Peter’s guitar rang out with the opening notes. William brushed past me. He had recognized the beat almost instantly.   “Ooh this is a good song,” he called out. I don’t think he was talking to anybody in particular. He was, as we say, just “feeling the Spirit.”   Ashley’s voice filled the room. “Give me one reason to stay here, and I’ll turn right back around.”   William’s voice joined in for the next line. He stood a few feet away, just out of the spotlight.   Ashley didn’t

You’ve probably never heard of Bill Lane. I never had. One day, I get an email out of the blue from “Bill Lane.” He wanted to volunteer with HeartBound.   I get these emails frequently. I’d estimate that only 1 in 10 emails results in someone actually volunteering. People are busy and volunteering in prison isn’t easy, nor is it for everyone. I’ve made peace with that.   Bill was part of that 10% that followed through by volunteering. He shadowed a couple of our classes at th

A quick funny anecdote for you – if you want to become a certified volunteer with the Georgia Department of Corrections you have to go through volunteer training. One section that they cover is what to do if you’re taken hostage in prison.   Here’s what you are told to do - you should eat grass so you either soil yourself or throw up. No one wants to hold a hostage that’s sullied themselves.   Two days after this training, I was in prison and told my students about the traini

Teaching can be scary. You stand in front of a room, everyone looking at you, waiting for you to speak. They expect you to be knowledgeable, to not say “umm” too many times, and to make their time worthwhile. Further adding to the difficulty, teachers often spend more time actually preparing for the lesson than they do teaching the lesson, thus consuming a massive amount of personal time. You spend hours and hours prepping for a lesson, hoping and praying that your students w