Questions and Answers
What motivated Laura Bates to teach Shakespeare in a maximum security prison?
To challenge societal expectations and stereotypes about prisoners' intellectual capacity.
What was the initial reaction towards Laura Bates offering to teach Shakespeare in a maximum security prison?
Many people thought she was out of her mind.
Where did Laura Bates choose to teach English within the Indiana prison system?
In the maximum security wing.
What is the title of Laura Bates' book where she shares her experience of teaching Shakespeare in a prison?
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What type of facility did Laura Bates teach in where some of the most notorious prisoners were held?
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What was the main point made about where Laura Bates chose to teach Shakespeare?
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What inspired Laura Bates to start teaching Shakespeare to prisoners in a super max unit?
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Why did Laura Bates specifically choose to teach Shakespeare to prisoners in the super max unit?
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What was the initial response from the administration when Laura Bates requested permission to start a voluntary program in the super max unit?
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How did Laura Bates perceive the educational needs of the inmates in the super max unit?
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What misconception did many of the prisoners in the super max unit hold about their own capabilities?
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What made Laura Bates particularly interested in teaching Shakespeare to inmates who were considered violent offenders?
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Study Notes
Teaching Shakespeare in a Maximum Security Prison
- Laura Bates, a professor, taught Shakespeare in a maximum security prison in Indiana, despite people thinking she was "out of her mind".
- The prisoners found a deep connection with Shakespeare's words.
Laura Bates' Motivation
- Bates was motivated to teach Shakespeare in the prison after discovering that one of her students, Don, was taken away and sent to the super max unit.
- She asked for permission from the administration and the warden, who knew her as a good college professor, and was granted access to the unit.
The Super Max Unit
- The super max unit housed some of the most notorious prisoners, considered the "worst of the worst", in the state of Indiana.
- The unit had a highly restrictive environment with no education available to the prisoners.
The Shakespeare Program
- Bates started a voluntary program based on Shakespeare, her specialty, for the inmates in the super max unit.
- The program was aimed at providing education to the prisoners who had the greatest need for it, but had the least available to them.
Impact of the Program
- The prisoners in the program were able to relate to Shakespeare's words and found a connection with the playwright's writings.
- The program, as described in Bates' book "Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard", had a profound impact on the prisoners and Bates herself.
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