Creating the Learning Community

Creating a learning community is the third aspect of the process of facilitating learning for incarcerated youth. The classroom is but a limited part of the larger learning community. This is particularly significant for incarcerated youth and adults because the transition phase allows for learning beyond the limits of the classroom. However, the classroom may be envisioned as the hub where learners’ progress is planned, guided, facilitated, assessed, documented, and in fact, managed.

When students arrive at the doors, it is critical for them to feel welcome and to have a sense of safety, albeit tentative. Alternatively, this could be the moment when learners realize their worst nightmares: reexperiencing their childhood school failures. Remember, 60 percent of learners who leave choose to leave within the first six hours of contact with a program. In most incarcerated education programs, learners may choose not to participate. A positive first point of contact increases the chance of an opportunity to begin instructional planning.

What can you do to make the initial contact positive? Remember to begin at the beginning! How do students hear about the program? Is the message friendly, welcoming, and positive? Marketing strategies are, to some extent, limited by the corrections setting. However, attractive information, such as a brochure designed by the class, could be sent out ahead of time or the class could collectively write a letter of welcome, reproduce it and send it out. The question to ask the class in designing these public relations strategies is: would this make me feel welcome?

Who “sells” the program? Who is the learner’s first contact? Assess the nature of that contact. Think of strategies which can be used to make the first point of contact a positive one. You can certainly draw attention to the reality that potential learners choose to leave education programs if they don’t feel welcome and safe. To reinforce your position, refer to the significant body of literature demonstrating that the most important person in a health or social service setting is the first person clients see: the receptionist. This person signals whether clients, patients, or incarcerated youth will receive good care.

Now move to the classroom. Look around! If you were a prospective student, would you feel comfortable seeing this room for the first time? While you’re not in the business of refurbishing classrooms, there are things which can be done to make the first impression a positive and comfortable one. Again, you can call upon your classes. What do they think can be done to improve the learning environment. Posters? Different classroom arrangements? Construct fake windows from large posters showing a variety of beautiful scenery, instead of bars or drab walls. The combined creativity of learners and teachers alike can transform a cold, sterile environment into a warm, welcoming one.

There are many occasions when classrooms are only on loan. Again, however, transformations can take place. Work with the class to design an environment that only takes a few minutes to arrange at the beginning of class. A few posters, flags, maps, and other realia can be stored in a box and arranged by the class. Teams can be responsible for decorating the room on different days. Asking learners from different cultures to decorate the room can even be part of a series of instructional activities which familiarize the class with other cultures.

Beyond decoration, the multiculturalism displayed in the classroom and incorporated in instructional planning also contributes to making potential learners feel welcome. The realia of the classroom should reflect the diversity of current and prospective learners. The valuing of diversity is communicated in the total classroom environment, so again, ask the questions: is diversity represented here? Does everyone respect diversity here? How is respect for diversity communicated to prospective learners?

One way to communicate respect for diversity is to ensure student awareness of the options to which they are entitled. For example, the GED test can be taken in Spanish or French. For students with documented disabilities, either physical or learning, special services such as extra time or using special editions of the test can be arranged. For more information on these services, see Appendix B.