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Show T 48 Jail School Room i'!' Lakeside Review South, Wednesday, May 2, 1984 rtf Four Who Study for Their Future !ii DAN CARLSRUH Review StaM FARMINGTON It's a class room of students working towards their high school degrees. But instead of colorful posters, carpets and other comforting paraphernalia of modern teaching, the room is a sterile white. And instead of the students showing off the latest in fashions, they are dressed in coded overalls, orange for the boys, blue for the girls. It doesn't seem to be the best situation to learn, and it isnt. But four inmates of the Davis County Jail and one counselor from Davis High are trying to make the best of the situation and learn in spite of the circumstance. Since February, Fred Fisher has gone to the jail three times a week. Waiting for him are two women and two men, all serving time at the jail, who wanted to earn their General Education Degree (GED), the high school equivalent for adults. According to Fisher, the program is only in the experimental situstages. Were in a look-se- e ation, he said, admitting that he isnt sure if the program will be continued in the coming months. Fisher said that due to the e stays, prisons have extensive educational programs. But the jail, where an inmate will stay a maximum of one year, little has been done to offer education. It was thought that the inmates of a jail could sit Out their time with little to do. Many inmates at the Davis County Jail already have two strikes against them. They are serving time in the Davis County Jail for various reason. -- 2) Many have never have fin- 'Mw ';J' ' a SN , 4 j 3 long-tim- 1) ished high school. But these four students stand out from the rest Of the inmates as they try to avoid the third and most disastrous strike: having no future. These are intelligent people, said Fisher. They only lack the basic educational skills to survive. For the four, they say they are tryplaying a game of catch-uing to make up lost time.' They want a future.. Some of the students say they left school due to early marriages and pregnancies or other responsibilities at home. Others say they just werent interested in education or they didnt get p, FRED FISHER, a counselor at Davis High who teaches students at the Davis County jail; uses an informal setting to i instruct the students in English, math and logic. ; . ' - V ' ... ' ' Photos by Robert Regan the county jail isnt the most inviting atfor learning, but Fred Fisher keeps the mosphere room warm with an outgoing teaching style. nouns, verbs, prepositional along socially. THE ROOM at But now they agree that they missed out on a proper educa- phrases and sentence dissecting are taught along with logic problems and social interaction their problems. Ive been screwing around for the last 10 years, said one student. I just thought it was time to get going with my life. Now they are learning and discovering the joy of knowledge. Im learning now, said another student, and I enjoy it. When I went to high school, I didnt like it. I could care less if I knew anything. But now I get excited when I understand something that I didn't before. skills. And the students are even looking past their time in jail. One said he would like to pursue further education in computers. Getting the students their GED is the ultimate goal for Fisher and the backbone of his class is improving communication skills with the students. Adjectives, inmates. tion, which only compounded . , And even though the students dont have the best of atmoFishin class their room, sphere ers outgoing attitude makes up for any lack of carpet or posters. ratio And the teacher-studewould make any educator of green with envy. Its a casual atnt mosphere. But after the class is over, they go back to their tanks, the large cells which hold groups of There, most inmates sit in front of the TV or talk. Theres not much to do, said a student. It gets pretty boring. But the students use some of their time studying out of workbooks, learning English or math. Theyre studying for a future. 1 5 County Students Earn Trips CLEARFIELD Five Davis County students have qualified to compete in the 1984 International Science and Engineering Fair in Columbus, Ohio, May 3. Heidi Keifter, Bountiful High, l, James Lowe and Newton Clearfield High, and Stephen Ashmead and Jennifer Uharriet, Davis High will represent the North Davis area and compete against scholars in science, engineering and math from all fifty states and several foreign Gas-kil- countries. Gambusia. Gaskill will compete in the biochemistry division with his project on Accelerated Electrophoresis using Enzymes. LaMont Jenson is the teacher sponsor of these two students. The Role of Carbon and polyphosphate in Increasing Plant Growth to Feed a Hungry World is Ashmeads project competing in the botany division.' Miss Uharriet will enter the microbiHarward. James Lowe will compete in ology division with her project the zoology division with his Photoperiod as a factor for conproject, The Schooling Instincts trolling sex in Daphnia Magna. of the Western Mosquito Fish, This is Miss Keifters second trip to ISEF, as she represented this area last year in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She recently won the U.S. Army Science Symposium, and will compete in the environmental division at ISEF this year. Her project is on the Atmospheric Transfer of Sulfur and Deposition in soil and rain. Her teacher sponsor is Max w&m 9(dmo (gcooa Randall Carlisle Concerned, Involved Committed Ever wonder why your company runs a United Way campaign? , Companies have helped the United Way raise funds for as long as there has been a United Way, And for a lot of good reasons. Theyve learned that most of the money raised stays right in their own hometown, helping to meet local human needs. And theyve learned that, thanks to company campaigns and employee volunteers, the United Way doesnt need an enormous staff of its own. That means most of the money' will go to help those who need it. Thats why United Way is the most effective way to help. But most of all, your company asks you to support the United Way for the same reason youd want- to yourself. They want to help all they can. United Way Thanks to you It works, for ALL OF US. Public Service of This Publication jyfc 'too- mm J |