introduction
program mission
problem statement
a new approach
background
philosophy
program director
program mission
problem statement
a new approach
background
philosophy
program director
Temple UniversityCollege of Liberal Arts
Dept. of Criminal Justice
TU Faculty
TU Students
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Deepening the Conversation…
Transforming
Ways of Thinking…
About
Crime and Justice
Introduction
The gate slams shut, the key turns in the lock, and suddenly, the students and I are in a world that is no longer comfortable or predictable. This kind of learning changes lives-- it disturbs where we are comfortable, challenges what we thought we knew. This is "Inside-Out" or, by its more formal title, "The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: Exploring Issues of Crime and Justice Behind the Walls." Having class inside of a prison is compelling - an experience that's hard to shake. And that is one reason we do it. I don't want my students to shake these encounters easily; in fact, I want the students to be shaken by them. I want them to analyze what they experience and question it all: who is locked up and why, how these decisions are made, what these institutions are all about, and what each of us can do to change the situation.The pedagogy of community-based service learning has the power to turn things inside-out and upside-down for those engaged in it. It provokes one to think differently about the world, and consider one's relationship to the world in a new way. This approach to learning captures and communicates a dynamism that inspires everyone involved to explore, inquire, and analyze.
This unique educational experience provides dimensions of learning that are difficult to achieve in a traditional classroom. At its most basic level, Inside-Out allows the "outside" students to take the theory they have learned and apply it in a real-world setting, while those living behind the walls are able to place their life experiences in a larger academic framework. However, much more occurs in the exchange - layers of understanding that defy prediction. In our discussions, myriad life lessons and realizations surface about how we as human beings operate in the world, beyond the myths and stereotypes that imprison us all.
Inside-Out provides an opportunity to put a human face on a problem that can be kept simplified only if it remains faceless. The ability not only to look at issues in complex ways, but to recognize the complexity in ourselves and others, obviates our propensity for knee-jerk reactions. Stretching beyond our simplistic assumptions will, in time, produce a growing transformation in public thought. By exploring theoretical concepts inside the prison, theory is moved out of the purely mental sphere to a more powerful level - as the mind is engaged, so is the heart. If how we feel, to some extent, drives what we think, herein lies the crux of the transformative potential of this program.
Program Mission
The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program was established to create a dynamic partnership between institutions of higher learning and correctional systems, in order to deepen the conversation about and transform our approaches to issues of crime and justice.Problem Statement
It has become commonplace to note that, with two million people incarcerated, the United States has the largest prison population of any country in the world, in both relative and absolute terms, with millions more men and women under other forms of criminal justice supervision. The other side of this coin is that we also have hundreds of thousands of men and women across the country working in prison security, administration, treatment, parole and probation. Meanwhile, our violent crime rate, though lower than at any time since the 1970s, still is many times higher than that of other western industrialized nations, and more than two-thirds of those released from prison are back behind bars within three years.The cost of this situation can be measured in many ways: in our vast public corrections expenditures, in the pain suffered by those whose lives are damaged or destroyed by crime, in the frustration and wasted energy of many men and women who devote their lives to working in corrections but feel they aren't making a difference, and in the wasted talents of those whose life situations and poor choices have led to their spending years of their lives locked behind bars, shut away from their families and communities.
Background
Several years ago, on a class tour of a state prison, one of the life-sentenced men with whom we met proposed the idea of an ongoing dialogue between students and prisoners. His vision was realized in the creation of a course called “The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: Exploring Issues of Crime and Justice Behind the Walls.” Inside-Out was piloted in 1997 with the support of the Philadelphia Prison System and Temple University.By the end of the first semester, the power of the class became clear. As one Temple student said,
“I didn't expect to learn so much. I didn't expect to grow and change as a result of the process. As I reflect on the power of this course, I am awestruck and humbled.”
Ten years later, more than 3,500 inside and outside students combined have participated in the program. Some of the currents statistics of the program follow:
| Number of trainings (since July 04): | 10 |
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| Number of instructors who have participated in trainings: | 131 |
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| Number of colleges/universities represented: | 91 |
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| Number of states represented (includes 1st international site in Norway ) : |
33 |
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| Number of courses offered to date: | 125 (app.) |
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| Number of students (inside & outside) participating to date: | 3,500 (app.) |
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| Number of instructors who have taught so far: | 50 |
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| Number of colleges/universities having offered courses so far: | 36 |
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| Number of courses offered in AY 06-07: | 29 |
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| Number of states where courses were offered in AY 06-07: | 15 |
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| Number of courses expected for AY 07-08: | 55-60 |
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| Number of states where courses have been offered so far: | 18 |
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| List of states where courses have been held so far: | |||
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A New Approach
The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program was established to create a dynamic partnership between institutions of higher learning and correctional systems, in order to deepen the conversation about and transform our approaches to issues of crime and justice.Inside-Out brings college students – particularly those pursuing careers in criminal justice and related fields – together with incarcerated men and women to study as peers in a seminar behind prison walls. This semester-long course provides a life-altering experience that allows students to contextualize and rethink what they have learned in the classroom, gaining insights that will help them to better pursue the work of creating a more effective, humane and restorative criminal justice system. At the same time, Inside-Out challenges men and women on the inside to place their life experiences in a larger social context, rekindles their intellectual self-confidence and interest in further education, and encourages them to recognize their capacity as agents of change – in their own lives as well as in the broader community.