Inside/Outside

continued …

Inside/Outside "We are peers in this class"

She selected the 16 Wooster students from a pool of more than 30 applicants who were required to write essays about why they wanted to take the course. The participating Indian River students had earned a high school diploma or GED, but none had attended college. The only time the Wooster students met without the Indian River students was at an orientation session at the College, where ground rules were outlined. (No cell phones in the facility, no tank tops or short skirts, use first names only.)

"It was very important to the inside students that the outside students not meet separately," Nurse says. "They didn't want to feel as if they were the ones being studied, or that they weren't getting the full class."

"At first, it was real intimidating," says Richard, a tall, soft-spoken Indian River student who always addresses Nurse as "ma'am." "I thought the Wooster students would dominate the conversation."

The Wooster students, in turn, thought the inside students might monopolize classroom discussion. After all, they could talk about crime and the justice system from more than a theoretical perspective.

"They've had experiences that we've never even thought about, that can't be duplicated in any college classroom," says Monica, a senior sociology major.

"But it wasn't like that at all," says Carlos, a political science major. "Obviously there's a separation between us, but we are peers in this class."

Not only does neither group dominate discussions, Nurse finds the students more interactive than in any class she has ever taught. "There is never an awkward pause," she says. " I have to steer them sometimes, but there are times when I just stand there, and they teach themselves."

Theories and real life

Sociology 213 is a writing-intensive course, in which students submit papers as drafts and in final versions. One assignment asks them to apply a theory they have studied to their own lives.

For example, one theory says that the same behavior by a "good" kid and a "troublemaker" will elicit a different response from those in positions of authority. Meredith, a Wooster student, writes that her experience supported the theory. Because she and her friends were from uppermiddle- class families, their underage drinking, drug use, and fights were rarely punished harshly.

"[We] were almost all…daughters of doctors, entrepreneurs and the academic community," she writes, "[and] we were untouchable because of our involvement in the school, our aspirations to go to college, and the reputation and power of our families."

Adam, an Indian River student, writes that the "Code of the Streets" theory accurately depicted his own childhood environment. "As a child, I was taught by friends and family that fighting was ‘good,' and my family was proud and supportive of me when I would settle disputes in such a manner… According to them, ‘A man is nothing without respect'…[and] ‘fear equals respect'…I have had to make sure that everyone knows that I have no limits and that I am scared of nothing."

The final project of the semester is a series of debates on topics such as gun control and combining the adult and juvenile justice systems. Each debate team consists of two students from Indian River and two from Wooster. For several weeks, toward the end of each class, Nurse sets aside class time for the teams to prepare. They talk about strategy, hone their arguments, and divide the work. And, like any group of young people left to their own devices for 15 minutes, they find time to talk about other things—music, movies, TV, and food. There is laughter and good-natured ribbing.

At such moments, it is easy to forget that just outside are fences and razor wire and signs that warn, "Expect to be randomly patted down."

Endings and beginnings

The last day of class is unseasonably warm and sunny, and everyone gathers around picnic tables outdoors in the center of the complex for a farewell party. The Indian River staff supply pizza, wings, and soda. The Wooster students bring dozens of special requests for the inside students, from banana pudding to a corned beef sandwich.

Lauren from Wooster has made yearbooks for everyone, and the students pass them around, signing them and writing messages. Jason gives a speech on behalf of the Indian River students and presents Nurse with a dozen roses. The Wooster students throw in a gift certificate for a spa massage.

"I really didn't anticipate how emotionally hard this class would be," Nurse reflects the next day. "When a day doesn't go well at Wooster, I just shrug it off, but if a day there didn't go well, I really agonized about it. I felt like I had a responsibility to do it right every time, because for the inside students, I was their sole representative of what college is like."

It may have been their first experience of college, but for at least three of the inside students, it won't be their last. Nurse has already written recommendation letters for Alan, Cody, and Aaron, who plan to enroll in a college after their release.

"I didn't even know what a syllabus was," Aaron wrote to her. "Thanks for teaching me what college is like, so I won't be embarrassed."

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