Kwame, Structured Intervention Unit Teacher

Hi, my name is Kwame Osei, I’m a teacher in a SIU.

I provide everything you can think of from the traditional academics: math, english, science and history. But the biggest thing I provide is a physical education course that has reeled inmates into engaging in an education. Hopefully, they learn something, but the biggest thing is building relationships with inmates.

Initially, when I first started here and I would approach inmates about education, the typical response was usually negative, or one of just lack of interest. I had to be adaptive and find new ways to reel them in, and that’s why we started this physical education course.

It came a point in time where the principal of this institution approached me because I have a physical education background, coaching background, and I am a teacher too. So, he just thought this was the perfect environment for me because the goal of SIUs is to get our inmates out and interact, have some social interacting. Countless guys come in and out and have positive experiences with me. It has become a smoother transition and a smoother experience for alot of guys.

When my students are with me, they know that their time with me is valuable to me, and they understand that when they are with me, they can be human beings while they are with me.

I’m a big believer in evolution. At some point, you got to give all. And evolution requires change. If you are not changing, you are not growing. And CSC decided to pivot, to change, to grow, and now we have a more healthy environment with SIUs.

I am a byproduct of what happens when you give somebody a chance. I am a byproduct of what happens when you invest in troubled youth. For me, football saved my life. Because I’m a former athlete and football distracted me from that.

I have a best friend I grew up with and me and him were like this (close), like two peas in a pod. And like I said, football saved my life and when I got involved in football, my life started to go here (higher), and his life stayed down here (lower). He decreased and ended up in jail at one point. But, one thing I will tell you about my best friend is that, he did his time, he paid for his crime. But guess what? Now he is out in the real world and he is a family man, and he has a legit job, and he hasn’t been back in (jail).

He is living proof that guys can be rehabilitated, but they need the right environment to help produce that.

The reason why I’m here is to try to just build these guys up, build these guys up educationally, build a foundation for them to believe in themselves, to have some confidence.

Everyone is different, every person goes through different feelings every day and it’s up to us to approach them with our whole self and try to build them up and rehabilitate them so that they’re ready for the real world.