This week was true example of EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING at its best. The Criminal Justice group started the week with one essential question: What are our preconceived notions of the criminal justice system and are these notions accurate?
We went full-on into exploring these notions. From seeing the local House of Corrections (Belknap), to experiencing a taste of life in maximum security at the Nashua St. Jail, to a court room arraignment, to a session with a defense attorney, this group left no stone unturned. We learned about things verbally, experienced them firsthand, asked our questions, heard answers and witnessed the answers. We experienced the smell of a jail, the feel of being yelled at by an inmate, the sound of the sally port door closing behind us, the feel of handcuffs being slapped around your wrist, and the sound of a prison guard yelling. We will never know what it's like to actually be locked up, to have your freedoms taken from you, to be scared to death of what could happen to you at the hands of other inmates, to have no privacy, to feel that your life is ruined and to see the dwindling hope of a better life. We learned about who might defend us if we ended up in a situation where we needed a court appointed lawyer. We feel confident in getting the best defense possible. Our lawyer will fight for us no matter what. That's a good feeling.
This has been a week of information, experiences, fun, laughs, surprises and education. We are a more informed group of citizens. Thank you to our students for being engaged and inquisitive and for truly delving into the project. #criminaljustice14 #greatweek
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