Slack

Okay, will do. Just in case, you can send the invite to ex [at] siliconvict com

Re: From Prison to Programming

#23

Post by ejb999 »

paulpauper wrote: post #18
lostboomerang wrote: post #15

Rick Wolter seems to be quite balanced. Read the last paragraph "Life’s Not Fair". Problem is that some people read his story and thinks. "Oh, so teaching felons programming is a great way to reduce recidivism". This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard…

This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard could it be? Did this even happen? I cannot find any articles in which miners were told to learn to code. I think instead those miners were offered vocational training, which included coding. This was in 2017. m…

>>Did this even happen? I cannot find any articles in which miners were told to learn to code.

Then I guess you really didn't look to hard:

https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/47...

snip:

"During a rally yesterday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke to a crowd in Derry, N.H., a town that many miners call home. He acknowledged the economic setbacks and job insecurity that coal miners face these days, and gave them some advice: learn to code."

Re: From Prison to Programming

#24

Post by whydoyoucare »

lostboomerang wrote: post #15

Rick Wolter seems to be quite balanced. Read the last paragraph "Life’s Not Fair". Problem is that some people read his story and thinks. "Oh, so teaching felons programming is a great way to reduce recidivism". This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard…

Regarding #2 - while I am all for reforming the US prison system, a direct comparison of US (prison) failure with Scandinavian (prison) success is unfair. It also risks creating misguided reforms, without properly understanding and addressing the social, economic, historical and geographical gaps between the two countries.

Re: From Prison to Programming

#25

Post by KBeyo »

lostboomerang wrote: post #15

Rick Wolter seems to be quite balanced. Read the last paragraph "Life’s Not Fair". Problem is that some people read his story and thinks. "Oh, so teaching felons programming is a great way to reduce recidivism". This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard…

I work with people in prison, or as they are commonly referred to within some circles, justice involved individuals.

The issue here is not skilling these people in trades, it’s really about working on mental health and the underlying reasons why they are in prison. Until those challenges are addressed, these people mostly will not succeed. Many have not experienced much of a « normal » family life or friendships that promote personal growth, or mentorship.

On top of that, when many are released they have nothing. So, imagine trying to stay employed for a week when you have nowhere to live (especially hard to rent a place also when you have a record[1].

Anyway, we might know how to reduce recidivism, but society sure doesn’t seem interested in taking the steps to invest what’s needed.

[1] I recently spoke in front of the Colorado Senate concerning Assembly Bill 99 which will auto-erase the records of non-violent offenders in the state with some outcomes being that they can more easily find employment and rent places to live.

Re: From Prison to Programming

#26

Post by kodah »

ejb999 wrote: post #23
paulpauper wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard could it be? Did this even happen? I cannot find any articles in which miners were told to learn to code. I think instead those miners were offered vocational training, which included coding. This was in 2017. m…

>>Did this even happen? I cannot find any articles in which miners were told to learn to code. Then I guess you really didn't look to hard: https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/47... snip: "During a rally yesterday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke to a crowd in Derry, N.H., a town that many miners call home. He acknowledged the economic setbacks and job insecurity that coal mine…

Didn't even know Joe Biden did it, but Hillary Clinton did it too and it's what spawned the "#learn2code" hashtag on Twitter. It just got nastier from there.

Re: From Prison to Programming

#27

Post by kodah »

adamgordonbell wrote: post #3
adamgordonbell wrote: post #2

This is the story of how Rick Wolter learned to program in prison and ultimately became a professional iOS developer. I figure any story that involves smuggling a python interpreter into prison on a USB stick seems like it might interest people here. But I think its also an important story because it’s about how software development can be life changing and lift people up out of hard situations.

Oh, also Rick has some of the most practical advice on learning programming, and transition to a professional dev that I've seen. I know it’s not popular to just talk about grinding, the overwork culture is not popular. I get that, this is a different space. You want this shit? You got to grind. You’re going to have to do it on the weekends, you’re going to have to lock in. I’m sure someone’s going to be like, “Oh, n…

This is solid advice for anyone coming here without a degree. I say that because it mostly summarizes what I feel made me successful.

Re: From Prison to Programming

#29

Post by lostboomerang »

whydoyoucare wrote: post #24
lostboomerang wrote: post #15

Rick Wolter seems to be quite balanced. Read the last paragraph "Life’s Not Fair". Problem is that some people read his story and thinks. "Oh, so teaching felons programming is a great way to reduce recidivism". This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard…

Regarding #2 - while I am all for reforming the US prison system, a direct comparison of US (prison) failure with Scandinavian (prison) success is unfair. It also risks creating misguided reforms, without properly understanding and addressing the social, economic, historical and geographical gaps between the two countries.

You and @KBeyo are absolutely right.

It is two different countries and very different cultures. Just modeling US prisons on Scandinavian ones is not a solution. I could even imagine it making things worse in the short-term (a banal example would be "so the prisoners in Norwegian prisons have access to knives in the kitchen they roam freely, let's try that in San Quentin"...)

But I think we could start looking at the incentives the American prison system creates while also addressing the social issues that seems to be the root of a lot of the challenges. It is not easy and I can imagine it taking a century to solve unfortunately.

Re: From Prison to Programming

#30

Post by vlovich123 »

KBeyo wrote: post #25
lostboomerang wrote: post #15

Rick Wolter seems to be quite balanced. Read the last paragraph "Life’s Not Fair". Problem is that some people read his story and thinks. "Oh, so teaching felons programming is a great way to reduce recidivism". This kind of be-all-end-all solution always fails. Some years ago journalists in the US loved to tell coal miners that they should "learn to code" when the mines shut down due to Washington politics. How hard…

I work with people in prison, or as they are commonly referred to within some circles, justice involved individuals. The issue here is not skilling these people in trades, it’s really about working on mental health and the underlying reasons why they are in prison. Until those challenges are addressed, these people mostly will not succeed. Many have not experienced much of a « normal » family life or friendships that…

There should be free transitionary housing on-prem on-site with the prison. You still get free housing and food and you’re not monitored / can come and go as you please. But it gives you a stable address and base of operations from which you build your new life. This isn’t halfway house which are dorms - you literally get your own space.

I also have wondered whether probation officers have a positive or negative impact overall on recidivism. It feels like forcing people to have an additional stress layer that can send them back to prison on top of everything else isn’t actually helpful.

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