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Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the leaders of corrections is the availability of man power.
Jennifer James, author of the book, Thinking in the Future Tense, introduces us to her view of the future by describing a confrontation she experienced at a grave site at an Anglican church in Malaysia. In recounting her experience, she notes that her eye was attracted to a beam of sunlight that reflected off a bronze plate used to designate a grave. On the plate was the inscription, "Tell Me the News." Upon further investigation, the engraving went on to reveal much about Jacob Shamier, the man buried at the site. His career began at age 16 as an international trader and he lived an exciting life of travel and adventure. He had an enthusiasm for life and a passion for the future. He died at the young age of 29. The inscription on his graveside marker concludes with the simple phrase, "Stand on my grave and tell me the news of the world."
Just as James had much to share about the late Shamier, I have a great deal of news to tell about corrections and the implications it suggests for professional development. As I suggested in an article I wrote with Allen Ault for the April 1997 issue of Corrections Today, titled "Correctional Excellence: Leadership Development," in the past decade, the United States has invested heavily in the construction of correctional facilities at all...