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| State prison Teacher of the Year |
| By theitem.com |
| Published: 10/13/2009 |
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TURBEVILLE — Most teachers don't have to pass through a security checkpoint every day to report for work. But then, most teachers don't work in the prison system. One of those who does, Ernestine Mickens, has been recognized by her peers as the 2010 Teacher of the Year for the South Carolina prison system, the state Department of Corrections announced Monday. "The basic tenets of teaching are the same everywhere," said Mickens, 53, who has taught 13 years at Turbeville Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison for men. "I just love teaching, so it doesn't matter where I am." The corrections department's education system is officially called the Palmetto Unified School District. It serves 24,600 men and women who are incarcerated in state prisons. About 60 percent of them never finished high school, and many of them never completed 11th grade. Many of the inmates at Turbeville are younger than 25 and were sentenced as youthful offenders. Mickens teaches reading, math and social studies and helps prepare the young men for the General Educational Development exam. GEDs are equivalent to high school diplomas. When she found out about the honor, she said she was "shocked." "I feel honored I was elected by everybody," said Mickens, a lifelong Sumter County resident. "I was honored and I still am." Read More. |
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