Testimony

I want to tell you again how much I enjoyed my conversation with your students at Newton. Any writer could hope to find such intent and perceptive readers. And the conversation was very interesting and substantive. Give my best wishes to them all.
- Marilynne Robinson, pulitzer-prize winning author

Students at the Prison

"What Do You Get Out Of These Classes?"

"What Classes Would You Like To Have?"

Grinnell Student Teachers

Teaching at NCF is the most genuine academic experience I've had yet. I'm always so impressed with the sheer love of learning that greets me every time I enter the NCF library. Thank you for being willing to think, discuss, be crazy, be creative, and share your gifts with us.
-Alison, senior International Relations major ’08

We read poetry
and talked about video
games. This I will miss.
Bryan Boyce ’08

Grinnell Professors

I spent the day or so prior to my visit nervously worrying about how different a teaching experience this might be, and how ill prepared I might be. Afterwards, I was struck with how much my class was like other teaching experiences (and in fact, it included a Grinnell alumnus). Aside from the setting, which precluded much in the way of demonstration apparatus, the only significant difference was the uniformly high enthusiasm and seriousness of the prisoner/students. If only all my classes could be so rewarding.
-Mark Schneider, Physics

I give quite a few general talks on astronomical subjects to groups ranging from kids to senior citizens to astronomy clubs. Rarely have I enjoyed a group as much as I enjoyed the guys at Newton. The intensity of their interest and the character of the questions that they asked were quite remarkable. They expressed an interest in a return engagement and I am eager to do it.
-Bob Cadmus, Physics

I went there to teach a lesson about economic principles; I left having learned a lesson about never giving up on yourself.
Mark Montgomery, Economics

I was amazed to meet and talk with the guys and hope to see them again. I wish all my classes were like that one! They left me thinking about the difficulties and possibilities of religion in public life.
Timothy Dobe, Religious Studies

The students at Newton are terrific: focused, generous, sharp. My classes at Newton have involved intense discussions of dense literary texts--Joyce's prose, Shakespeare's poetry--and I find that the Newton students analyze those texts with remarkable speed and skill. We get a lot done in those class sessions.
Erik Simpson, English

I was very impressed with the students’ knowledge of the role the U.S. plays in the world today, and the students' ability to relate to the important themes in the history of American foreign policy. I was delighted with the discussion and the great questions. It was a wonderful educating experience for me.
Wayne Moyer, Political Science

What an experience!! I can't think when I have enjoyed teaching any more than I did at Newton. The students are involved, well informed and insightful. I learned from them as I hope they did from me.
George Drake, History

I read a short essay by Simone Weil with a seminar of guys at Newton. One of the men pointed to an example of reciprocal regard between enemies that I’ve now used in an article to illustrate a concept in political theory. I footnote the men—I wouldn’t have seen the example without that seminar. It’s a great place to teach—and learn.
Kathleen Skerrett, Religious Studies

No walls should keep learning in or keep learning out. An active mind is a gift and should be encouraged and supported wherever it is. The group of men I visited with in Newton was as alert, engaged, and insightful as any audience I have addressed. I hope that our discussion of agriculture in Iowa can lead to practical steps toward more local food at the facility.
Jonathan Andelson, Anthropology

Art--poetry--doesn't try to resolve contradictions. It searches for a way to accommodate them and in doing so remains faithful to the predicament of life. My experience teaching in NCF was like some sort of communal poem, poising incommensurate realities: violent pasts, peaceful presents; barbed walls, limitless beauty; learned indifference, passionate commitment. Never surrendering our mutual imperfections, we reached together for a space of possibility.
Ralph Savarese, English