This chapter introduces and examines how an instructor can successfully teach a college-level course in a jail facility. In contrast to a prison environment, the transitory nature of a jail population results in a different set of challenges that an instructor must address in order to lead a successful class. The authors were trained within the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program but have had to adapt this pedagogy to suit a jail environment. The chapter discusses the authors' process of creating their course and provides best practices on how to remain creative and flexible in order to overcome and adapt to the unique experiences inherent in a jail setting. Additionally, the authors have provided their syllabus, sample assignments, and an example of a typical class session to help inspire and support others who are interested in teaching in a jail facility. The chapter is not specific to Inside-Out courses though some of the pedagogical tenets of Inside-Out influence the recommendations of the authors.
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The primary aim of this chapter is to provide a resource for individuals interested in teaching college-level courses in a jail setting. What follows has been structured so that novice and experienced jail instructors can use it as a resource in the development of new courses and/or as a supplementary resource for troubleshooting pre-existing courses and/or courses in progress. As such, when troubleshooting a course, one can read individual sections independently from the rest with the most pertinent and complete information for a particular issue easily accessible within one section. If one reads the entirety of the chapter in order, it serves as an explicit how-to guide for developing a course from scratch and implementing it. However, for the chapter to successfully function as a resource in these different ways, there is some necessary overlap and repetition between sections. One will also notice that the authors draw substantially from the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program’s pedagogy. This is a consequence of the authors having been trained by the Program1, however, the insights and recommendations of the chapter are meant to be useful for those adapting the Inside-Out pedagogy for the jail setting or those simply wishing to teach in a jail setting without prior exposure to any formal pedagogical training.
The organization of this chapter is admittedly flawed as the transitory nature of a jail population raises a seemingly endless supply of challenges, especially for a traditional, 16-week collegiate educational model, meaning that similar issues arise many times in different contexts, which prevents a complete and holistic treatment of issues and challenges within any intentional grouping of topics. The organization of the topics below groups issues based on broad phases of course preparation and execution. The first section (“Background”) addresses the differences in carceral institutions and the dire need for educational programming in county jails. The second section (“Course Foundations”) addresses the basic preparation required to build appropriate relationships with and to gain permission from the educational and carceral institutions involved in executing a course, as well as the process of student selection. The third section (“Choosing Course Content”) discusses some of the challenges and considerations one must take into account when selecting course content. In particular, it considers the existence of institutional policies regarding “inappropriate” content, distribution of materials, and how to select readings accessible to those with varying educational ability and those who may not be able to attend every session. The fourth section (“Creation of Assignments”) continues to address challenges that emerge from variations in attendance and educational ability with a focus on assignment development. The democratic formation of course policies and the need to relax or redact traditional course policies in response to the reality of the jail environment is then addressed in the fifth section (“Course Policies”). In the sixth section (“General Preparation”), the focus shifts to those considerations necessary for executing a course, such as logistical concerns, relationship building, and class components. Lastly, in the seventh section (“Class Preparation”), consideration of the minutiae required to prepare for individual class sessions is discussed and recommendations are made for how to prepare for the unexpected in the classroom. To aid the reader in one’s own course development, the authors have also provided a sample syllabus and course assignments in the appendices.