Reflection - A great week of EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING - Ms. Grosart

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

Alberto - Final Post

This week was a great week, full of new experiences and lessons. I learned a lot about how the judiciary system works in America and it was great to realize that some of my assumptions were wrong and others right. Not everything is like in the movies or tv shows, but they are kind of accurate in some aspects. The thing that impressed me most was visiting both Kelnap county Jail and Nashua St. Jail, I think it gave me a more realistic perspective of how jails are in real life and what are the relationships between inmates and guards, and inmates with each other.
We also had the opportunity to talk to Chris keating (public defender) from who I learned what my rights are as a civilian and also what are the limitations of the police.
 After all this experience I think I'm definitely more prepared in the criminal justice area.

Kristina- Final post

This project week is only my second, but certainly my favorite. Coming into this week I had a lot of preconceived ideas that proved me to be wrong. Seeing the Belknap House of Corrections and the Nashua St jail was especially interesting to me because I had thought all inmates in jail were treated the same. The house of corrections was a lot more laid back (but still safe and secure!)  while the jail seemed to be much stricter. I love talking about the jails because the jail visits were my absolute favorite part of the week. I had never before been inside a jail so I was very intrigued going into each one. Being able to actually talk to and ask the inmate, Mohammad, questions was very eye opening. Much of what I learned and got to experience this week is something I never would have gotten the opportunity to do outside of project week. A big thank you to Mr. Little and Ms. Grosart, our two amazing group leaders, for an amazing week!

Final Day - Teresa

When I first decided to do criminal justice I thought I had a clear idea of what the Justice system looked like. My idea of jail was a cement complex surrounded with barbed wire. I thought the prisoners were all terrible people under strict surveillance at all times. Though our investigation of the Belknap house of Corrections and the Nashua Street Jail I learned that there are different types of prisons with varying degrees of protection and procedure. The Belknap House of Corrections was relatively relaxed. The lower security prisoners were allowed to wander around a little, there were classes that the inmates could take and many were released on work detail during the day. At Belknap the guards and staff took a great interest in trying to improve the lives of the inmates so when they got out they would be able to be active contributing members of society. The Nashua Street Jail on the other hand was what I had originally imagined a jail would look like, minus the barbed wire fences. The Jail was very strict and there was constant violence and hatred between the inmates and to the gaurds. The main goal of the jail is to hold the inmates, there are no classes, work detail, or freedoms. The inmates never even saw the sun except through barred windows. The Nashua Street Jail was depressing. I would not want to be arrested after seeing what I have seen at the two jails. The court house was also different than I expected. I originally believed that lawyers would meet their clients right after they get arrested and that when they go to court the room is quiet for the arraignment. I learned that lawyers sometimes meet their clients right before the arraignment and have only a couple of minutes to prepare their case. The courtroom was also very noisy with many things going on at a time. The defense attorney Chris Keating, who we met with, was much as I originally thought a defense attorney would be. I learned a lot about how cases are tried and what citizens rights are under the fourth amendment. After the experiences of this week I have come to a greater understanding and appreciation of the criminal justice system.

Project Summary

 Aubrey Dawkins

Today is the last day of NHS project week! All in all it was a great experience, filled with tons of excitement the first 2 days, and wonderful insights and knowledge the second 2. Nothing is more rewarding and fun than gaining knowledge through structured positive experience with enthusiastic teachers. Visiting the police station, the Belknap House of Correction, and the Nashua St. Jail cleared so much gray area up for me. Yes, we all have an idea of what these places are like from watching shows like Cops, Beyond Scared Straight or movies like Shawshank Redemption but you'd be surprised how wrong, negatively and inaccurately depicted they are. This week, I will be talking about for years and years to come, excited to educate people on a topic were all interested in, but in reality know very little about.

Gracie Final Post

This week has been a great one full of tons of new knowledge and fun. Going into this week, I knew very little information about the criminal justice system. Over the week I had assumptions that changed into realizations for example, I never really knew the power that guards/officers had in jail, or that in court as a defender you may be meeting with your client for just hours before their arraignment. I also assumed that jail really was terrible and as a group we were able to find out this is true. It really is a place that myself and I'm sure no one else would like to ever be. I also assumed that jails were all relatively the same, however this is not the case. All jails are different whether it is the amount of inmates, the security of the jail, or the environment of the jail. Belknap County House of Corrections and the Nashua St. Jail are an example of this as they were completely different than each other. This is just some of the new information that I learned over this past week. It was really awesome and I loved the groupi that I was with. Thank you Ms.Grosart, Mr.Little, Mr.Joslin, and the rest involved in making this project possible! CRIMINAL JUSTICE 2014

Jackie Martel Final Post

Overall, I was impressed by the amount of professionalism that was prevalent this week. In media and on tv shows that we watch, we see corrupt and weighted systems to make the shows more interesting but during this week we didn't see that. What I saw were hardworking people whether it was a passionate judge, a lawyer content with his responsibilities, or a guard ready to take action to try and do the right thing. Each person we met with made an impact on my opinion and made me appreciate all of the jobs that are necessary to provide a fair and just legal system. The media also portrays trials and arrests as a quick and fairly simple process, but I later learned that it takes a lot even to just get a warrant to search somebody. Trials require many previous hearings, one being an arraignment which we got to witness. Those are quick meetings, but overall the entire process can be tedious and require focus and patience. I gained a lot more respect for correctional facilities after we visited because I didnt know how important their jobs were. My opinion about the entire legal system has shifted from seeing it as a corrupt and system that needs change, to now as a necessary tool to guide the nation into the right direction.

Thank you to Ms. G and Mr. Little for providing us with an amazing week!