Blog Post 6

I think the most interesting topic for me goes back to the first week of this class when talked about mass incarceration. It really surprised me when I found out U.S. prison populations increased 750% from 1970 to 2010.  We also have the largest prison population, which was not something I was expecting the United States to be first in. I enjoyed talking about evidence-based corrections as it brought in empirical research and applied it to the correctional field. I enjoyed talking about the different theories and the success or lack of success they have been met with. 

The assignments I enjoyed the most were the interactivities. I enjoyed the different videos, particularly the documentaries such as the tent city jail, they call us monsters and the HBO documentary. By watching these videos I was able to form more rational thoughts as I was able to see the things I learned in class applied to the real world. 

We currently have five million Americans who can not vote due to felony disenfranchisement laws. We also have many inmates who are behind bars for nonviolent crimes and low-level drug offenses. By taking away these individual's rights and limiting their freedom, we are preventing them from fulfilling their potential. By limiting their freedom, we are making them more inclined to commit crimes once again, only to end up back in the system. As we move forward, I hope our policymakers put together more prison reforms so that we can shift our correctional system to a rehabilitative one. There are hundreds of thousands of vacant jobs across many different industries that inmates are not eligible for. With new laws and more vocational training, former inmates can fill these jobs and hopefully rise out of poverty so that their kids won't have to live the same way. 

I enjoyed the class because it didn't feel like an online course. With the videos and activities, I almost felt like it was a face-to-face class. The syllabus detailed, the deadlines were clear, and the instructor was responsive. All of these characteristics plus good information and reading guides really made this class enjoyable, there is not a thing I would change. 

Comments

  1. Dr. B.July 27, 2020 at 1:18 PM

    It was a pleasure having you as a student!! Your comment on the class feeling like we were F2F makes me so happy! That was my goal! I'm glad you enjoyed the class. -Dr. B.

    ReplyDelete

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