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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: April 13, 2006
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ 363: Corrections

You will be held accountable for purposes of grading for the readings and exercises listed here. There will be no "testing." That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, we will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts we feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure us of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk with us. In addition you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week's reading.

* * * * *

Week 14: Week of April 16, 2006

Special Note:

** Friday, April 21st, beginning of class -- Absolute Final Deadline!!.
** Monday, April 24th through Friday, April 28th -- Second Required Meeting. Sign-up sheet to be circulated in class.

Topics: Juvenile Corrections continued


Preparatory Readings:



• Haas and Alpert. Dilemmas of Corrections. Chapters ---.
• Documentaries: Hard Time: Teens in a Maximum Security Prison .
• Sachar. Holes. Chapters 44-50 (entire book).
  
  -----If you have read Holes already, read one of the following:
  ----------Louis Sachar. Small Steps (the sequel to Holes.)
  ----------Will Hobbs. Downriver. and the sequel, River Thunder.
  ----------Walter Myers. Monster.
  ----------Walter Myers. Shooter.
  ----------Walter Myers. Dream Bearer.
  ----------Carl Hiaasen. Hoot.
  ----------Christopher Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy.
  ----------or another book focusing on juvenile corrections with the instructor's approval.
  
  
• Hassine. Life Without Parole. entirety.
  
  
  

Deadlines/Dates:



• Friday, April 21st, beginning of class (central time) -- The Final Absolute Deadline (completion of all creative measures)
• Monday, April 24th-Friday, April 28th -- Second Required Meeting.
• Friday, May 5th - Last Day of Class




Lecture related links:



• new Juvenile Corrections
  
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. A resource on jails and local detention.

• Make a Globe (Origami Balloon). Decorate and share your decorated globe/balloon in class.

• National Institute of Corrections A resource on jails and local detention.
  
• Convicts and Cops A resource on prison tatoos, prison slang terminology, and more!
  
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Administered by the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
  
• Maricopa County Sheriff's Office - Jail Link. Link found by Mary Frances Chachula.
  
• Wisconsin Department of Corrections




Concepts to be covered:



• juvenile justice system
• status offender and status offenses
• juvenile delinquent
• new jacks
• boot camp
• youth gangs
• juveniles waived into adult court



Discussion Questions:



Special Note: Be sure to incorporate the documentary, "Hard Times: Teens in Maximum Security Prisons." in your answers.



1. What are the differences between the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal justice system? Why.
2. Compare and contrast some of the major problems in today's juvenile correctional institutions with the book, Holes .
3. What is the future direction of juvenile corrections? Why. Do you agree or disagree with this direction? Why. Incorporate both documentary into your answer.
4. After completing Holes, what does this book tell you about juvenile corrections? Why.



Suggested Creative Measures:




Note: All creative measures must be approved by the instructor before you begin. Email the instructor with your idea. Creative measures cannot be something that you are doing or have done for another course. No term papers. Start thinking about ideas for your creative measures. Must relate to "corrections." Research cannot be 100% online (i.e., google, askjeeves). Must conduct library research using scholarly works, (not the popular press -- Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated). Email me your ideas. Allow time to dialogue and present your creative measures.



• Research "what works?" for today's juvenile delinquents. Why. In other words, what are the most successful programs for kids? Why.
• What is the controversy surrounding the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program?
• Check out the OJJDP (the Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) website. What is the latest news?
  
• Research the problems unique to juvenile delinquents.
• Related books to read:
  --- Anthony Platt. The Child Savers.
  --- Barry Krisberg. Juvenile Justice.
  --- Meda Chesney-Lind. The Female Offender: Girls, Women and Crime.
  --- James Finckenauer. Scared Straight: The Panacea Phenomenon.
  --- John Hagedorn. People and Folks: Gangs, Crime and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City.
  --- Malcolm Klein. The American Street Gang.
  
  
  
• If you liked Sachar's Holes, you might want to read:
  --- Carl Hiaasen. Flush.
  --- Margaret Peterson Haddix. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey!
  --- Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl .
  --- Kimberly Holt. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.
  
  

• Make A Box a Week reflecting on the week's correctional issues.
  
• If you enjoyed reading Hassine's Life Without Parole , you might be interested in other prison autobiographies/biographies: a) Jack Henry Abbott. In the Belly of the Beast. b) Leonard Peltier. Prison Writings. c) Eldridge Cleaver. Soul on Ice. d) Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Thirteenth Round. e) Jarvis Jay Masters. Finding Freedom: Writings from Death Row, e) Mumia Abu-Jamal. Live from Death Row., f) The Autobiography of Malcolm X.



Recommended Readings:



• John Irwin. The Warehouse Prison.
  
• John Irwin. The Imprisonment Binge.
  
  
• Alfie Kohn. Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community.
• Alfie Kohn. Unconditional Parenting.
  
  

Course Syllabus for CRMJ/SOCA 363 (Corrections)

takata@uwp.edu