Race, Class, and Punishment

Sample Lesson Plans

Socratic Seminar

Objective: To evaluate, discuss, compare and contrast criminal justice policies within the context of United States and Philadelphia history.

Materials:

• Richard Nixon’s Special Message to Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control
• President and Nancy Reagan White House Address Anti-Drug Campaign, September 14, 1986
• Bill Clinton’s 1994 State of the Union Address
• Excerpts from the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
• Arrest, incarceration and racial disparity data from FBI, Pew Research and Sentencing Project databases

Procedure:

This activity could take place towards the middle or end of the unit. Alternatively, the seminar could be used in a smaller format at the end of each decade of study to show gradual changes in crime policy, incarceration rates and shifting attitudes. The Socratic Seminar in this context serves as a synthesis activity for students to contextualize content knowledge gained from close readings, direct instruction and independent research. Before conducting the Socratic Seminar, students should possess sufficient background knowledge of the 70s, 80s and 90s with regard to changing criminal justice policies, incarceration rates, sentencing guidelines, drug penalties and racial disparities.

Arrange the student desks in a large circle, with 4-6 student desks in smaller circle in the center. The inner circle is for discussion and the outer circle is for observation. In 5-7 minute intervals, students in the inner circle will have opportunities to discuss and then rotate with students from the outer circle.

Rules/norms for the discussion:

Students speak directly to each other, the teacher may pose guiding questions or ask for more detail, but this is largely a conversation between students. If student rapport is sufficient to allow an organic flow to the conversation, encourage it. If not, consider a talking piece such as a ball or other object. Students will be prompted with open-ended questions that do not have a correct/incorrect response, but will instead facilitate discussion. Students should provide evidence for claim or rebuttal, hence the emphasis on synthesis and preparation through pre-reading. Gentle reminders for students to ask follow-up questions are encouraged. Because this is a group discussion, each student should participate. Starting with a round robin, have each student begin the discussion with a statement or question to facilitate participation.

After establishing the norms, begin the discussion by posing a general, open-ended question to the group with a number of possible answers. Some example questions:

1. How did attitudes towards crime and punishment begin to change in late-60s and 70s?
2. How did Richard Nixon’s rhetorical war on drugs become more literal under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s?
3. What measurable effects on policing and incarceration were enacted by the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill?
4. (Either as a direct question or follow-up prompt) What were the implications of these shifting attitudes and policies for Philadelphia police, residents and those arrested, charged and, especially, convicted of crimes?
5. What is being done by individuals or groups such as District Attorney Larry Krasner and the Sentencing Project, ACLU and NAACP to reverse the punitive trends and policies of mass incarceration both nationally and locally?

One major element to a successful Socratic Seminar is patience on behalf of the teacher and the students. Allow students ample time to think and respond between prompts. Attempt to facilitate organic discussion and be careful not to let one or two students dominate the conversation. Conclude the circle activity by having students reflect on the discussion. Reflections can take place in the form of a journal entry, constructed response question(s) and/or surveys for feedback and constructive criticism on behalf of the facilitator and the speakers.

Student Ethnography Project

Objective: To synthesize prior unit knowledge with culturally relevant, personal experiences via conducting ethnographic research, culminating in a written article, photo essay or blog post.

Materials:

• Student-curated interview questions
• Audio recording device
• Writing utensils
• Cameras (photo essay option)

Procedure:

The culminating project for the unit tasks students with conducting an ethnographic study of an individual who has been involved in the Philadelphia criminal justice system in some manner. The case study could focus on a current or former police officer, corrections officer, judge, attorney or a friend or family member who has been spent time in a juvenile detention center, jail or prison.

The project will begin with students select an individual whom they will interview. After receiving their written consent to participate students will utilize time in class to develop research questions for the interview. Throughout the unit, students will discover that there is incomplete data throughout every step of a criminal proceeding. One of the core philosophies driving this project is that students can give voice to individuals who are often left out of the larger story. As has been observed in the unit, much information detailing the narrative of mass incarceration is available on a national scale, but can be difficult to piece together when combing through individual cities or counties. The research project seeks to alleviate some of that unavailability.

Student research questions will vary based on their subject, however, there are a few core components to keep in mind:

• Identify a clear purpose behind the study and connect it to topics discussed throughout the unit
• Extrapolate the anecdotes provided by interviewees and apply them to the larger local and national trends in criminal justice
• Frame the study as part of a larger policy or practical issue
• Post generative ethnographic research questions, designed to elicit detailed responses from the participant
• Use guiding questions that foreshadow the issue and follow-up questions that facilitate elaboration on the issue

Once the interview has been completed, students will be tasked with distilling the raw interview data into the final project. Students may elect to compose either a written article (similar to an editorial piece,) a photo essay or a blog post.

The editorial project should be a minimum of 750 words, optionally featuring a photograph of the subject. The piece should detail their experience regarding the criminal justice system in Philadelphia and how it applies to local and national policies. Furthermore, the piece should include information and/or suggestions about reform efforts relative to the student’s focus within the project. These include, but are not limited to, reducing the incarcerated population, reducing recidivism rates, diverting drug-related arrests to counseling and treatment over incarceration and the racial disparities in jails/prisons.

The photo essay project should include 6-8 photographs of the participant, their community and where their experience(s) with the criminal justice system took place. These locations could include police stations, courthouses, streets in the community, juvenile detention centers or jails/prisons. Each photograph should coincide with an accompanying paragraph explaining the photo and its connection to overarching local and national policies and statistics covered previously in the unit.

Students will present their findings with the class by either distributing copies of their written editorials or projecting their photo essays at the front of the room. Group readings and presentations should be allotted around 7-10 minutes per student, with the final 2-3 minutes reserved for questions.