“Reading it, we learn so much about the power of writing, about teaching, about what education makes possible, and about the urgent human capacity to define who we are.”
Mike Rose, author of Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education
Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies and director of the Summer Writing Program at Carleton College. She also contributes to Carleton’s American Studies program. Professor Appleman’s recent research has focused on teaching college-level language and literature courses at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater.
Her most recent book, Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison chronicles her teaching experiences in prison and argues for the importance of liberal arts education for the incarcerated.
Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies and director of the Summer Writing Program at Carleton College. She also contributes to Carleton’s American Studies program. Professor Appleman’s recent research has focused on teaching college-level language and literature courses at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater. Her most recent book, Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison chronicles her teaching experiences in prison and argues for the importance of liberal arts education for the incarcerated.
Professor Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She was also a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California, Berkeley. She works regularly with high school teachers and students, both nationally and internationally and is a frequent keynote speaker. Professor Appleman continues to teach creative writing and college level classes to the incarcerated. She is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books on literacy instruction, which can be found here.
Recent Blogs by Deborah Appleman
The School-to-Prison Pipeline
The School-to-Prison Pipeline I remember, when I was a high school teacher, working with students who I thought were walking a tightrope between going to college and going to jail. Up to this point, my teaching life has insulated me so that I’ve only seen the students who ended up in college. Now I see
Celebrating Poetry, From the Outside In
Last Wednesday, in addition to rediscovering hope for our country and for democracy, much of the world discovered the power of the spoken word. Through the brilliant of Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman, we were able to be inspired by her words, as she recited “The Hill we Climb. ” For some, this might have been
The Season of Small Gestures of Compassion
The pandemic has made the last year extremely difficult for all of us, but conditions in our prisons have gone from terrible to intolerable. Several Minnesota prisons have become hotspots of infection, and all programming and visitation has been halted. Many of the incarcerated have spent most of the last 10 months in their cell.
The School-to-Prison Pipeline
The School-to-Prison Pipeline I remember, when I was a high school teacher, working with students who I thought were walking a tightrope between going to college and going to jail. Up to this point, my teaching life has insulated me so that I’ve only seen the students who ended up in college. Now I see
Celebrating Poetry, From the Outside In
Last Wednesday, in addition to rediscovering hope for our country and for democracy, much of the world discovered the power of the spoken word. Through the brilliant of Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman, we were able to be inspired by her words, as she recited “The Hill we Climb. ” For some, this might have been
Listen to Deborah Appleman on Superior Reads
Professor Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She was also a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California, Berkeley. She works regularly with high school teachers and students, both nationally and internationally and is a frequent keynote speaker. Professor Appleman continues to teach creative writing and college level classes to the incarcerated. She is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books on literacy instruction, which can be found here.