There is a stigma on those that are imprisoned. Many think they are uneducated individuals. Never judge a book by its cover or in this case the situation an individual may be in. Some entered prison with a high school education, a college education, or received their GED behind bars. Many of the inside students have continued learning even though they are serving time. I will be honest; I was surprised how elegant they are with their words. It was like poetry. We have some intelligent individuals in our class.
Moe is one of the older gentlemen that make up the inside students. He has shoulder length dreadlocks, with a beard that has specks of gray. He was a firefighter with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. In the beginning I was unsure about …show more content…
The inside portion of the class consist of fifteen male inmates with varying criminal charges. The outside portion of the class is comprised of two male students and ten female students, studying subjects such as criminal justice and sociology. The fist day of class both sets of students came across standoffish. The icebreaker conversations eased the tensions between the students. The group dynamic seemed to change over the course of the …show more content…
At the beginning very few people spoke when we met in a larger circle. In time everyone began to settle in as students. Once that occurred more students began to contribute to the conversation. Several students would rather meet in small groups than the larger circle. They felt it was more personable and that people were more open and honest about their thoughts. I would have to agree. In the smaller groups those that did not speak in the circle had the opportunity to have their voices heard. I wish a few of the students I had the opportunity to be paired with in small groups spoke in the larger conversation because what they had to say could have impacted others in class.
Prison life
Joseph Harp Correctional Center is a medium security facility that houses a total of about 1,400 offenders. It is the largest medium security facility in the state. This facility is full of diverse groups of individuals. The first time entering Joseph Harp was overwhelming. I came to realize that prison has a life of its own. It has its own social hierarchy, inmate code and language. Prisons have their own social hierarch. This wasn’t something that was discussed as a class but in small groups. The inside students mentioned the hierarchy briefly but seemed like an important thing to know when entering prison. The few individuals I spoke with confirmed that the rapist
Moe is one of the older gentlemen that make up the inside students. He has shoulder length dreadlocks, with a beard that has specks of gray. He was a firefighter with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. In the beginning I was unsure about …show more content…
The inside portion of the class consist of fifteen male inmates with varying criminal charges. The outside portion of the class is comprised of two male students and ten female students, studying subjects such as criminal justice and sociology. The fist day of class both sets of students came across standoffish. The icebreaker conversations eased the tensions between the students. The group dynamic seemed to change over the course of the …show more content…
At the beginning very few people spoke when we met in a larger circle. In time everyone began to settle in as students. Once that occurred more students began to contribute to the conversation. Several students would rather meet in small groups than the larger circle. They felt it was more personable and that people were more open and honest about their thoughts. I would have to agree. In the smaller groups those that did not speak in the circle had the opportunity to have their voices heard. I wish a few of the students I had the opportunity to be paired with in small groups spoke in the larger conversation because what they had to say could have impacted others in class.
Prison life
Joseph Harp Correctional Center is a medium security facility that houses a total of about 1,400 offenders. It is the largest medium security facility in the state. This facility is full of diverse groups of individuals. The first time entering Joseph Harp was overwhelming. I came to realize that prison has a life of its own. It has its own social hierarchy, inmate code and language. Prisons have their own social hierarch. This wasn’t something that was discussed as a class but in small groups. The inside students mentioned the hierarchy briefly but seemed like an important thing to know when entering prison. The few individuals I spoke with confirmed that the rapist