CRIMINAL JUSTICE ISSUES
A small group of Temple University criminal justice majors is exploring issues of crime and justice with prison inmates in a college seminar held at a Philadelphia jail.
"The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: Exploring Issues of Crime and Justice Behind the Walls" may be the first experience of its kind in the country.
Currently enrolled in the 15-week program are 14 Temple undergraduates who are nearing graduation, and 14 prison inmates who are residing at one of five jail facilities in Philadelphia.
According to Temple criminal justice instructor Lori Pompa, the Inside-Out Program gives Temple students an opportunity to interact with those in jail who know the criminal justice system from their firsthand experience as inmates.
≥The group dynamics are very, very important. At the beginning of class, we have an ice breaker to kind of loosen people up to get them talking,≤ says Pompa, who is breaking new ground with the independent study program.
She has set aside traditional classroom teaching and embarked on building a new way of learning, as well as exploring alternative approaches to dealing with crime.
Last semester, the first time the program was offered, the Temple students and the inmates studied side- by-side behind prison walls for 10 classroom sessions. Each meeting ended with reading and writing assignments for the next class. (The Temple seniors met on the Main Campus for only five sessions during the entire semester, notes Pompa.) All of the inmatesπ textbooks were donated by five different publishing companies.
Pompa says the students--from the outside and inside--were excited about the course, and maintained an exceedingly high level of enthusiasm and interest throughout the semester.
≥During the course, we scrutinized, analyzed, really wrestled with a whole array of criminal justice issues. Together, we examined in depth what prisons are for, why people commit crime, and how race and racism intersect with the criminal justice system,≤ says Pompa, naming just a few of the topics explored.
≥Everybody learned from the exchange,≤ Pompa observes. ≥The Temple students overcame many of their misconceptions about people in jail, one of which was the myth of åthe bad people and the good people.π The experience educated some inmates about college students whom they thought åhad it all together.π As one student put it, we are often just one or two bad decisions away from being on the inside.
≥The inmates also learned about themselves. Some men for the first time saw themselves as intelligent, and as able to go on and do something with their lives.≤
During a closing ceremony at the end of the semester, all of the students, from the inside and outside, were presented with certificates for their participation in the program.
To protect the identity of the participants once class is over, Pompa does not allow any of the students to share addresses or telephone numbers. She allows them to use only their first names throughout the semester.
≥I make it clear that there is going to be no contact outside the class,≤ says Pompa. ≥We do this not only to protect the students, but also to protect the inmates because they share a lot of information about their situations.≤
Pompa says that, if this semesterπs students are as diverse and collaborative as their predecessors, theyπll be in for another ground-breaking adventure.
The spring semester at Temple begins Tuesday, Jan. 20. For more information about the Inside-Out Program, call the News Bureau, 215/204-7476.
RSS